The KOZMA agreement was signed to support the competitiveness of the Serbian economy

Today in Brussels, Serbia and the European Union signed an agreement on supporting the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia.The agreement between the European Union and Serbia, which enters into force on January 1, 2016, confirms the participation of our country in the Program for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises KOZME (Program for the Competitiveness of enterprises and SME) until 2020.It establishes the possibility of financing activities aimed at increasing competitiveness and the establishment and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia, and the Ministry of Economy will be in charge of coordinating the activities of the KOZME Program.On the occasion of the signing of the Agreement in Brussels, Minister of Economy Željko Sertić said that thanks to this Program, the Ministry, with the support of the European Union, will finance and implement activities aimed at improving competitiveness and the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia. "The goal of the Government of Serbia is to increase the competitiveness of the domestic economy in the coming period and increase the entry of small and medium-sized enterprises into foreign markets. That is why the next year will be the year of entrepreneurship, which means that the focus of the Ministry will be on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and the encouragement of entrepreneurship," said Sertić and emphasized that the KOZME program will be a great support for Serbia in strengthening this sector.Ambassador Duško Lopandić in the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the European Union, who signed the Agreement, emphasized the importance of participation of Serbia in this program of the European Union. According to his words, the implementation of the KOZME Program will enable better promotion of entrepreneurship, facilitate access to finance and contribute to the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises from Serbia".The budget of the KOZME Program, which is implemented by the European Union in the period 2014-2020 and whose beneficiaries are EU and candidate countries, is 2.3 billion euros.More: http://www.privreda.gov.rs/potpisan-sporazum-kozme-za-podrsku-konkunrentnosti-srpske-privrede/