Commission support for SMEs in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region
On a proposal from Mrs. Monika Wulf-Mathies, Commissioner responsible for regional policy and cohesion, the European Commission has adopted a programme aimed at supporting the adaptation to the single market of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. The specific areas concerned are the three towns: Avesnes, Douai and Valenciennes. The programme has been adopted within the framework of the Community SME initiative. The Community contribution to the programme amounts to ECU 6,285,000, which will be awarded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This represents 25% of the total programme cost. The programme is divided into three priority areas: - Support for non-material investments by SMEs: the objective is to help companies improve their strategic planning, encourage cooperation with research centres and reinforce training activities; - Support for collective action: the objective is to support activities for the promotion of export, quality and increased cooperation between purchasers and sub-contractants; - Improvement of the technological environment: activities aimed at ensuring access of SMEs to the regional computer network "Recherche Transfert Noropale" in order to intensify exchanges between industry and research with a view to increasing the technological know-how of companies. In order to ensure complementarity with the activities being carried out in favour of SMEs under the Objective 1 programme, aid will be targeted at companies in the environment and service sectors.
Countries
France