EuroMediterranean Industrial Cooperation

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Euro-Mediterranean Industrial Cooperation

• Paris, November 2008
• Marie Corman

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Euro-Mediterranean Industrial Cooperation

• Policy Framework
• Barcelona Process
• European Neighbourhood Policy
• Union for the Mediterranean

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Ministerial conference in Nice November 2008

• To take stock of progress
• To fix priorities for the 2 years ahead
• Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise

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Euro-Mediterranean Charterfor Enterprise
Innovative companies
Simple Procedures for business
Strong business associations
Education and Training for Entrepreneurship
Quality business support schemes and services
Improved skills
Strengthening Euro-Mediterranean networks and
partnerships
Easier access to finance and investment-friendly
taxation
Clear and Targeted information
Better market access
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Scope, objective, nature and focus

• Scope 9 Mediterranean partner countries and
  their stakeholders4 organisations Commission,
  OECD, ETF, and EIB
• Objective Conduct a thorough enterprise policy
  assessment covering 77 policy indicators in 10
  key policy areas affecting the life-cycle of a
  company, from birth to maturity
• Nature Pilot project
• Focus Policies developed and delivered mainly
  by central government institutions

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Two Assessment teams operating in parallel

• Independent Team

• Country Team
• operating under the National Charter
  Co-ordinator

DG Enterprise Industry
Relevant Institutions in Charge of Policy
Elaboration and Implementation for Each Dimension
OECD Private Sector
European Training Foundation
National Experts
European Investment Bank
Independent Consultants
Key Stakeholders
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Steps in the Charter Assessment Process

• Steps Timeline/Location
• Define assessment grid in cooperation with MED
  experts
• Workshops held in
• Turin (Italy), 10-11 Sept. 2007
• Brussels 13 -14 Sept. 2007
• Endorsement and validation of assessment
  grid October 2007
• Launch of parallel assessments Dec. 2007-
  February 2008
• Technical meetings to analyse preliminary results
• to devise weighting system January February
  2008
• 9 bilateral meetings (Commission MED country)
• to discuss results of parallel assessments with
• national stakeholders February March 2008
• Regional meeting to present final results 16
  April 2008

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Key Results Overall Assessment

• Convergence towards policy guidelines of Charter
  progressing in MED region, but at different paces
  across the region
• Progress most noticeable in Egypt, Jordan,
  Morocco and Tunisia
• Transition towards horizontal enterprise policy
  at early stage Algeria and Syria
• Progress hindered by conflicts and political
  instability Lebanon and Palestinian Authority
• Well-developed enterprise policy Israel

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Dimension 1 Simple procedures for enterprises

• In most MED countries building blocks for
  enterprise policy in
• place. However
• No comprehensive enterprise development strategy
• Inter-ministerial policy co-ordination is
  generally weak
• Clear assignment of tasks and competencies in
  enterprise policy elaboration and implementation
  among ministries and implementing agencies needs
  improvement
• Regulatory reform initial stage (except Egypt and
  Israel)
• Improvements to company registration. OSS in
  place (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia)

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Dimension 1 Simple procedures for enterprises
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Dimensions 2 and 3 Education and Training for
Entrepreneurship and Improved Skills

• Education systems currently do not promote
  entrepreneurial attitudes (except Tunisia)
• Lack of lifelong learning perspective as a
  central pillar to competitive economy
• Lack of regular surveys of enterprise community
  to track skills and training needs and to improve
  policy
• Well-developed practice on training for expanding
  enterprises (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and
  Tunisia), but need for developing knowledge
  sharing networks

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Dimension 2 Education and Training for
Entrepreneurship
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Dimension 3Improved Skills
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Dimension 4 Access to Finance

• Asset backed lending main source of external
  financing, but high collateral requirements
• Little risk capital, VC industry early stages
  (except Israel)
• Lack of development in credit information
  services (except Israel and Tunisia)
• Well developed credit guarantee schemes operating
  in partnership with commercial banks (Egypt,
  Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia)

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Dimension 4Access to Finance
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Dimension 5Better Market Access

• National Export Strategies have to be defined
  (except Israel and Egypt)
• Well-established government export agencies and
  export promotion programmes
• Implementation of intra-regional trade
  integration at an early stage
• Improvements in simplification of international
  trade procedures (Egypt, Israel, Morocco and
  Tunisia)
• Further progress needed to prepare Agreements on
  Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of
  Industrial Products

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Dimension 5 Better Market Access
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Dimension 6Innovative Firms

• All around recognition that innovation is a
  source of long-term prosperity and steps to
  establish innovation systems
• Systems focus on creating linkages with
  universities, incubators, upgrading human captial
  and technology upgrading
• Volume of RD Investment is limited for region,
  lack of sources of technological innovation
  (except Israel)
• Development of comprehensive innovation
  strategies (Egypt, Tunisia)

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Dimension 6Innovative Firms
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Dimension 7Strong business associations

• Public-private consultations practices
  well-established all around, but geared to serve
  insider interests versus new market entrants
• Practices vary in terms of framework, frequency
  and degree of transparency
• Private sector organisations gaining strength as
  advocates and service providers (Palestinian
  Authority)
• Emerging networks in high-value sectors, women
  and youth entrepreneurs

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Dimension 7Strong business associations
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Dimension 8 Quality of business support services

• In all countries programmes (services, targeted
  groups) to support small firms to overcome market
  failures (Enterprise Upgrading/Mise à niveau)
• Business establishment support centers
  (industrial parks and zones) are well-established
  in most countries
• Information gap about availability of programmes
• Lack of monitoring and evaluation tools to
  evaluate effectiveness of programmes using
  sizeable resources

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Dimension 8Quality of business support services
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Dimension 9 and 10EuroMed partnerships and
networks, Clear and targeted information

• Experience in networking and partnerships between
  firms and between business support services at
  Euro-Med level but often donor funded pilot
  projects
• Significant needs to improve quality of
  information, especially online
• Development of interactive websites, portals and
  networks of information centres (Egypt, Israel,
  Morocco and Tunisia)

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Dimension 9EuroMed partnerships and networks
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Dimension 10Clear and targeted information
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Next steps

• Ministerial conference in Nice ACTION
• Focus on implementing recommendations
• Next assessment by 2012
• In the meantime, fine tune set of indicators
  paying more attention to SMEs, sustainable
  industrial development, accountancy and auditing
  standards, etc
• Synergies, cooperation, a role for FCM

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Euro-Mediterranean Industrial Cooperation

• http//ec.europa.eu/enterprise/international_relat
  ions/docs/mediterranean/2008_report_charter_en.pdf
  
• Marie.Corman_at_ec.europa.eu