Irish Regions Office Website

February 24, 2010

Regional funding and small firms

Speaking before the European Parliament's Regional Development committee on 22 February, European Investment Bank (EIB) President Philippe Maystadt flagged regional funding as being vital for the EU's economic recovery and hinted that new support instruments could be introduced in the coming years to provide opportunities for investments and loans to stimulate regional economies across the EU. This prospect could well build upon the model of microfinance facilities such as JEREMIE which were recently introduced for small firms in some Member States to facilitate the use of venture capital, loans, guarantees, and seed capita

An influential European small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) association have responded by urging a rethink of EU funding for regional projects in order to make them more accessible to small firms. The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) characterised the financial tools and funding opportunities offered by the EIB towards regional and local initiatives in energy, transport, research & development and innovation, as tending to be too large and overcomplicated to be useful for SMEs.

Further Details

UEAPME

Posted by iroronan at February 24, 2010 11:01 AM