First Eastern Partnership country joins COSME
European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Ferdinando Nelli Feroci has signed agreements with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the Republic of Moldova formalising the entry of both countries to the EU’s Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises programme (COSME).
Announcing the deals, Feroci said: “We have a clear policy to complete our internal market and to reduce business barriers with the countries surrounding us. We are coming closer to each other in our policies; we want to create business networks and promote regulatory alignment across borders; therefore we also create a larger environment for business success and growth for all of our companies. This is why I am happy that the FYROM and Moldova are joining COSME to work together in helping our companies, particularly SMEs, become more competitive”.
FYROM is the second candidate country to join COSME following Montenegro in June. The country will also continue to participate in the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), which is financed under COSME. Local SMEs employ more than three-quarters of the workforce in the country and generate more than two-thirds of the overall value added.
Moldova is the first neighbourhood country to join COSME. Participation in COSME – which includes participation in signature projects such as the EEN – is seen as a further step in Moldova’s economic co-operation process with the EU. It will assist the country in making its SME sector more competitive, and it will be beneficial for the implementation of the association agreement including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. Moldova is the first country from the Eastern Partnership to join the programme.
COSME, with a total budget of €2.3bn, promotes entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture, and improves access to finance for SMEs.
