EU funding news from Welcomeurope

100 million euros in aid for entrepreneurs unemployed

The European Commission wants to develop a new micro-finance involving the granting of micro-credit schemes for the unemployed in a bid to create their own business.

It will have an initial budget of €100 million, which could leverage more than €500 million in a joint initiative with international financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. The new facility is one of the actions announced in the Commission’s communication: ‘A Shared commitment for employment’ on 3 June (see IP/09/859 and MEMO/09/259).

The current economic downturn started as a financial crisis prompted by severe liquidity problems: banks stopped lending to each other and also stopped lending to people to do business and create jobs. The new micro-finance facility aims to make it easier for people who, in the current context of reduced credit supply, might have difficulties in accessing funds for business start-ups.

Workers who have lost their jobs or are at risk of losing them and want to establish their own businesses will have better access to funds and benefit from additional support measures such as mentoring, training and coaching. Disadvantaged people, including the young, who want to start or further develop their own small businesses, will also benefit from guarantees and assistance in preparing a business plan.

An initial budget of €100 million is expected to leverage €500 million of credit in cooperation with international financial institutions such as the EIB Group. This could result in around 45,000 loans over a period of up to eight years. In addition, the possibility to apply to the loans interest rate rebates from the European Social Fund will make it easier for people to access the funds.

Micro-credit in the EU means loans under €25,000. It is tailored to micro-enterprises, employing fewer than 10 people (91% of all European businesses), and unemployed or inactive people who want to go into self-employment but do not have access to traditional banking services. 99% of start-ups in Europe are micro or small enterprises and one third of these are launched by people who are unemployed.

The Commission expects the new ‘Progress Microfinance Facility’ to be operational in 2010.

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Sweden introduced its guidance as chairman of the European Union.

President of the European Union since 1 July Sweden speaks clearly its priorities for the longer of his presidency.

In addition to tackling the urgent challenges of economy, employment and climate (they will work towards the adoption of a new climate agreement during the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December), the work programme stresses strengthening competitiveness by investing in research and education as well as improving the governance of the European Research Area (ERA).

The vision of the ERA is to improve European competitiveness in science and technology by facilitating researcher mobility, improving their access to world-class infrastructures, opening up European, national and regional research programmes and strengthening global research partnerships.

The presidency plans to continue the work that has begun on the ERA, and to ‘propose governance mechanisms for the effective use of these resources and better cooperation between policy areas’. Implementation of the ERA has so far met strong national and institutional barriers.

The Swedish EU presidency coincides with a review of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Ensuring that the direction of forthcoming programmes for research and development is best positioned to respond to future challenges in health, energy and climate is another of the presidency’s goals.

‘The focus will be on how the EU is to use its research resources more efficiently,’ the work programme reads. ‘The objective is to agree on what research resources should be used for and how these investments could be better coordinated and managed. One important issue is the design of joint initiatives at European level, including the EU Framework Programme for Research.’

According to Jesper Wadensjö of the Swedish Research Council, ‘The countries and citizens of Europe are facing new global changes which represent difficult environmental, economic and social challenges. The need for research-based knowledge has never been greater.’

The role of research and innovation in helping to lift Europe out of the current economic crisis is highlighted in the Swedish work programme, which points out that ‘research and innovation create new development areas’. According to the document, ‘The Presidency will submit a contribution to a European Innovation Plan, with links to the European Research Area.’

The presidency plans to help Baltic Sea Member States to manage the serious environmental problems they face and to encourage growth and development in that region. Part of this means fostering larger joint initiatives in the areas of research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

In addition, the new presidency will address the importance of transferring technologies to poorer nations as part of an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Regulatory frameworks should be adapted to promote the spread of climate-friendly technology, particularly to developing countries,’ the work programme reads.

The Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU will host a conference on the role of research and innovation in the development of Europe up to 2025 called ‘New Worlds - New Solutions - Research and Innovation as a Basis for Developing Europe in a Global Context’ next week in Lund, Sweden.

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Learning languages Basque, Catalan and Galician funded by the Erasmus Mundus

Intensive courses will be found for student who want to study at universities where these languages are talked.

Representatives of the EU’s Member States have now decided to add Basque, Catalan and Galician to the list of languages in which preparatory language courses for Erasmus students are offered and funded by the EU. The decision will take effect from the academic year 2010-2011.

Until now, these grants were only available for language courses in the official languages of the EU – except for English, French, Spanish and German, the languages most widely used and taught – as well as Icelandic, Norwegian and Turkish.

Erasmus Intensive Language Courses give prospective Erasmus students the opportunity to study the language concerned for two to six weeks so they can prepare themselves for their Erasmus study period or placement abroad. During the 2006-2007 academic year more than 4,000 students participated in these courses, which take place in the host country.

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The new project of the Interreg Rhine Superieur programme is launched.

The Monitoring Committee has agreed the project “phaenovum - tri-national network of student researchers” which will promote cooperation between France, Germany and Switzerland in the natural sciences and technology.

ONLY FRENCH TEXT

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EIB lends about 107 million euros to the organizers of the Olympic Games in London.

To support the construction of the Olympic Village in London, the European Investment Bank signed a loan amounting to 107 million euros.

Over 1300 athletes’ flats will be converted into social housing units after 2012 as part of the overall Games legacy.
In its planning for the 2012 Games, ODA aims to promote a lasting legacy for London and the UK. In the long-term, the Athletes’ Village will contribute to urban regeneration in one of East London’s most deprived areas. Meanwhile, the project is of strategic importance for London’s hosting of the major cultural and sporting event in 2012 which will encourage heightened tourism and economic development for the UK capital.

Simon Brooks, EIB Vice President responsible for lending operations in the UK, said, “The creation of sustainable communities is a key lending objective for the EIB. The Bank is particularly encouraged by the high environmental standards in place in the Athletes’ Village development and we are confident that this project will have a significant positive impact on the quality of life of the families and individuals who will live in there following the Games in 2012.”

The Athletes’ Village project will create over 1300 dual-purpose flats and surrounding community infrastructure, including transport and healthcare services. The flats for the athletes at the 2012 Games will be retrofitted following after the Games to be rendered fit-for-purpose as social and affordable housing units.

The project will be undertaken on a fully regenerated former industrial site and will provide essential infrastructure which supports the development plans of the surrounding London boroughs. The Village and its facilities have been planned to adhere to high energy efficiency standards, contributing to the UK’s goals for energy savings as part of its strategy to fight climate change.

A considerable number of jobs will be created during the construction phase of the Village. In addition, the new housing community in East London will foster lasting employment opportunities for the local communities and beyond.

Background Notes:

The EIB in the UK

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union’s long-term financing institution which supports projects promoting European objectives. The EIB made its first loan in the UK in 1973 and since then the EIB has lent almost EUR 70 billion to support the UK economy. In the five years from 2004 to 2008 alone, the EIB financed key investment in the UK to the tune of EUR 18.9 billion (GBP 13.3 billion).

In 2008 alone the Bank allocated EUR 3.8 billion (GBP 3 billion) for UK projects ranging from investment helping UK regional development, to protecting the environment, promoting clean and secure energy sources, improving education facilities, promoting the development of national and regional transport, and supporting the activities of small and medium sized enterprises.

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The infrastructure of biobanks plans to develop a prototype for 2010

The infrastructure took a major step forward by reviewing more than 300 European biobanks.

Project managers Professor Kurt Zatloukal of the Medical University of Graz, Austria and Professor Eero Vuorio of the University of Turku, Finland spoke with CORDIS News about BBMRI’s current efforts to make the collective content of the biobanks available to researchers, and to develop a ‘prototype’ system that they hope will be functional by the end of 2010.

BBMRI’s preparatory phase is funded with EUR 5 million through the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) as one of several important research infrastructures of pan-European interest. BBMRI seeks to provide researchers with access to a Europe-wide collection of biomedical quality-assessed samples and data to treat and prevent human diseases.

The budding research infrastructure comprises 51 participating institutions and190 associated organisations, representing 30 EU and associated countries.

The next step for the project is to develop a prototype system, working with the most advanced biobanks that pose the fewest difficulties and adding others as they are ready. The project partners expect this prototype, which closes a potential gap between the planning and implementation phases of the project, to be functional by the end of 2010.

The goal is to aggregate the highly distributed data, which is collected at university hospitals and public research centres, and provide common access. The Web interface used by researchers planning their projects will show only data relating to groups of persons that share common features, he said, rather than information related to an individual person.

One major IT challenge is to maximise the value of the samples by connecting as much relevant information to them as possible; this is not simple, as samples collected long ago might be missing information that today would be considered crucial.Another challenge is creating a harmonised database using data stored in systems that are not currently compatible.

Evaluating the quality of the samples themselves so that they can be used to the best advantage is another major undertaking.Starting with sample collection, all participating biobanks need to agree on standardised ways of treating the material from the very beginning. Regarding existing samples, though, it is hard to know exactly how a 20-year-old sample was initially treated.

But the major bottlenecks lie in harmonising the widely different ethical and legal requirements of each of the Member States. Education about and attitudes towards biomedical research differ between countries, as do interpretations of EU legislation such as the Data Protection Directive.

To have a better understanding of how the public in different parts of Europe perceives biomedical research, BBMRI is conducting focus-group work and has included key questions about biobanking in the latest Eurobarometer survey. A major stakeholder meeting, including patient organisations, medical associations and industry, will be held in Brussels in September.

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The eastern cities want less bureaucracy and more cooperation.

The cities met in June in Georgia to discuss their role in the development of the European Neighborhood Policy, Time is on the balance

Participants representing EU and eastern ENP cities, associations of local authorities from the region, and local NGOs gathered to discuss specifically current and future opportunities under the European Commission’s ENP and the new Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiatives.

Although there was a general consensus that cities should not wait for EU funding to begin or intensify working relations with EU cities and within regional networks, the feeling was that less bureaucratic EU funding would provide an important boost towards not only better, but also more exchanges and joint initiatives.

Cities from the Eastern region identified the following areas where valuable learning opportunities could be gained through cooperation with western cities:

- How to build the professional capacity of city administrations
- How to develop city infrastructures and management
- How to improve the provision of social services at local level
- How to make local level and central governments work better together

This last point raised considerable interest. Institutional arrangements in the Eastern region tend to be considerably more centralised than those witnessed in the European Union 27 Member States. The Eastern based arrangement is considered by concerned cities as a major obstacle to local autonomy and development.

At the meeting, representatives from western and central European local governments also provided insights into their experiences of cooperation with cities in the target region and made some suggestions on making the most of networks such as EUROCITIES.

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The ESPON 2013 programme is looking for response to the economic crisis

The ESPON 2013 program held a conference to try to identify development opportunities for various European territories.

In the presence of Minister Rostislav Vondruška, Ministry for Regional Development of Czech Republic, Dirk Ahner, General Director of the European Commission DG Regional Policy and representatives of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the ESPON Seminar created a first understanding of the territorial dynamics related to the crisis.

Dirk Ahner presented the EU’s response to the financial crisis to protect savings, maintain a flow of affordable credit for businesses and households and put in place a better governance system for the future. He presented the role attributed to the EU Cohesion policy within the European Economic Recovery Plan, in particular for addressing some important issues like how to invest public resources so as to achieve long-term impacts. Smart investment in the activities needed to drive a knowledge-based, low-carbon European economy.

“ When addressing the global economic recession it is crucial to underline that the crisis is in progress and not over yet despite first encouraging signs of recovery .” Peter Mehlbye, Director of the ESPON Coordination Unit, said. “ Any attempt to measure its territorial footprint will only give a snapshot that probably will look different in the medium term. As facts broken down to regions/cities are not yet available for 2008-2009, this also hampers an evidence-based understanding of impacts at the level of regions and cities ” – he added.

The speakers told the audience of over 250 researchers and policy makers several key messages:

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Some countries are affected more than others depending of the solidity of the national economy and the consequences on domestic demand.
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The crisis accelerates structural change of regional economies which will be due in the long term, generating threats as well as opportunities for regions pending on their assets and potentials.
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Regions are hit in an asymmetrical pattern just like micro-regions and towns depending on the vulnerability in their economic base.
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The economic specialisation of regions and the structure, size and solidity of local companies are important for the impacts experienced.
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Some regions do better than before apparently un-affected or benefiting of the current economic situation.
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Bigger cities could suffer more than smaller ones as their integration in the world market is more profound.
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Large cities seem however better equipped to absorb negative impacts of the crisis as their capability to substitute labour market effects is higher.
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In Central and Eastern Europe, capital cities seem less affected by the economic downturn than in other parts of Europe.
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Long term benefits should be the focus of recovery measures taken by regions and cities addressing the opportunities inherent in the diversity of assets.
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Territorial diagnostics should be enhanced as a tool in finding the best measures in combating the crisis.

Summing up the first discussion, it seems that country and sector specific impacts hit regions and cities in random territorial patterns. This is due to regional/urban vulnerability. Contraction/lay­off seems often to depend on a combination of national economic vulnerability, the degree of export orientation in the regional/local economy and the presence of economic sectors with high vulnerability, such as finance and banking, housing and the automotive industry. The solidity of individual businesses is also an important factor that seems to explain some negative impacts on local labour markets. Whether larger or smaller cities in general conquer the current challenges best is disputed by experts and remains to be seen based on data and facts.

A special report in which ESPON offers some ideas on understanding of the possible effects of the crisis will be soon available at the ESPON Website.

The presentations at the seminar are available on the ESPON Website at www.espon.eu under the “Events 2009” section of the ESPON 2013 pages.

Interested in ESPON?

The ESPON 2013 Programme is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the EU Member States and the Partner States Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

It shall support policy development in relation to the aim of territorial cohesion and a harmonious development of the European territory. ESPON shall support Cohesion Policy development with European wide, comparable information, evidence, analyses and scenarios on framework conditions for the development of regions, cities and larger territories. In doing so, it shall facilitate the mobilisation of territorial capital and development opportunities, contributing to improving European competitiveness, to the widening and deepening of European territorial cooperation and to a sustainable and balanced development.

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New chapter on Turkey accession

The intergovernmental accession conference with Turkey concluded with the opening of an important chapter on Taxation (N. 16).

It also proves that the Czech EU presidency, an advocate of a wider, more open and all-inclusive European Union, worked hard right up till the very last day.

The pace of accession negotiations continues to depend on Turkey´s own preparations. Turkey must actively pursue reforms, and we welcome the government´s renewed commitment in this respect.

There are several benchmarks that need to be met before Chapter 16 can be provisionally closed. These include the following:

* Turkey has to fully implement the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement in a non-dicriminatory manner.
* It must make significant progress in alligning its legislation with that of the EU in the fields of VAT and excise duties and fully eliminate the discriminatory taxation of alcoholic beverages, imported tobacco and cigarettes in line with its obligations.
* It also has to demonstrate its administrative capacity to enforce its tax legislation
* and reach sufficient progress in developing all related IT interconnectivity systems.

The Czech EU Presidency has worked hard so that accession negotiations with Turkey advance. We support the incoming Swedish presidency as well as our Turkish partners in their intentions to continue on this track.

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Social and economic agents in the Mediterranean region

The EU-funded project TRESMED III is holding a seminar on the theme of “The Institutionalised Social Dialogue in the Mashrek” in Amman, Jordan.

The seminar, from 30 June-1 July, is organised jointly with the Economic and Social Council of Spain and focuses on the role of Economic and Social Councils (ESCs) and similar institutions, with presentations of ESC models from the European and the Mashrek side. Other EU-funded projects are taking part in the seminar on the question of regional dialogue and how the ENP is implemented on the local and regional level.

TRESEMED III aims at giving social and economic agents a framework for an institutionalized dialogue, in an effort to support civil society, good governance and democratisation in the Mediterranean region. It seeks to strengthen and promote the consultative role of the Mediterranean economic and social institutions, encouraging them to participate in both the political-decision making process and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. It also aims to create and consolidate institutions of social dialogue and assure a balance between economic and social development.

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