MAE: 1-billion euro financing agreement for grants for SMEs

The financing agreement for the granting of 1 billion euros for SMEs, through the Competitiveness Operational Programme (POC), was signed on Thursday by the Minister of European Funds, Marcel Bolos, and the Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, Virgil Popescu.

According to a press release sent on Thursday to AGERPRES, the electronic registration form for measure 1 (microgrants) will be active on the IMMRECOVER platform (granturi.imm.gov.ro) starting Monday, October 12, 2020, 10.00 am, until Friday, October 16, 8.00 pm, with the possibility of extending this interval.

Thus, the grants are awarded to SMEs by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment (MEEMA) as a scheme administrator, the development of the IMMRECOVER system in partnership with STS being also financed through the POC project.

"Probably one of the most awaited signs of economic recovery has materialized today following the collaboration between the technical apparatuses of the two ministries, as a mouthful of fresh air so necessary for entrepreneurs. The less known stages required the approval of the financing mechanism by the European Commission, while the state aid scheme for SMEs has been approved by DG Competitiveness, which means a negotiation and mobilization effort that shows that Romania is able to change the perception that European funds are difficult to access. I wish my colleagues from the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment success in implementing this 1 billion euro project, a responsibility worthy of admiration for the economic revitalization of the country," stated the Minister of European Funds, Marcel Bolos.

According to the same source, the grants negotiated by the Ministry of European Funds with the European Commission are of three types: micro-grants totaling 100 million euros (85 million euros European funds and 15 million euros from the state budget) for SMEs that did not have employees at the end of 2019, freelancers and NGOs with economic activity in certain fields; working capital grants totaling EUR 350 million (EUR 265 million European funds, EUR 42.5 million from the state budget and beneficiary contribution - EUR 42.5 million) and investment grants totaling EUR 550 million (415.87 million euros European funds, 62.38 million euros - from the state budget and 71.74 million euros - the contribution of the beneficiaries).

The granting of grants is regulated by GEO no. 130/2020 on some measures for granting financial support from non-reimbursable external funds, related to the Competitiveness Operational Program 2014 - 2020, in the context of the crisis caused by COVID-19, as well as other measures in the field of European funds.