Brussels, 11/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - In the context of a Community SME stakeholder conference, Commissioners Günter Verheugen (industry and business), Danuta Hübner (regional policy) and Janez Potocnik (research) provided details on measures recently taken by the Commission to facilitate SME participation in such programmes:
7th Framework Programme for Research and Development. From 2007 to 2013, the Union will allocate nearly 15% from the 7th FPRD budget to facilitate SME participation in R&D in Europe. The rules for participation in the 7th FPRD will be simplified in several respects: more consistent interpretation of legal and financial rules, and user-friendly solutions for guarantees or flexible and simpler evaluation and selection processes. The Commission is also introducing a consultancy voucher which will allow SMEs to test the feasibility of their innovative ideas before applying for EU funding.
Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP). By way of three distinct sub-programmes over the period 2007-2013, the CIP aims to promote the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and environmental technologies, and to stimulate better use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The CIP also aims to increase SMEs' innovation ability by facilitating access to capital through loans, equity, venture capital and guarantees as well as technical assistance and grants. The CIP has a budget of around €3.6 billion for 2007-2013.
new programme for Structural Funds and Cohesion. For the 2007-2013 period, the Union plans to invest from 60-75% of its budget for cohesion policy in programmes that create growth and jobs. This is to improve access to SME financing in European regions under the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises (JEREMIE) programme. Also, pursuant to the new goal of regional competitiveness, the SMEs may henceforth benefit from assistance wherever they are located, assistance that must promote the constitution of business groups and cooperation between businesses and universities in fields which hitherto did not enjoy direct European regional policy support. The Commission will, moreover, carry out re-examination of the rules applicable to State aid in order to give them greater flexibility and better targeted aid in favour of SMEs, such as in relation to innovation. Finally, the recently adopted guidelines for regional aid for 2007-2013 introduce a new form of aid in order to provide incentives to support business start-ups and the early stage development of small enterprises in assisted areas. (eh)