CFCA brings entrepreneurs together to promote cooperation

on Wednesday, September 13, the Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA) held a meeting with representatives of the business environment - the CFCA and the Business Forum - which will be a regular event in future to exchange information and strengthen cooperation. .

This format of the meeting is intended to be an additional platform for the exchange of ideas and ideas in order to provide an opportunity to discuss issues of concern to entrepreneurs in the context of the implementation of European Union (EU) fund projects.

CFLA Director Anita Krūmiņa : “the EU fund management system is well regulated, but at the same time also in constant development, as ideal formulas are also not disclosed at EU level. We learn from the practices of other Member States and from other countries, from whom the EU supports the use in a fair and targeted manner. Cooperation and communication with those invested in EU funds to discuss challenges and challenges together is one way of identifying those stages and processes where the opportunity has improved I.. We want to create an active platform to promote the exchange of ideas; today's meeting with business representatives was the first time we have collaborated in this format, which we intend to continue."

"Today Forum is an opportunity to look back at it at the end of one period of EU funds and assess what lessons have been learned, also in terms of development of the EU fund system and cooperation between entrepreneurs,” emphasized Arthur Mežals, project manager of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) . “We conclude that there are different levels of understanding in the business environment as well – there are experienced project promoters and those who use support from EU funds maybe once. As business representative organisations, merchants approach us not with success stories, but when problems have arisen or there is some confusion s.. Therefore, the practice of involving entrepreneurs and industry associations in the programming, development of EU fund programmes is very welcome. . Advisory Councils and such a forum allow to cushion differences of understanding and facilitate cooperation efforts. Similarly, when launching the programmes, we call on the national authorities to support, as far as possible, the fulfilment of the requirements, such as the creation of templates for documents that both ease the burden and promote common understanding and cooperation among all stakeholders."

The CFCA and the Business Forum will complement the range of outreach activities provided by the CFCA in order to create, without consultation and seminars organised for project promoters, a platform for listening to business opinion and for the direct exchange of information on general issues of practical implementation of EU funds.

Entrepreneurs from different sectors, representatives of the Employers Confederation of Latvia, the LCCI and the Ministry  of Economics participated in the Forum.