Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-21-Speech-3-394"
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"en.20040421.18.3-394"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first of all like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Rübig, for his excellent work, which will enable us to adopt this proposal at first reading. It is a good example of efficient and constructive cooperation between the institutions.
The Commission proposal has two main parts. On the one hand, it envisages the closure of the Joint European Venture programme and, on the other hand, makes a few changes to the European support mechanism for start-up capital for technology companies, called ETF Start Up. This mechanism provides risk capital for launching technology companies.
The proposed closure of the JEV programme is the result of an evaluation of the programme which concluded that it has not achieved its objectives. Demand has decreased and the impact in terms of job creation is limited. I think that this proposal sends a clear message that both Parliament and the Commission are prepared to close ineffective programmes that do not achieve their objectives.
It is better for the Commission to devote its financial and human resources to financial instruments for small and medium-sized enterprises which have a greater impact, for example the SME guarantee facility and the ETF Start Up mechanism.
The changes proposed for this support mechanism will make it flexible. The changes will improve the availability of funding and start-up capital for companies that are up to ten years old, compared to five years old currently, if they are working in particular sectors such as life sciences. This reflects the fact that product development and the experimental phase can be particularly long for those companies and that, during that time, they need access to risk capital in order to continue their business.
The Commission’s proposal also refers more explicitly to the eligibility of funds invested in companies carrying out research and development activities. This highlights the fact that the European support mechanism for start-up capital is open to funds used for small and medium-sized enterprises that are particularly active in research and development.
I will conclude by saying that these changes to the support mechanism for start-up capital should help in achieving both the Lisbon objectives and the objective of 3% GDP for spending on research and development. I am therefore pleased to see that Parliament supports the Commission’s proposal. It therefore goes without saying, Mr Rübig, that the Commission accepts all the amendments from the European Parliament, i.e. Amendments Nos 1 to 5."@en1
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