The European Commission has allocated 7 million euros in funds for the support of small-and medium-sized businesses in six former Soviet republics, including Azerbaijan.
Financing for the East-Invest project will begin in May, head of the Ukraine-EU business council James Wilson told RBK-Ukraina at an international conference on the development of civil society in rural Ukraine. He also said funding would last for three years. The grant to improve local conditions for entrepreneurs is intended for the support and encouragement of economic development and regional trade in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The funds are intended for the financing of projects on the development of cooperation between CIS and EU countries, as well as for the attraction of foreign investment. The official responsible for the distribution of the funds has yet to be appointed. Wilson said that the acceptance of applications from potential participants had ended on March 2 and that the results would be made public in the near future. He also noted that the maximum cost of projects had not yet been determined. The EU will however fund only 80% of the cost of individual projects.
04.03.2010
