COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FUNDING FROM EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL AND INVESTMENT FUNDS WITH THE FOCUS ON SMES IN PARTICULAR EU MEMBER STATES

The thesis deals with the analysis of conditions and forms of SME business support from European funds and is divided into 4 chapters and contains 15 graphs, 3 maps, 11 figures and 7 tables. In the first part of the thesis, we define SMEs by their importance and list their advantages and disadvantages. Next, the current situation of SMEs in Slovakia and Italy is discussed in more detail. Subsequently, in this chapter, we identify the main types of SME funding concerning the form of EU aid. We will also list the different European funds and provide their basic characteristics. In the second part, we discuss the primary objectives and goals of the thesis, the secondary sub-objectives derived from it, and the research methodology used in the thesis. The third chapter contains the results achieved, which consist of a comparative analysis of the financing through the European Structural and Investment Funds. We have focused on the EU Member States, specifically on Slovakia and Italy. The thesis concerns an analysis of the programme Smart Growth regards on R&I, ICT and SME competitiveness. We evaluated and compared their progress in the absorption of European Structural and Investment funds in the identified countries. In the final part of this chapter, we analyse in more detail the National Recovery and Resilience plans of the mentioned countries. The conclusion of the thesis consists of a discussion and recommendations for the future to improve EU funding and conditions for SMEs, the European Commission and the governments of the concerned Member States.