Commission welcomes Parliament’s COSME deal

The European Commission has welcomed the European Parliament’s adoption of the programme for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME).

Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Industry and Entrepreneurship, commented: “I am particularly delighted by the vote of the Parliament as it is the outcome of months of hard work of the EU institutions. We are firmly committed to help European businesses, in particular SMEs, as the latter are the backbone of the EU economy, providing 85% of all new jobs. Bearing this in mind, COSME will make the life of SMEs much easier by supporting their access to finance; an issue identified as crucial for SMEs in the EU.”

COSME aims to ease the access to credit problems that small businesses currently face. With a €2.3bn budget over the period 2014-2020, COSME will provide a guarantee facility for loans to SMEs of up to €150,000. From now until 2020, 330,000 EU firms are expected to benefit from this facility. In addition, COSME will provide entrepreneurs with easier access to markets in the EU and beyond allow citizens who wish to become self-employed to receive tailored services and assistance. Member states’ authorities will also be better assisted in their efforts to elaborate and implement effective SME related policy reform.

Nearly €1.4bn of the €2.3bn COSME budget is allocated to loans and venture capital complementing financial schemes at national level.