EIRP Proceedings, Vol 6 (2011)

Abstract

The main objectives of this paper is to emphasize the important role played by Structural and
Cohesion Funds for business environment development, especially in times of economic downturn when the
financial resources are difficult to access. Prior work regarding the promotion of good administration of
structural funds in new member states was carried out by NGOs. The main methods employed for capturing
the research evidence consists in comparative analysis of the related work, and also in studying the capacity
of absorption of European funds in the case Romania, especially from the SMEs perspective. The main
results show that European Funds absorption is delayed and negatively influenced by a series of factors. The
importance of European financial assistance through Structural and Cohesion Funds is undeniable, especially
in times of financial crisis, so implications of this study are important to entrepreneurs, especially for SMEs
but also to policy-makers, because they can design the procedures of accessing this funds in order to easy this
process. The value of this paper ensues from the original approach of contradictory role played by European
funds for Romanian business environment, because it represents the mirage of overcoming economic crisis.