The EU Commission is already working to simplify EU rules to strengthen competitiveness. One of the areas that is lacking attention, however, is the many "cigar boxes" that make it complicated for businesses to apply for EU funds. This is according to Lars Sandahl Sørensen, CEO of the Confederation of Danish Industry.
- It is far too difficult to get EU funds to work so that they benefit the member states and European companies.
- It is an enormous hassle to apply, it takes a long time to get an answer, and companies give up trying, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
The announcement comes before he delivers a 50-page catalogue of political recommendations to European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre (V) on Friday. This is happening before Denmark takes over the presidency of the EU on 1 July. This will give the Danish government a greater opportunity to influence the agenda in the EU when it is to lead the ministerial meetings in the second half of 2025. Among the DI proposals is a simplification of access to EU funds for business. The current system costs competitiveness, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
- It weakens development and Europe's competitiveness, and it weakens important areas such as research, green transition and defense, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
Therefore, DI proposes that a number of the EU's 50 programs be combined in a new competition fund with at least 200 billion euros. The amount corresponds to almost 1500 billion. kroner.
- When our innovative companies reach the stage where they need to scale, it is too difficult to get access to the funds in the EU budget.
- The application process is too long, and it can take up to a year and a half before they can receive the funds, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
He points out that this could cause European companies to look to the USA and China. The two economic giants have, among other things, tried to entice European companies to move continent to get easier access to funds that can support research, development and innovation.
- Therefore, the Danish presidency should work to consolidate the programs and simplify application processes and approvals, says Lars Sandahl Sørensen.
Denmark holds the EU presidency from July 1 to December 31 this year.
jel /ritzau/
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