Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia

EU

Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia http://europa.rs/?lang=en

Small and Medium Size companies (SMEs) are the backbone of any modern economy and therefore crucial for development of Serbia. Since private business was neglected for decades, the competitiveness of our companies is significantly lagging behind the EU average. Therefore, the aim of the EU funded support is to increase the competitiveness of Serbian economy that will result in job creation and sustainable growth of standard of the citizens. The total EU funds utilized in this area from 2001 amounts to €78 million (€58 million in technical assistance and grants and €20 million in credit lines to SMEs). Priorities of the EU support to the private sector development included: institution and capacity building in the area of national policy, promotion of private sector/advocacy, consultancy, training and support to Foreign Direct Investments and export promotion, turn-around-management, investment readiness, innovation promotion, business environment, financial support through credit lines, etc. There are numerous successful examples of Serbian SMEs which started their business with EU financial support; under the umbrella of Serbia Innovation Fund project, a number of start-ups found its place at the market, not only in the country, but also in the region and abroad. That was the case of Strawberry Tree solar panels, awarded in Brussels and in San Francisco and in use in the whole Western Balkans region. The focus of the ongoing support of the EU is innovation at company level, commercialization of research and development and support to technology transfer that will eventually increase the competitiveness of Serbian enterprises and prepare them for the EU and global market. Future EU funded support, beside further development of competitiveness will be provided for design and implementation of the new financial instruments for the SMEs. Easier access to finance should lead to creation of new business or expansion of existing ones, develop new products and expand market access.

Acting Head of Delegation       Mr Oskar Benedikt Head of the Political Section   Ms Noora Hayrinen Head of the European Integration Section    Ms Radica Nusdorfer Head of Cooperation               Mr Holger Schroeder Head of Operations I               Mr Nicolas Bizel Head of Operations II              Mr Steffen Hudolin Head of Operations III             Mr Richard Maša Head of Finance & Contracts   Mr Antonio Izquierdo Head of Administration           Ms Stavroula Mitsopoulou Head of Information, Communication and Press      Mr Ramūnas Janušauskas Information and Communication Officer     Ms Nadezda Dramicanin Media and Informations Officer                Mr Aleksandar Djordjevic EU Information Centre Project Manager Mrs Vesna Manic Human rights focal points       Ana Milenić / Nicolas Bizel and Gordana Arackić EU liaison officers on human rights defenders Noora Hayrinen and Gordana Arackić Assistant to Head of Delegation, HE Mr Michael Davenport             Ms Mateja Kunovar Mr Dejan Suvakov, European Commission: Mirna Talko Tel.: + 32 (0)2 29 87 278, E-Mail: mirna.talko@ec.europa.eu Relevant people on operational level for TA for cometitivnes