At the same time as the launch of Horizon 2020, the European Commission published its proposal for a successor programe to the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP), worth 2.5 billion at today’s prices. The emphasis will be less on innovation and more on enterprise. The Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME 2014-2020) will therefore concentrate on
- Facilitating access to finance for SMEs;
- Creating an environment favourable to SMEs’ creation and growth;
- Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture in Europe;
- Strengthening the sustainable competitiveness of EU businesses;
- Supporting the internationalisation of SMEs and improving their access to markets.
The main beneficiaries of the new programme will therefore be
- Entrepreneurs who will benefit from easier access to funding for developing, consolidating and growing their business;
- Citizens who want to become self-employed and face difficulties in setting up or developing their own business (e.g. young entrepreneurs);
- Member States’ authorities (at national, regional and local level) which will be better assisted in their efforts to elaborate and implement effective policy reform. In particular, they will benefit from EU-wide reliable data and statistics, best practice and financial support to test and scale up sustainable solutions for improving global competitiveness.
More information on the different strands of the programme can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/cip/cosme/index_en.htm
Advertisement
