1. EU regional support to private sector development, investment, trade, and economic issues in Southern Mediterranean NEAR B.2 - Regional Programmes Neighbourhood South European Commission DG NEAR vladimir.rojanski@ec.europa.eu

2. Key issues in relation to private sector development, investment, trade, and economic issues in Southern Mediterranean countries Economic growth and job creation are top priorities Improving business climate, supporting SMEs Stimulating business and investment linkages Facilitating access to finance Supporting openness to trade and investment Supporting economic diversification Strengthening good economic governance …

3. Ensuring complementarity between bilateral and regional interventions in the region

4. Private sector development programme: Enhancement of the business environment in South Med. €3 million, Jan. 2014 – Dec. 2016 (GIZ) Objective: contribute to the development of micro and SMEs by improving the regulatory framework in line with best European practices Baseline: 2013 Evaluation of the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise (DG ENTR/GROW and OECD); Small Business Act for Europe Activities: improving the business climate, promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and SMEs

5. Objectives: boosting private business and investment with the Euro-Med region to contribute to an inclusive economic development ensuring that the EU finds its leading position as source of FDI in the Southern Mediterranean region Action activities aim at empowering Euro-Med business and investment networks to implement targeted strategies in support to SME development in specific sectors: agrifood, water and new energies, transport and logistics, tourism, cultural and creative industries Private sector development programme: EuroMed Inest – EU support to business and investment partnerships in Southern Mediterranean €5 million, Jan. 2014 – Dec. 2016 (Anima Investment Network)

6. Objective: increase the competitiveness of SMEs within the cultural and creative industries value chain Activities: mapping of clusters and cluster initiatives in the region, open call for proposal, selection of two pilot clusters in each participating country Selected clusters will benefit from technical support activities to increase their efficiency and strengthen their competitiveness; to improve their marketing capabilities and product design; to develop market access activities, diversify distribution and increase sales Private sector development programme: Development of clusters in creative industries in South Med. €5,6 million – Jan. 2014 – June 2017 (UNIDO)

7. 3 grant contracts: €4 million for economic studies (two lots), €1 million for political studies (one lot) CEPS: Euro-Mediterranean Network for Economic Studies FEMISE: Support to economic research, studies and dialogue IEMed: Euro-Mediterranean political research Objectives: reinvigorating political and economic research, studies and dialoges on priority themes of the Euro-Med. Partnership ensuring dissemination of studies / research to civil society and decision-makers feeding the reflection on economic / political issues relevant to both bilateral and regional programmes Support to political and economic research, studies and dialogues of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership €5 million, March 2015 – March 2019

8. Euro-Med TIFM project: a joint initiative between the EU and the International Trade Centre (ITC) Objective: facilitating closer economic ties between the EU and South Med. countries as well as improving economic integration between these countries Specific objective: development and opening to the public of the Euro-Med “TIFM” on-line information service and associated help-desk (Euro-Med Trade Helpdesk) Euro-Med Trade Helpdesk will contain comprehensive information on requirements and taxes, import tariffs, preferential arrangements, trade statistics, business contacts and news Euro-Mediterranean Trade and Investment Facilitation Mechanism (Euro-Med TIFM) €1,5 million, 2014-2017

9. Overall objective: to contribute to trade development and economic integration in the southern Mediterranean through the implementation of the Agadir Agreement, as a milestone towards the realisation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area Purpose of EU support: Providing technical, administrative and financial assistance to the development of the Agadir Technical Unit Disseminating information on the Agadir integration process. Assisting implementation of sector specific action plans Support to regional trade integration – Agadir agreement €4 million, 2014-2017

10. The NIF is a financial mechanism aimed at mobilising additional funding to cover the investment needs of the EU Neighbouring region for infrastructures in sectors such as transport, energy, the environment and social issues The NIF also supports the private sector particularly through risk capital operations targeting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 4 existing NIF facilities: Small Business Advisory Services – EBRD SME Guarantee Fund – EIB, AfD, IFC Risk capital for micro-finance and innovative SMEs – EIB Credit fund for micro-finance and microenterprises "SANAD" – KFW Neighbourhood Investment Facility Projects in support to private sector

11. Innovation for growth Investment Social economy Key topics for futur regional programmes

12. Grants: -direct financial contributions provided to organisations, or to projects carried out by them -most of the time, the Commission attributes them through calls for proposals Contracts -awarded through tendering procedures to purchase services, supplies or works About Funding: Grants and contracts