COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 09.09.1997 
COM(97) 434 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
Participation of European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs) 
in public contracts and programmes financed by public funds 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
Participation of European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs) 
in public contracts and programmes financed by public funds 
INTRODUCTION 
In its communication of 10 July 1996 on the integrated programme for small and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the craft sector,1 the Commission decided to issue 
a communication on measures designed to ensure that the European Economic Interest 
Grouping (EEIG) can tender on an equal footing for public contracts and can participate 
fully in programmes financed by public funds. In this way, better use can be made of the 
EEIG as a means of enabling SMEs to combine their resources. 
The European Economic Interest Grouping was established by Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 2137/85 of 25 July 1985 (referred to below as "the Regulation").2 
The creation at Community level of a legal instrument for facilitating transnational 
cooperation between firms is an important element in the completion of the internal 
market. 
The EEIG is currently the only legal vehicle for cooperation that is directly connected 
with the Community system, and it thus constitutes a key element in European 
cooperation, particularly for SMEs wishing to participate in European-scale projects. 
More than 800 groupings are currently developing economic activities in a wide range of 
sectors. This is an encouraging figure given that the first EEIGs could only be set up 
from 1 July 1989, the date on which the Regulation came into force. 
However, a recent conference organized by the Commission3 showed that optimum use is 
not yet being made of the EEIG by firms wishing to cooperate at transnational level, 
particularly where they hope to participate in public contracts and programmes financed 
by public funds. 
1 COM(96) 329 final. 
2 OJ No L 199 of 31 July 1985, p. 1 
3 The 1996 "Regie" conference held on 25 and 26 March 1996 to review six years of experience of the 
EEIG. 
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This communication describes the EEIG and clarifies some of its characteristics and ±e 
way in which it operates so as to ensure that it can-tender for public contracts and 
participate in programmes financed by public funds on an equal footing with other firms. 
This clarification should ultimately lead to better use of the EEIG by firms, particularly 
SMEs. The Commission has pointed out on a number of occasions that the access of 
SMEs to public contracts, the mles governing which are frequently applied in 
programmes financed by public funds, is a means of speeding up completion of the 
internal market and regional economic development.4 
From a wider viewpoint, the Commission intends to encourage EEIG participation in 
such contracts and programmes; the EEIG represents considerable progress for all Union 
firms in that it enables them to organize their cooperation within a transnational structure 
that guarantees its members' freedom to pursue their own activities. 
I. DEFINITION OF THE EEIG 
The EEIG is a flexible and light structure which enables its members to interlink some of 
their economic activities while retaining their economic and legal independence. 
The formation of an EEIG gives rise to an independent legal entity with legal capacity 
whose purpose is to facilitate or develop its members' economic activities and to improve 
or increase the results of those activities. 
This definition shows that the objective pursued by those who conceived this instrument 
is to promote transnational cooperation between firms at European level through the 
development of a common activity that is ancillary to their own activities. 
The EEIG is similar to a partnership (or "société en nom collectif, "offene 
Handelsgesellschaft") in that, for example, its members have unlimited joint and several 
liability for its debts (see point II.5). However, the EEIG has features which are peculiar 
to more structured forms of companies: for example, it has the capacity to act in its own 
name through managers who can be appointed independently of their status as members5 
on the basis of a rule which applies generally to limited companies (see point II.2). 
See Commission notice C(88)2510 to the Member States on monitoring compliance with public 
procurement rules in the case of projects and programmes financed by the Structural Funds and 
financial instruments, OJ No C 22 of 28 January 1989, p. 3. 
See also the following Commission communications: "Promoting SME participation in public 
procurement in the Community", COM(90)166 of 7 May 1990; "SME participation in public 
procurement in the Community", SEC(92) 722 final of 1 June 1992. 
Article 19 of the Regulation. 
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II. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EEIG 
i- Community nature 0f foe EftlQ 
EEIGs are connected with the Community legal system. Their formation and legal 
existence can therefore come about only on the terms, in the manner and with the 
effects laid down by Community law, even if that law refers back to national laws in 
certain respects. 
The EEIG's legal neutrality places its members on an equal footing, which is very 
important for overcoming members' fears that one of them may be more favourably 
placed because it is operating in a more familiar legal environment. 
2. The EEIG's legal capacity and its members' autonomy 
The EEIG has full and independent legal capacity which differentiates it from purely 
contractual forms of cooperation. In particular, the fact that it has its own organs 
gives it a much greater power to negotiate and represent its members than each of 
those members could exercise individually. The EEIG has the capacity to act in its 
own name through managers who can be appointed independently of their status as 
grouping members and whose representative powers are directly based on the rules 
applicable to limited companies. This feature is important for the EEIG's 
participation in public contracts and programmes financed by public funds because 
it enables its members to present a united front when negotiating contracts and 
seeking loans or financial guarantees directly linked to public contracts.6 
3. The ancillary nature of an EEIG's activity 
An EEIG differs from a company principally in its aim, which is to facilitate or 
develop the economic activities of its members in order to enable them to increase 
their own profits. A company, by contrast, generally aims to make profits for itself. 
Owing to its ancillary nature, the grouping's activity must be connected with its 
members' economic activities and not replace them. 
However, the formation of an EEIG should establish a legal framework which 
facilitates the adaptation of its members' activities to the economic conditions of the 
market.7 
The ancillary nature of the EEIG's activity should not therefore be regarded as an 
operational limitation which confines the grouping to a subsidiary or minor role. 
6 Article 1(2) of the Regulation. 
7 First recital of the Regulation. 
Notwithstanding the ancillary nature of its activities, a grouping can be regarded as 
being capable of carrying out any of the functions which may fail to any other form 
of grouping participating in a public contract or in a programme financed by public 
funds. 
In this context, the EEIG can have different functions: it can be used simply as a 
framework for coordinating and organizing its members' activities or it can 
conclude in its own name and execute contracts awarded by the public authorities or 
under programmes financed by public funds. 
In particular, the Regulation does not prohibit the EEIG from completely but 
temporarily taking over some of its members' activities. This matter was clarified 
by the Commission in 1991 when it stated: "there is nothing to prevent an EEIG 
carrying on some of the activities of its members for a limited period, for the 
purposes of performing site work, for example".8 
4. Structural aspects of the EEIG: stability and flexibility 
The Regulation guarantees a grouping's ability to adapt to economic conditions 
through the considerable freedom its members have in their contractual relations and 
the internal organization of the grouping.9 
This flexibility is reflected both in the formation and duration of the EEIG and in the 
arrangements governing its financing or operation. 
The formalities involved in the formation of an EEIG are very simple, being limited 
to the conclusion of a written Contract (the notarial procedure is not required) and 
the filing of the contract at the registry in the Member State in which the official 
address is situated. 
Furthermore, the EEIG can be formed for an indefinite or a limited period. This 
flexibility of formation makes the grouping a particularly suitable instrument for 
projects with a limited life, such as feasibility studies or the carrying out of work. 
The very wide access to the EEIG form enables it to respond effectively, where 
necessary, to any change in the conditions of cooperation. This openness is made 
unequivocally clear in the sixth recital of the Regulation, which states that "access to 
grouping form must be made as widely available as possible to natural persons, 
companies, firms and other legal bodies, in keeping with the aims of the 
Regulation".10 
The flexibility which an EEIG's members enjoy regarding its financing is also very 
attractive to firms. Capital is not required when it is formed. This flexibility is very 
important and distinguishes the formation of an EEIG from that of a company, 
where large sums of money may be tied up for a given period. In the case of a 
grouping, 
8 Answer given by MrBangemann on behalf of the Commission to Written Question No 1587/91, 
OJ No C 323 of 13 December 1991, pp. 32 and 33. 
9 Fourth recital of the Regulation. 
1 ° See also Article 4 of the Regulation. 
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by contrast, intermediate stages are possible which permit optimum use to be made 
of the funds which will subsequently be released. 
It is important to point out that all types of contribution are possible: contributions 
in cash, in kind or even in industrial property (technological knowledge, patents, 
commercial or trade relationships, etc.). 
The EEIG may even function in some cases through the payment of regular 
contributions or through funds being made available on current account. 
Furthermore, although the Regulation prohibits an EEIG from inviting investment 
by the public, it is permitted to borrow from a bank.1, 
The flexibility of operation of an EEIG is further reflected in its ability to transfer its 
official address from one Member State to another while retaining its legal 
personality or capacity. Such an operation cannot therefore be regarded as the 
winding-up of the grouping or be taxed as such. 
The Regulation broadly leaves it to an EEIG's members to organize relations 
between themselves. However, it also includes certain peremptory and 
non-peremptory arrangements in the interests of third parties but also in those of the 
members themselves, enabling the latter to gauge the extent of their personal 
commitment.12 
Certain major decisions affecting the operation and composition of the grouping 
must be adopted unanimously. These include modification of the grouping's aims, 
changes in the number of votes allotted to each member, alteration of the conditions 
under which decisions are taken, amendment of the members' or some members' 
contributions to the grouping's financing, transfer of the grouping's official address 
where that transfer involves a change in the law applicable to the grouping, and 
authorisation for a member to assign all or part of its rights. 
The winding-up of a grouping requires a unanimous decision, unless the contract for 
the formation of the grouping provides otherwise. 
It should be added that, if the contract for the formation of the grouping contains no 
provision governing the collective decision-taking, the unanimity rule applies in all 
cases 13 
The Regulation also imposes fairly strict conditions on the admission and 
withdrawal of members of the grouping. These rules confirm the very marked 
intuitu personae nature of the relationships between members. The admission of 
new members thus requires a unanimous decision of the grouping's members. A 
member's withdrawal from the grouping is possible under the conditions laid down 
1 ! Article 23 of the Regulation. 
12 Article 17 of the Regulation. 
13 Article 17(3) of the Regulation. 
in the contract for the formation of the grouping or, in the absence of such 
conditions, with the unanimous agreement of the other members.14 
The Regulation subjects assignment of participations in the grouping to the 
unanimous authorisation of the other members. In the absence of any clause in the 
contract for the formation of the grouping concerning the provision of guarantees in 
respect of a member's participation, such an operation can be carried out only with 
the unanimous agreement of the other members.15 
The Regulation therefore reduces the risk of structural change within a grouping by 
imposing effective controls on the admission and withdrawal of members. 
Such control is important as a means of reassuring an EEIG's potential 
co-contracting parties, in particular banks and insurance companies from which 
credit or guarantees may be sought in connection with a grouping's participation in 
public contracts, or the authorities from whom funding is requested in connection 
with programmes. 
Unlimited joint and several liability of members 
Independently of the credit and guarantees which may be granted to the EEIG 
depending on its members' financial position, maximum effective protection is 
provided for third parties entering into a business relationship with the grouping. 
The Regulation establishes the principle that the members of a grouping have 
unlimited joint and several liability for its debts.16 
The EEIG may enter into commitments in its own name that have financial 
implications. It will of course be required to meet the cost from its own assets. 
Where payment has not been made within an appropriate period by the grouping 
itself, its members have unlimited joint and several liability for debts of any kind it 
may have. This personal commitment of the members is the natural counterweight 
to the contractual freedom underlying the EEIG and to the lack of a capital 
requirement. 
14 Articles 26( 1 ) and 27( 1 ) of the Regu lation. 
A member may withdraw at any time on just and proper grounds without having to obtain the 
unanimous agreement of the other members (second paragraph of Article 27( I )). 
15 Article 22 of the Regu lation. 
16 Article 24 of the Regulation. 
In addition, former members of an EEIG remain answerable for five years following 
their withdrawal for the debts and other liabilities arising out of the grouping's 
activities during the period they were members.17 The unlimited joint and several 
liability of the grouping's members constitutes a fundamental guarantee that makes 
it easier for third parties to enter into a business relationship with the EEIG, to 
insure it or lend to it in the light of the financial position of one or more of its 
members. 
This rule demonstrates, particularly in the case of an EEIG formed without capital, 
that the combined financial standing of its members and the guarantees they may 
provide should be taken into account where a grouping tenders for a contract or 
applies for funding or credit. 
17 Articles 34 and 37(1) of the Regulation. 
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III. EEIG PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 
(a) General considerations 
The Community directives on public procurement require compliance, throughout 
the European Union, with certain minimum conditions of information and 
procedures for the award of public supply contracts by, on the one hand, public 
authorities ("traditional sectors" directives) and, on the other hand, by the entities 
operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors (the 
"special sectors" directives). This legal framework is supplemented by certain rules 
on the legal remedies available when it is necessary to settle disputes between firms 
and contracting bodies. These rules together constitute what are commonly referred 
to as the Procurement Directives.18 
Although they differ on a number of points, the two groups of directives ban 
discrimination, provide for transparent candidate selection and contract award 
procedures, based on objective criteria which must be known in advance and 
compliance with the rules applicable in the technical field. 
As regards the participation of EEIGs in public procurement, it is important to note 
that the Community directives in this area do not contain any provisions which could 
impede such participation. On the contrary, all the procurement directives provide 
for the possibility of groupings participating in contracts without requiring them to 
have a specific legal form. However, such groupings may be required to assume a 
specific legal form when they have been awarded a contract by the contracting 
authorities or contracting body.19 
The ancillary nature of the activity of an EEIG should not be an obstacle to its 
participation in public procurement. In this connection, the Court of Justice recently 
stated that "not only a natural or legal person who will himself carry out the works 
but also a person who will have the contract carried out through agencies or branches 
or will have recourse to technicians or outside technical divisions, or even a group of 
18 Council Directive 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply 
contracts, OJNoL199, 9.8.1993; Council Directive 93/37/EEC of 14 June 1993 concerning the 
coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, OJ No L 199, 9.8.1993; Council 
Directive 92/50/EEC of 18 June 1992 relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of 
public service contracts, OJNoL209, 24.7.1992; Council Directive 89/665/EEC of 
21 December 1989 on the coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating 
to the application of review procedures to the award of public supply and public works contracts, 
OJNoL395, 30.12.1989; Council Directive 93/38/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating the 
procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications 
sectors, OJNoL199, 9.8,1993; Council Directive 92/13/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the 
coordination of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the application of the 
Community rules on the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport 
and telecommunications sectors, OJ No L 76, 23.3.1992. 
19 Article 18 of Directive 93/36/EEC, Article 21 of Directive 93/37/EEC, Article 26 of 
Directive 92/50/EEC and Article 33 of Directive 93/38/EEC. 
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undertakings, whatever its legal form, may seek to be awarded public works 
contracts".20 An EEIG may therefore participate in and perform a public works 
contract. 
(b) Consolidated assessment of public prcurement contract participation criteria 
In the above-mentioned Judgment, the Court establishes the principle of a 
consolidated assessment of the resources and capacities of all the members of a 
group of enterprises when one of the firms in the group participates in a public 
procurement contract, provided that the latter actually has available to it the 
resources and capacities of the other members of the group which are necessary for 
carrying out the contract. 
In applying the reasoning of the Court to an EEIG, a contracting body should, when 
selecting tenderers or candidates for a public procurement contract, apply the 
assessment criteria laid down by the directives taking account not only of the 
capacities of the EEIG itself but also of those of its members. 
On the basis of the procurement directives, any contractor wishing to take part in a 
public procurement contract may be requested to prove his identity or his economic 
and financial standing or his technical capacity21 (qualitative selection criteria). If 
the EEIG does not itself, as an independent legal entity, satisfy these selection 
criteria, the principle of consolidated assessment requires account to be taken of the 
capacities of its members. This means that: 
• Where all the members of the EEIG are firms satisfying the selection criteria, an EEIG 
may not be required to satisfy these conditions as well. 
• On the other hand, if the members of an EEIG do not all satisfy the selection criteria, 
the members that will in practice perform the contract must satisfy the conditions 
imposed by the contracting authority. 
Lastly, if none of the members of an EEIG satisfy the conditions imposed by the 
contracting authority, the EEIG may not be used as a means of avoiding the 
conditions. 
National law governing the registration and authorisation of contractors as a condition 
of their participation in public contracts should not impede the participation of EEIGs 
in such contracts. Where national law makes EEIGs' participation conditions on their 
registration or authorisation, it should either permit EEIGs to be registered or 
authorised as such or provide for an exception to enable them to participate in public 
contracts without being registered or authorised. 
20 Judgment in Case C-389/92 Ballast Nedam Groep NVC v Belgische staat [1994] ECR1-1306, 
point 13. This Judgment is currently the subject of a reference for a preliminary ruling (Case C 5/97). 
21 Articles 21-25 of Directive 93/36/EEC, Articles 25-29 of Directive 93/37/EEC, Articles 30-35 of 
Directive 92/50/EEC. See also Articles 30-32 of Directive 93/38/EC. 
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IV. EEIG PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAMMES FINANCED BY PUBLIC 
FUNDS 
The particular features of an EEIG should enable it to take part fully in programmes 
financed by public funds. These features are analysed below. 
1. Transnational character of the EEIG 
A number of Community support programmes require projects to be submitted by 
several partners belonging to different Member States. An example is provided by 
Article 2(b), second tiret, of Council Decision 94/763/EC concerning the rules for 
the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in research, 
technological development and demonstration activities of the European 
Community.22 
Under that Article, Community contributions may benefit only activities carried out 
"by at least two legal entities. Such entities must not be affiliated and must be 
established in different Member States, or in at least one Member State and one State 
associated with the programme". 
Cross-border cooperation is also an objective of operational Community initiative 
programmes financed by the Structural Funds. This is true of Interreg II,23 one of 
whose objectives is to promote regional cross-border cooperation, Leader II, which 
also subsidizes (part C) transnational rural development cooperation projects,24 or 
Regis II, which encourages transnational cooperation between the most remote 
regions of the Community.25 
22 Council Decision of 21 November 1994, OJ No L 306, 30.11.1994, p. 8. 
23 See Commission Notice to the Member States laying down guidelines for operational programmes 
which Member States are invited to establish in the framework of a Community initiative concerning 
border developments, cross-border cooperation and selected energy networks (Interreg II), 
OJ No C 180, 1.7.1994, p. 60. 
24 See Notice to the Member States laying down guidelines for global grants or integrated operational 
programmes for which Member States are invited to submit applications for assistance in the 
framework of a Community initiative for rural development, Leader II, OJ No C 180, 1.7.1994, p. 48. 
25 See Notice to the Member States laying down guidelines for operational programmes which 
Member States are invited to establish in the framework of a Community initiative concerning the 
most remote regions, Regis II, OJ No C 180, 1.7.1994, p. 44. 
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As an EEIG must necessarily comprise at least two partners from two different 
Member States,26 it is inherently transnational, and the EEIG can therefore be 
considered as a "consortium". This is why EEIGs are always entitled to apply to 
participate in Community programmes, including those which require the 
participation of legal entities in several Member States. 
Members of an EEIG cannot therefore be required to submit tenders in parallel with 
that submitted by the grouping itself. 
With this in mind, the Commission intends to add to its official lists of approved 
contractors and to the forms to be filled in as part of the tender procedure, in addition 
to the fifteen existing categories for classifying national participants, a new purely 
European category, called "EUR". EEIGs will be classified automatically in this 
category because of their transnational character. 
2. The presence of several independent operators 
The members of an EEIG retain full legal and economic independence in the running 
of their affairs. EEIGs should therefore be able to participate fully in programmes 
which require at least two separate legal entities to submit a joint project. One 
example is the Council Decision of 23 November 1994 adopting a specific 
programme for research and technological development, including demonstration in 
the field of non-nuclear energy (1994 to 1998).27 
The Decision groups together most of the activities of the "Thermie Programme" 
relating to the technical demonstration of projects. Its Annex III provides that 
Community funding for cooperative research projects, involving normally at least 
four non-affiliated SMEs from at least two different Member States, will cover 50% 
of the cost of research. 
This means that EEIGs should participate in the programmes on an equal footing 
with the other eligible firms, as the grouping must comprise at least two members 
from two different Member States who remain economically and legally independent 
throughout their cooperation.28 
An EEIG must therefore be able to participate on its own in programmes, even in 
those which explicitly require several independent partners. In that case, members of 
an EEIG should not be required to submit individual proposals in parallel with that 
made by the grouping itself. 
26 See Article 4(2) of Regulation No 2137/85. 
27 OJNoL 334, 22.12.1994, p. 87. 
28 See Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation No 2137/85. 
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3. Creating synergy 
In certain cases, the selection of proposals takes account of the effective capacity of 
the proposed action to create synergy between various categories of participants.29 
Such programmes call for the participation of newly formed cooperative structures. 
In this context, ad hoc consortia should not be preferred to recently formed EEIGs 
without a detailed investigation of their characteristics and capacities. 
V. ACCESS OF EEIGs TO CREDIT 
Access to credit is essential to most economic operators. However, it is not always 
easy for firms to obtain external financing, especially in the case of SMEs which 
could be regarded as high-risk borrowers. 
That is why the grouping together of firms within an EEIG can be a major advantage 
in discussions with credit institutions. 
The Commission wishes to clarify and specify certain questions concerning EEIGs' 
access to credit in order to avoid any risk of discriminating between EEIGs and other 
forms of national enterprises better known to economic operators. 
1. Guarantees 
Despite the considerable degree of freedom and operational autonomy retained by 
members of an EEIG, their unlimited joint and several liability can make it much 
easier to obtain credit and strengthens the negotiating powers of its members. 
The creditors of an EEIG, in particular banks and other financial institutions, can 
make a claim on the personal assets of members in respect of debts incurred by the 
grouping and not settled by it in good time. 
A requirement that each member of an EEIG should provide a personal guarantee 
would add considerably to the cost of a loan and so should not be imposed in 
practice, as members are already liable to pay the debts of the grouping from their 
personal assets. 
An EEIG thus provides a means of increasing the borrowing potential of its members 
whilst generally reducing the cost of a loan. 
29 See Article 4 of the Council Decision of 21 November 1994 concerning the rules for the participation 
of undertakings, research centres and universities in research, technological development and 
demonstration activities of the European Community, OJ No L 306, 30.11.1994, p. 8. 
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Managerial competences 
The legal autonomy of an EEIG also enables it to act as a single interlocutor with 
financial institutions, as the manager or managers represent the grouping in 
negotiations. 
Direct negotiation with each member of the grouping and its financial partners is 
therefore not necessary. 
Evidence of financial soundness 
An EEIG, like any other loan applicant, must be able to prove its creditworthiness. 
Like the procedures described in Chapter III above on public procurement, credit 
institutions should be able to carry out an overall assessment of the solvency of 
groupings on the basis of the financial status of their members. 
Consolidation of the assets of an EEIG and of its members would facilitate the 
necessary assessments by the financial institutions. 
The drawing-up by an EEIG of a balance sheet and a consolidated profit and loss 
account could considerably facilitate the assessment. 
In addition, an EEIG which has equity capital, which is not compulsory under 
Regulation No 2137/85, offers security to all creditors dealing with a grouping. 
An EEIG with its own equity thus has a significant competitive edge and could be 
included as one of the elements of assessment referred to above. 
Without equity capital, the financial viability of the member or members established 
in the State where the crédit institution is located will clearly be a decisive factor in 
obtaining a loan or guarantee. 
Creditors of an EEIG can avoid time-consuming procedures for the recovery of sums 
due from abroad, the principle of members' unlimited joint and several liability 
allowing them to select the member they will have recourse against in the event of 
default of the grouping itself. 
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VI. CONCLUSION 
The EEIG is currently the only vehicle offering firms a framework for cooperation 
directly attached to the Community legal order. For that reason, and in order to 
facilitate its use, the Commission will continue to monitor application of Regulation 
(EEC) No 2137/85 closely. 
In a constantly changing market, the EEIG offers businesses in the Union, especially 
SMEs, the opportunity to develop their potential in projects with a Community 
dimension. SMEs are now recognised as firms which play a crucial part in achieving 
the objectives of growth, competitiveness and employment which are part of the 
priorities of the European Union.30 The Regie project thus represents a good means 
of promoting the use of the EEIG among SMEs. 
The Commission considers it essential that all the actors concerned by the use of 
EEIGs, firms or bodies concluding contracts with a grouping, should be fully aware 
of its characteristics and potential. 
This Communication is intended to provide the clarifications which should remove 
all uncertainty still preventing maximum use of the EEIG in public procurement, 
access to credit with which it is directly linked, and programmes financed by public 
funds. 
30 See the Commission communication on an integrated programme for small and medium-sized 
enterprises and the craft sector, COM(96) 329 final of 10 July 1996. 
See also- "Maximum enhancement of the employment, growth and competitive potential of European 
SMEs", Council Decision No. 97/15/EC of 9 December 1996 on a Third Multiannual Programme for 
SMEs in the European Union (1997-2000), Official Journal No. 6, 10/01/97, p. 25. 

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