Translated using ChatGPT service.
Latvia generally supports the creation of the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) as a single instrument that will consolidate support programs across various sectors, while emphasizing the need to maintain the current focus areas of the combined programs.
This is Latvia’s position regarding the issues prepared by the Ministry of Economics (MoE) for discussion at the Council of EU Competitiveness Ministers meeting on September 29, 2025, which the government approved on Tuesday, September 23.
One of the items to be considered is the proposal prepared by the European Commission on July 28, 2025, for the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034 — the establishment of the ECF. The ECF will be one of the key EU policy instruments for the next multiannual financial period. Its purpose is to strengthen EU competitiveness in strategically important sectors. The Fund is intended as a single financial framework that will merge up to 14 currently separate EU support instruments, including Horizon Europe, InvestEU, Digital Europe Programme, Connecting Europe Facility Digital, the Innovation Fund, the European Defence Fund, and others. The ECF is expected to address current problems related to funding fragmentation, overlap, and insufficient investment efficiency.
The ECF aims to support projects and companies focused on bringing products or technologies to the market, enhancing the EU’s competitiveness compared to other major economies. Special emphasis will be placed on collaborative projects between start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ECF will also act as a tool to attract private investment in the EU’s strategic priorities. A single set of rules will apply to the use of support, ensuring simplified applications, reduced administrative burden, and greater accessibility.
Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, Jurģis Miezainis, emphasized:
“We must rapidly move away from a two-speed Europe and jointly unlock the full economic potential even in smaller economies. Simplified applications and uniform rules are prerequisites that should have long applied to all EU support instruments, as they significantly reduce bureaucratic burdens and accelerate the application review process. It is therefore welcome that the new fund addresses this issue. Now, it is essential to ensure that support is allocated not only based on the recipient’s legal status or size but also according to regional development factors.”
The total ECF budget for 2028–2034 is planned at EUR 234.3 billion, with a flexible combination of financial instruments: grants, loans, guarantees, equity, advisory services, and more. The ECF is expected to significantly improve the EU’s ability to respond to global competition, increase investment efficiency, and strengthen strategic autonomy from external resources and technologies, ensuring sustainable, innovative, and secure economic development in the future.
At the Competitiveness Council meeting on September 29, 2025, the 2025 progress report on reducing administrative burdens for businesses will also be discussed. The European Commission (EC) has set a target to reduce administrative burdens by at least 25% for all companies and by 35% for SMEs. To achieve this, the EC has already introduced six legislative packages expected to save at least EUR 8.6 billion per year in administrative costs. Latvia emphasizes the need for closer cooperation with businesses from the early stages of legislation drafting to prevent disproportionate requirements and consolidate complex reporting procedures, which particularly affect SMEs. It is also important to continue simplifying state aid regulations and promote the strengthening of the single market.
In May 2025, the European Commission issued the policy document “Single Market – Our European Home Market in an Uncertain World”, which defines the strategy for the coming years. It focuses on removing barriers, improving the services market, reducing bureaucracy, and promoting digital transformation. Latvia supports the Single Market strategy and emphasizes the importance of developing digital tools that ensure efficient, user-friendly, and interoperable cross-border data exchange. Digitalization significantly reduces administrative burdens and promotes equal access to services regardless of location.
To ensure rapid and ambitious implementation of digital initiatives, Latvia supports a gradual, proportionate approach, taking into account the capacities of SMEs and the need for a reasonable transition period. Latvia calls for user-friendly, interoperable digital solutions and a flexible approach to digital platform development, avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.