WRITTEN QUESTION E-3675/03 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Situation of micro-enterprises and SMEs in Portugal.
Date: 2003-12-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, EU financial instrument, EU programme, Portugal, aid to undertakings, business policy, inter-company cooperation, job creation, micro-enterprise, small and medium-sized enterprises

27.3.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/627

(2004/C 78 E/0662)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3675/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Situation of micro-enterprises and SMEs in Portugal

Micro-enterprises and SMEs are currently facing grave problems in Portugal in the present climate of
recession, despite the key role they play in the productive, commercial and services sectors and their vital
importance for regional and national development.

The Commission:

1. Can it state what Community support has been granted to micro-enterprises and SMEs in Portugal

under the various programmes in place since 2000?

2. Can it state what measures are proposed to support job creation and promote cooperation between

enterprises and with research centres, and foster business innovation?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(27 January 2004)

1.
The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to her written question E-3898/
02 (1), which already covers most of the period mentioned (since 2000). However, the following new
elements have just become available:

The European Investment Fund (EIF), the specialised subsidiary of the European Investment Bank (EIB)
Group, has granted guarantees under the Community-funded ‘SME Guarantee Facility’ for loans to small
and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
located in Portugal. The actual guarantee volumes amounted to
EUR 75 348 in 2000, EUR 92 778 in 2001, EUR 10 599 891 in 2002 and EUR 6 057 502 in 2003, based
on the amounts reported by the Portuguese intermediary SPGM to the EIF.

Regarding the European Technology Facility (ETF) Start-up, an investment of EUR 5 000 000 was signed in
December 2002 with a Portuguese generalist venture capital fund. This fund is focusing on high-growth
innovative SMEs
fund size of
EUR 20 million. The ETF Start-up share is 25 %. The venture-capital fund started drawing down money
in January 2003 with a view to investing in portfolio companies and has made one investment reported so
far to the EIF for an amount of EUR 1 236 555.

(80 %) and Galicia (20 %) and has currently a total

in Portugal

Regarding the ERDF contributions, the Commission can inform the Honourable Member that aid to SMEs
is a key element in the current Community Support Framework (2000-2006), given that SMEs account for
more than 90 % of the total businesses receiving aid.

A.
Thus in the operational programme for the economy, aids to SMEs account for around 50 % of the
total public aids granted. The other operational programmes also provide for a set of initiatives to support
SMEs, particularly including those provided for under Priority 3 of the regional programmes (a table
showing the amounts allocated to supporting SMEs in terms of the contribution by the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) will be sent direct to the Honourable Member and the Parliament Secretariat).

B.
The European Employment Strategy (EES) defines a broad framework for the development of policies
that support the creation of jobs throughout the Union. The Portuguese National Action Plan (NAP), which
translates the priorities of the EES into national employment policies, has established a target of 70 % for
the overall employment rate by 2010. The European Social Fund (ESF)
is the main instrument for
financing the Portuguese NAP, with a total of more than EUR 4,7 billion in the current Community
Support Framework (CSF) III. Considering that more than 92 % of companies in Portugal have fewer than
20 staff, a substantial amount of ESF support is directed at this group of businesses.

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The recent evaluation of the EES for the period 1997-2002 shows that the net job-creation attributable to
measures resulting from the implementation of the EES in Portugal was more than 20 000 new jobs, for
the year 2001 alone.

Although the ESF does not directly subsidise job-creation (except in the case of incentives for own-job-
creation by the unemployed), it contributes to the creation of lasting jobs in the economy by supporting
policies and measures that contribute to the establishment of a solid labour market with a qualified
workforce.

Direct measures supported by the ESF include:

(cid:1) Continuous vocational training (cid:1) more than 400 000 people benefit from support each year;

(cid:1) Professional apprenticeships (cid:1) more than 20 000 people benefit from this measure each year;

(cid:1) Vocational training schools (cid:1) more than 30 000 young adults attend these schools each year;

(cid:1) Social Employment market (cid:1) more than 30 000 people (most from disadvantaged social groups) are

supported each year.

The EES further contributes to job-creation by promoting the simplification of the legislative framework
for the creation of new businesses and labour norms, increased employment for women through the
provision of childcare facilities, promotion of active ageing, local employment initiatives, and enhancement
of the quality and attractiveness of work.

The Portuguese authorities also support projects to promote innovation by encouraging businesses and
research and technological development bodies to form consortia through Measure 2.3 in the Science
Programme and through the programme for the economy (PRIME), which contains still further budget
lines for innovation projects such as stimulating the modernisation of businesses through innovation
(SIME-Innovation), the IDEIA programme and Public Initiative Partnerships (PIP).

The Commission is continuing its deliberations on how to improve the instruments for cooperation
2.
between SMEs, taking account of the conclusions of the evaluations of the previous projects under the
third Multiannual Programme for businesses and in connection with its deliberations on promoting
entrepreneurship following the Green Paper of 2003 (2).

This will
involve a global and systematic approach, with meetings via the major existing sectoral
exhibitions etc., in which businesses themselves take part through their financial contribution, but are
coordinated by the members of the networks that support them.

It will comprise:

(cid:1) A new methodology based on the EIC, IRC and BIC networks, a Programme and an Interactive
Calendar of meetings arranged in advance by SMEs taking part in specialised exhibitions, advance
preparation/training for these businesses, and constant monitoring of cooperation contacts by the
members of the networks.

(cid:1) Use by businesses of an improved ‘Partner Search Database’ in order to obtain a critical mass that will
enable the matching process to yield good results against the background of the rationalisation of the
Community network currently under way.

In 2004,
the Commission will present an Innovation Action Plan including measures to promote
innovation clusters and cooperation between research organisations and companies, and to extend the
transfer and the absorption of knowledge to and by businesses, and particularly SMEs. This will include,
‘inter alia’, technology transfer and promotion of organisational and other non-technological innovation.
Given the multifaceted nature of the innovation process, the new innovation policy approach will aim at a

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mobilising a broad range of operators and resources in the Community and the Member States.
In particular, the Innovation Action Plan will complement the 3 % Action Plan adopted in 2003, which
aims at increasing the average research investment level to 3 % of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010.

(1) OJ C 268 E, 7.11.2003, p. 60.
(2) COM(2003) 0027 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0663)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3690/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Update on use of funding from the Daphne programme by the municipality of Florence

In its answer to question E-1006/03 (1), which asked whether the municipality of Florence had submitted
projects and secured funding under the Daphne programme, the Commission stated that a number of
proposals had been submitted, but that the outcome of the assessment would be available in July 2003.

Can the Commission say whether the projects submitted actually received funding and, if not, why they
were not considered suitable?

Have any other projects been submitted in the meantime?

(1) OJ C 51 E, 26.2.2004, p. 62.

(2004/C 78 E/0664)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3691/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Update on use of funding from the Daphne programme by the municipality of Pesaro-Urbino

In its answer to question E-1011/03 (1), which asked whether the municipality of Pesaro-Urbino had
submitted projects and secured funding under the Daphne programme, the Commission stated that a
number of proposals had been submitted, but that the outcome of the assessment would be available in
July 2003.

Can the Commission say whether the projects submitted actually received funding and, if not, why they
were not considered suitable?

Have any other projects been submitted in the meantime?

(1) OJ C 51 E, 26.2.2004, p. 62.

(2004/C 78 E/0665)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3692/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Update on use of funding from the Daphne programme by the municipality of Siena

In its answer to question E-1015/03 (1), which asked whether the municipality of Siena had submitted
projects and secured funding under the Daphne programme, the Commission stated that a number of
proposals had been submitted, but that the outcome of the assessment would be available in July 2003.