COVID-19

The European Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have launched a new  EU SME Fund which offers vouchers for European SMEs to help them protect their Intellectual Property (IP) rights. The EU needs to increase the resilience of its SMEs to help them to cope with the...

Are you a cluster or SME in the tourism industry? The European Commission’s Single Market Programme (SMP) has an open call to create a more sustainable tourism ecosystem. The goal is to align the tourism strategy with the EU’s SME strategy and industrial strategy. The call will provide financial...

The ECCP has just published the new Guide on Capacity Building for Clusters to provide clusters with ideas on how to lead the green transition, accelerate the digital uptake, and build resilience within their ecosystems. Designed as a hands-on tool focusing on the essentials, this Guide is intended...

The European Commission has launched the Global Gateway , a new strategy to boost digital, energy and transport links that are smart, clean and secure. The initiative focuses on sustainable connections that work for people and the planet, tackling pressing global challenges such as climate change...

CulturEU is a portal that explains EU funding opportunities for businesses in the cultural and creative sectors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these sectors have been hit hard by restrictions. Since the onset of the pandemic, the Commission has taken  numerous measures to address the consequences of...

The European Commission’s SURE is a €100 billion instrument which aims to protect jobs and incomes affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. SURE provides financial support in the form of loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to Member States to finance national short-time work schemes and preserve...

On 29 June, the European Alliance Against Coronavirus talked about the collaboration between clusters and the Enterprise Europe Network in the field of tourism. Aija Konisevska Azadi from EEN Sector Group Tourism & Culture Heritage presented the activities of this EEN sector group, which joins 34...

The 7th ECCP capacity-building webinar on 14 September 2021 explored how clusters can be more strategic when it comes to internationalisation. Over 100 participants – mostly cluster managers and staff – from EU and COSME countries attended. The internationalisation of cluster organisations can help...

Under REACT-EU, the European Commission has granted €3.7 billion for of Spain’s recovery and digital and green transition. Funding is a combination of European Regional Development (ERDF) funds and the European Social Fund (ESF). A breakdown of the funding is as follows: €1.64 billion in Andalusia...

On the 12 and 13 July, the European Commission hosted a pan-European matchmaking event to upscale the development and production of COVID-19 therapeutics. The event brought together over 250 participants from the therapeutics value chain from 25 Member States and other countries. The event was...

To help SMEs navigate the current economic crisis, the European Commission has created several funding schemes. In particular, the REACT-EU funding scheme is a comprehensive and ambitious recovery plan. It will play a key role in ensuring a balanced recovery, fostering convergence, and ensuring no...

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the health crisis has had a huge impact on SMEs globally. Since then, they face a challenging economic climate while having to deliver competitive and high-quality services. Many SMEs found it difficult to stay connected to their customers during the...