The special edition of our monthly ‘Country Digest’ featuring Western Balkans continues. This time in the spotlight is Albania.
May 2018 marked a renewed momentum in the EU-Western Balkans relations. The Sofia EU-Western Balkan Summit reinforced a mutual commitment to the European perspective of the region and set outconcrete measures to boost cooperation both with the EU and within the region. The EU also agreed to step up its support both in terms of funding and technical assistance.
Schuman Associates is the leading consultancy in Brussels working on European funding and project financing. Delivering added-value and relevant content to our clients has always been a priority for us. To strengthen our local presence and strategy we have embarked on a new wave of local recruits in Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Our new colleagues will bring valuable experience to our local offices and support them in providing a hands on support to local and international companies in accessing business opportunities arising from EU funding. Schuman Associates has just launched its monthly ‘Country Digest’ to capture facts and other EU funding and relevant highlights. We are delighted to continue the series with Poland.
We continue with the special edition of our monthly 'Country Digest’ featuring Western Balkans countries. This time we look at Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), a country that has been a candidate country since 2005 and benefits from 664.2 MEUR from IPA II funding 2014-2020.
The European Commission’s proposal on the next 2021-2027 EU Budget starts a dynamic debate on the future of Europe, but also of EU Funding to its Member States and regions.
Despite a 5% cut in each of the Cohesion and Agricultural policies, the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) remain the most powerful investment tool of the European Union. They account for more than a half of the proposed 7-year EU Budget (Cohesion Policy - 374 billion EUR and Common Agriculture Policy - 371 billion EUR, including direct payments).
Leading up to the EU & Western Balkan Summit that will take place on 17 May 2018 in Sofia, Schuman Associates kicks off a special edition of its monthly 'Country Digest’ featuring Western Balkans countries. First one – Serbia.
By all accounts 2018 is the year of Enlargement policy. On 6 February 2018 the Commissions adopted a Strategy for 'A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans', and it announced six flagship initiatives – a set of concrete actions to be implemented in the next two years. To support the implementation of the new flagship initiatives, the Commission proposed to top up the 1.07 BEUR already foreseen for the region for 2018. In this sense, more funding will be directed towards infrastructure investment in transport, energy & digital.
On 2nd May the European Commission revealed its awaited proposal on the new multiannual budget for the period 2021-2027. This Communication officially marks the starting point of inter-institutional negotiations that will top the EU agenda in the coming months.
On 2 May 2018, the European Commission presented its proposal for the EU’s next seven years budget cycle (also known as the Multiannual Financial Framework – MFF) covering the period 2021-2027. The proposal will now go to the co-legislators (European Parliament and Council) which will further discuss and amend accordingly. In the best case scenario, the Commission expects to have the MFF ready before the European Parliament’s election taking place at the end of 2019.
The proposal tabled on the 2nd of May by the European Commission starts a vivid debate on the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027 in the months ahead. The proposed 7-years budget of EUR 1279 billion (in current prices), is more than initially expected. By mid-June, the Commission will reveal further details for different policy and funding areas.
Schuman Associates is the leading consultancy in Brussels working on European funding and project financing. Delivering added-value and relevant content to our clients has always been a priority for us. To strengthen our local presence and strategy we have embarked on a new wave of local recruits in Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Our new colleagues will bring valuable experience to our local offices and support them in providing a hands on support to local and international companies in accessing business opportunities arising from EU funding. Schuman Associates has just launched its monthly ‘Country Digest’ to capture facts and other EU funding and relevant highlights. See our first report on Romania here. We are delighted to continue the series with Czech Republic.
The debate on the next multi-year EU budget (Multiannual Financial Framework / MFF) is about to start. The European Commission is set to formally propose its spending priorities for 2021-2020 next week, just after Labour Day. Lively discussions and debates are expected between Member States on the next generation of EU financial programmes and how these will be reflected in the EU budget. See below the Post 2020 negotiation roadmap prepared by Schuman Associates where you will have access to the next steps of the future EU funding.
Schuman Associates is the leading consultancy in Brussels working on European funding and project financing. Delivering added-value and relevant content to our clients has always been a priority for us. To strengthen our local presence and strategy we have embarked on a new wave of local recruits in Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Our new colleagues will bring valuable experience to our local offices and support them in providing a hands on support to local and international companies in accessing business opportunities arising from EU funding. Schuman Associates is also pleased to launch its monthly ‘Country Digest’ in which we will capture facts and other EU funding and relevant highlights. First to take-off….Romania!
In March 2018 Schuman Associates Brussels Headquarters and local offices gathered together for the annual «Away Day» to share best practices, reflect on company's values and present the business strategies for 2018.
Schuman Associates was an active participant in the European Commission's Public Consultation on EU funds in the area of Cohesion.
The consultation was an integral part of the preparation process of post 2020 Multiannual Financial Framework.
We welcomed the EC initiative to share our views and experience - spanning over two decades in the area of EU policy and regulatory framework driving EU Funds. Our key messages included in the Position paper on post 2020 Cohesion Policy:
Administration and Finance Coordinator
Brussels Office
>5 years of experience
On Wednesday, 14 March 2018, the MEPs adopted their official negotiating position for the post-2020 EU budget. The main message is that the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) should not only finance new priorities; but also compensate for the financial shortfall caused by Brexit, estimated to leave a budget hole of 14 BEUR.
The European Commission unveiled a 23 steps Action Plan on how to harness the opportunities presented by technology-enabled innovation in financial services (FinTech), it aims to tackle a wide range of issues from cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity, data protection, blockchain innovation and EU compliance and supervision of these new technologies. Here are some of the highlights:
Following the Foreign Affairs Council that took place in Brussels on 6 March 2018, the Council adopted a roadmap for the implementation of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) including a list of projects in the areas of common training and exercises, operational domains and joint and enabling capabilities. These projects will be implemented by participating Member States excluding Denmark, the UK and Malta.
EU FUNDING STAGIAIRE VACANCY
Brussels Office
with 1-2 years of experience
Deadline: 20th March 2018
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) hosted a Western Balkans Investment Summit in London on Monday, 26 February. A number of high level public officials, including all six Prime Ministers from the region gathered in EBRD's London headquarters to present their countries' potential in attracting private investment at the same time addressing bottlenecks in front of representatives from the private sector.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is an independent EU body contributing to the objectives set out in Horizon 2020, in particular by addressing societal challenges in a manner that is complementary to other initiatives in these areas. EIT brings together the "knowledge triangle" of business (including SMEs), education and research to form dynamic cross-border partnerships, the so-called Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). These KICs strengthen cooperation among European innovators and entrepreneurs, and they create favourable environments for creative ideas and new solutions to emerge. Since 2010 six KICs have been launched: EIT Climate-KIC; EIT Digital; EIT InnoEnergy; EIT Health; EIT Raw Materials and EIT Food.
In 2018 EIT is launching two new KICs:
In order to establish the next two EIT Innovation Communities, a new call for proposal was launched in the beginning of 2018. Submission of project proposals is open until 12 July 2018. Proposals can be submitted by a core group of up to 50 educational, research and business partners - at least three independent partner organisations established in at least three different Member States. The winners - one group for each field receives the mandate and significant resources to start and manage one of the newly established KICs.
Available funding
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Schuman Associates is a Brussels-based, independent, consultancy with more than 30 years’ experience in European funding and public affairs.
