Juncker Plan a real opportunity for small businesses

15.07.2015 10:55

Juncker Plan a real opportunity for small businesses

“The newly-created Juncker plan or the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), especially its €75 billion SME window, is the opportunity for SMEs to get further financing options for more ambitious projects with higher risk profiles going beyond the scope of usual financing instruments”, said Austrian MEP Paul Rübig.

Today, Rübig together with Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan is organising a public Hearing on the topic ‘The EU budget and SMEs’ which will assess the achievements and obstacles to effective SME financing in the EU and focuses on identifying ways to facilitate access to EU financing for higher risk SME projects, including those of young and female entrepreneurs.

“The EU Budget has been providing vital financing to small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe to help them overcome the effects of the economic crisis”, explained Mureşan. “Now we have an additional instrument, the EFSI, which will generate total investments of up to €75 billion for SMEs and small midcaps.”

Paul Rübig continued: “In order to be able to restore the investment climate in Europe, the risk aversion of European companies to invest within Europe needs to be overcome, especially for SMEs which are the backbone of our economy.”

Siegfried Mureşan concluded: “The EFSI will strengthen the backbone of our economy thus creating sustainable growth and jobs.”

Chaired by Rübig and Mureşan, the Hearing includes speakers representing the European Commission, the EIB, EASME, UEAPME, Enterprise Ireland, EVCA and academia, as well as entrepreneurs and business incubators.

Note to editors

The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 217 Members from 27 Member States

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