COVER STORY
EU Support Mechanisms for the Private
Sector
The Macedonian private sector can furthermore
count on substantial EU support in this process.
Several EU programmes primarily meant for EU
Member States themselves are also open for
Candidate Member States to benefit from. This
concerns for example the programme supporting
the competitiveness of small and medium sized
enterprises (called COSME) and the Horizon
programme,
stimulating
research
and
development in both the public and private
sector.
Through its Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA),
the EU in addition has an annual envelop of
around 90 million available in grants, specifically
earmarked for the country. A large part of this
benefits the private sector through projects of a
wide-ranging nature, from the development of
entrepreneurship, joint customs facilities with
neighbouring countries to infrastructural projects
in the area of energy and transport. The private
sector can furthermore profit from the recent 100
million lending operation of the European Bank
for Investment, through which loans from the
financial sector to small and medium sized
enterprises are subsidised.
In addition to support measures directly aimed at
the development of the private sector, the EU
also provides guidance for the country’s macro/
fiscal policy and for its structural reforms. A
stable macro-economic environment and solid
public finances are important prerequisites for
any country’s business environment. Very similar
to the existing practice with Member States, the
European Commission assesses the so-called
Economic Reform Programmes of candidate
countries in which they outline their macro
policies and structural reforms for the next three
years. The European Council then adopts policy
recommendations, jointly with the Governments
of the candidates. This way the country benefits
from policy advice based on best practice in the
EU. This also concerns issues relevant for private
sector development, such as the unfair
competition that registered firms face from the
informal sector, the enforcement of business
contracts, and how to deal with the mismatch
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EMERGING MACEDONIA
between what skills companies are looking for in
the recruitment of new employees and what new
entrants into the labour market are equipped with
following their completed education.
To end, one can conclude that the EU accession
process offers both challenges and advantages
to the private sector. The main challenge for
companies will be to develop the capacity to face
the competitive pressure on the EU’s internal
market. It is therefore important to look ahead
and to anticipate new developments and
consumers’ preferences. At the same time, EU
accession offers many opportunities for domestic
and foreign companies located in North
Macedonia. Partly thanks to their competitive
advantage on labour costs, many firms have
already proved to be able to operate in the EU
and this will only be facilitated by the country’s
accession to the Union. In addition, when
considering the positive impact previous rounds
of EU enlargement had on the development of
the private sector of acceding countries, it is
realistic to expect similar possibilities for both
local and international companies active in the
country.
More information about EU support programs for
the private sector can be found on the web site of
the EU Delegation.