The conference will be organized by EurActiv.ro and the Representation of the European Commission in Romania and will have Telekom Romania as main partner. The event will be developed in collaboration with the EURid, Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) and Alpha Bank Romania and it will benefit from the support of VAPRO Romania, Netherlands-Romania Chamber of Commerce, Schuman Associates and www.immromania.ro


Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central to economic development and social welfare. They drive innovation and competitiveness, they create new jobs, and they contribute, vertically within the economic circuit, to the development of new markets and technologies.

In accordance with the social and economic importance of SMEs, the European Union (EU) and the Member States have set out a number of dedicated financial and legislative instruments for assistance. In this sense, SMEs have access to specific financing opportunities and dedicated programmes and they benefit from tailored support for their activities.In light of the new 2014 – 2020 Financial Framework of the EU, these opportunities and facilities have been updated. Thus, new possibilities will complement current initiatives and improve the range and depth of the support available to SMEs across the EU.

Aggregating international expertise

In direct relation with the efforts of EU institutions and Member States to support the development of SMEs, EurActiv.ro and the Representation of the European Commission in Romania have planned to contribute to raising field-related awareness in Romania through a dedicated international conference.

The event aims to bring together Romanian competent public stakeholders, EU authorities and Romanian SMEs to discuss the latest financing opportunities.Covering a variety of topics, ranging from an overview of the financing field to specific EU programmes, such as COSME and Horizon 2020, the conference will endeavour to raise awareness of development opportunities among representatives of Romanian SMEs. In addition, the event will aim to facilitate experience exchange and improved cooperation between national and EU authorities in what concerns the application of EU initiatives for SMEs.The conference will benefit from the participation of highly important EU and national actors, including the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, representatives of EURid, European Investment Bank, European Investment Fund and public officials from the Ministry of European Funds, the Romanian Ministry of Public Finance, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, National Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs.

EurActiv Romania is the Romanian member of the EurActiv network – a pan-European media structure, composed of independent and integrated offices, which provides localised EU policy news.