The survey that portrays Bulgarian small and medium sized enterprises as being apathetic by the prospect of absorbing European Union funding cannot be anything other then worrying. As many economists say, SMEs are one of the foundations of national economies and the fact that Bulgarian SMEs see no reason to even search for information about how to apply for EU funds raises many concerns. One such concern is whether Bulgarians, hence SMEs, would be able to rightfully claim what is theirs from the EU.
When Bulgaria was waiting in line to become a EU member people were told that once achieved, membership would help the country raise its wealth and living standards. Now that membership has been achieved, instead of seizing the advantages it provides, the SMEs seem to have been left in the corner by both state administration and NGOs, or so they claim. The latter two, by the way, according to the same survey, have learned quite well how to apply for EU funds, which is by all means not a bad thing.
The problem is that this experience has not helped SMEs become more active in their work with the EU. A number of informational campaigns have been launched with the purpose of making SMEs familiar with EU funding but there seems to be little if no result.
And active they must be if they want to develop a successful business. Ask economists and they will tell you that being active and showing initiative is essential for being successful. That’s why SMEs should not just sit and wait for someone to go and tell them what to do and how to do it.
Of course, one cannot expect that a farm that has 15 cows and 10 goats should know how to deal with the EU but getting information on the internet is the least that can be done. In this respect the survey is not very promising either. It said that 50 per cent of the SMEs did not want information to be sent to them via e-mail and this is something SMEs cannot blame on corruption.
The latter, according to the polling agency that did the survey, was one if not the main reason for the SMEs lack of desire to apply for funding. They simply lacked trust in the bodies responsible for allocating EU money. Unfortunately, the scandals over the past six months over alleged corruption can only support this stand.
So the issue is once again political, not economic. Trust in authorities can be achieved only when people start seeing how the system works efficiently. At least so far, Bulgarian administration is far from being that, although there are signs that it is trying.
There is another view on the subject. Not being able to apply for funding might simply mean that some of the SMEs are not able to meet EU standards and they probably should make room for others who can do it better. Of course, things such as EU bureaucracy can only add to the SMEs frustration, but this is a bureaucracy that every other EU SME has to deal with and Bulgaria is no exception.
The bigger problem, however, is the consequences of SMEs frustration. Today, just a year-and-a-half after Bulgaria joined the EU, this might not be visible enough but in 10 or even five years time Bulgarians as a whole will start feeling the result. Because it is SMEs that produce goods for the everyday life that Bulgarians love so much and take pride in.
And unless the latter want to see everything in the stores being offered by big chains things must change. There already is a state body that has the sole purpose of helping SMEs. It is called Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency and it lies under the Minister of Economy and Energy. It has a website and all those 50 per cent of the SMEs interviewed in the survey have to do is click on its website. It’s all there.
