Albania joins COSME, the EU's financing programme for SMEs - Main contents

On 3 March, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and Arben Ahmetaj, Albanian Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, signed an Agreement formalising the entry of Albania in the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Programme (COSME).

Commissioner Bieńkowska said, "I welcome Albania to the group of countries that can benefit from the COSME funds."

More broadly on COSME and SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) policy, the Commissioner added, "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."

COSME is the EU programme aimed at strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs running from 2014-2020 with a budget of EUR 2.3bn.

Albania is the fifth country outside the EU to join and contribute to the programme, after Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova and Turkey.