TIRANA, March 4 – Albania has become the fifth country outside the EU to join COSME, the EU’s financing programme for small and medium-sized enterprises. The deal on Albania’s membership to the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Programme (COSME) was signed this week in Brussels by Albania’s Economy Minister Arben Ahmetaj and Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.
“Access to finance remains an important hurdle for SMEs. I want to use the financing possibilities of our COSME programme efficiently, and in parallel hear ideas on how to further reduce red tape and promote entrepreneurship for SMEs,” said Bienkowska.
Albanian Economy Minister Ahmetaj described the country’s membership as a challenge to attract as much funding as possible and prepare Albanian enterprises to successfully apply funds benefited from this programme.
COSME is the EU programme aimed at strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs running from 2014-2020 with a budget of Euro 2.3bn.
Albania is the fifth country outside the EU to join and contribute to the programme, after Montenegro, Macedonia, Moldova and Turkey.
