Researches regarding financing opportunities through structural funds at the level of SMES in agriculture

Abstract

Taking into consideration one of the main objectives of the European Union that is the principle of economic and social cohesion which intends to reduce the discrepancies between the development needs of the different regions and the lack of progress of some regions, including the rural areas, the paper tries to analyze the ways SMEs from agriculture sector can access structural funds and, at the same time, their financing opportunities. Structural funds are the non-reimbursable funds offered by the European Union to the Member States with the purpose of solving the economic and social structural problems. Starting from the particularities of the rural SMEs’ activities, in their accessing should be followed the fundamental objectives on which is concentrated the structural financing such as: promotion of the development and structural adjustment for the underdeveloped regions through ensuring the basic infrastructure which is missing and through the stimulation of investment in the economic activities; economical and social conversion in the areas which suffer economical and social changes in industrial and services sectors to the underdeveloped rural areas ; adapting and modernizing the national policies and the European Union policies and also the systems for labor, education and training. In the study done on the target group, we took into consideration the fact that structural funds support the underdeveloped regions, the rural areas, where the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) offers the financial support for the rural development besides the eligible rural areas, including the investment in agriculture units, in favour of the environment protection and for promotion of the local products. As well, there are supported innovative rural projects organized by the groups formed by local population. The research results are represented by the determination, at the level of the analyzed SMEs, of the possibilities of improving the performances in their activity through structural financing.