Confederation of Industry CR: Cohesion Policy for All

Cohesion policy will be one of the key instruments to reach Europe 2020 goals in the period 2014–2020. Therefore, the current decision process on new rules is scrutinised by all stakeholders and the European Commission is often criticized for certain changes in the conditions under which it will be possible to gain support from EU funds.

One of them is a proposal to exclude large companies from the possibility to make use of funds for regional investment, which has been criticised both by Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic (SP ČR) and BUSINESSEUROPE. Radek Špicar, Vice-president of SP ČR responsible for Economic Policy and Competitiveness made this position very clear during a seminar called “Cohesion Policy after 2014: Enabling Companies to Stimulate Growth?” organized by BUSINESSEUROPE in Brussels last month. According to VP Špicar, the financial support from structural funds will be the only source of money for many regions, as there is a lack of investment due to the ongoing crisis. Therefore, he sees the distinction between large enterprises and SMEs rather artificial and pointless. As he mentioned, “SMEs and large companies live together in a kind of symbiosis, meaning that if large enterprises are available to use financial support from EU funds, it will help SMEs as well thanks to their interconnection”.

In addition, structural funds should focus on raising competitiveness of the EU as a whole. And while subsidies are not the main reason to invest in certain region, it can be a minor, but a decisive element that will play an important role in the final decision.