Selling the union
The government could use a good lesson in public relations when it comes to trying to sell the idea of European Union to its citizens, especially with one of the groups that union membership will affect the most - small and medium-sized enterprises.
So far, the government has run a close to non-existent campaign to inform SMEs, which comprise almost 50% of the country's GDP, about applying for and receiving European Union subsidies and grants, not to mention preparing them for increased competition, as well as helping them comply with various common-market regulations and standards. Such information is all the more vital in the current environment where many SMEs have already been forced to shut their doors after withering in the darkness of the economic downturn.
What little information the general public has been exposed to has amounted to only radio and television spots which focus on EU membership as a political project, not as a practical and economic one. The lack of an effective information campaign for businessmen and entrepreneurs, however, will result in a gap between our companies, which are failing to obtain the available support, and those of the EU, which are well assisted by their governments in receiving funds.
While Euroland countries have been much more active in promoting the interests of and protecting the rights of their businessmen and entrepreneurs, here there continues to be a lack of experience and awareness. This is evident in the way government has created the impression that the country is awash in union funds which will somehow automatically appear in businessmen's pockets before and after accession.
For example, it was reported that the Office for European Integration last year spent €5.1 million on doling out advice, translating documents and paying office rent, while its total budget, including salaries for its 400 employees, reached €18 million. Yet, the spending frenzy failed to provide SMEs with the ammunition they need to actually get funding.
Millions of euros in budget money have been allocated this year to the economy and labour ministry for advisory services and an educational programme to prepare SMEs for EU membership. In addition, the Polish Agency for Entrepreneurship Development, which oversees the disbursement of EU grants, has €144.3 million from Phare and other EU subsidies to dispense this year. How much of that will actually get to SMEs is anyone's guess.
The road to Brussels will indeed be a bumpy one for the country's SMEs because without support from the government, they won't be able to withstand competition. Industrial, commercial and service firms will be fully exposed to competition from existing members of the common market. Businesses may also miss the boat on entering new EU markets, while companies of neighbouring EU members might relocate here to produce on the cheap and export back home.
As of now, uninformed and disillusioned businessmen and entrepreneurs still don't know where to go to ask for help in getting past the bureaucratic roadblocks and getting their hands on EU money. Many businessmen who have inquired about the conditions for granting aid and the application process for funding have already been turned off by the reams of red tape they have encountered. A recent article in the Business Journal, for example, showed that civil servants are largely incapable or unwilling to provide information for querying businesses. Instead, businessmen are left to fend for themselves on a wild goose chase of endless calls and misinformation.
The present political bustle and din are easily and conveniently diverting attention away from the issue - that is until it's too late when the country's SMEs can't meet or beat competition from other EU firms. Other critics, however, point out that if the current government survives, it will not undertake supplemental actions to implement the necessary tax cuts, reduce red tape or liberalise the labour market in order to give SMEs an added boost.
And no PR campaign - no matter how well developed and informative - could overcome that.
So far, the government has run a close to non-existent campaign to inform SMEs, which comprise almost 50% of the country's GDP, about applying for and receiving European Union subsidies and grants, not to mention preparing them for increased competition, as well as helping them comply with various common-market regulations and standards. Such information is all the more vital in the current environment where many SMEs have already been forced to shut their doors after withering in the darkness of the economic downturn.
What little information the general public has been exposed to has amounted to only radio and television spots which focus on EU membership as a political project, not as a practical and economic one. The lack of an effective information campaign for businessmen and entrepreneurs, however, will result in a gap between our companies, which are failing to obtain the available support, and those of the EU, which are well assisted by their governments in receiving funds.
While Euroland countries have been much more active in promoting the interests of and protecting the rights of their businessmen and entrepreneurs, here there continues to be a lack of experience and awareness. This is evident in the way government has created the impression that the country is awash in union funds which will somehow automatically appear in businessmen's pockets before and after accession.
For example, it was reported that the Office for European Integration last year spent €5.1 million on doling out advice, translating documents and paying office rent, while its total budget, including salaries for its 400 employees, reached €18 million. Yet, the spending frenzy failed to provide SMEs with the ammunition they need to actually get funding.
Millions of euros in budget money have been allocated this year to the economy and labour ministry for advisory services and an educational programme to prepare SMEs for EU membership. In addition, the Polish Agency for Entrepreneurship Development, which oversees the disbursement of EU grants, has €144.3 million from Phare and other EU subsidies to dispense this year. How much of that will actually get to SMEs is anyone's guess.
The road to Brussels will indeed be a bumpy one for the country's SMEs because without support from the government, they won't be able to withstand competition. Industrial, commercial and service firms will be fully exposed to competition from existing members of the common market. Businesses may also miss the boat on entering new EU markets, while companies of neighbouring EU members might relocate here to produce on the cheap and export back home.
As of now, uninformed and disillusioned businessmen and entrepreneurs still don't know where to go to ask for help in getting past the bureaucratic roadblocks and getting their hands on EU money. Many businessmen who have inquired about the conditions for granting aid and the application process for funding have already been turned off by the reams of red tape they have encountered. A recent article in the Business Journal, for example, showed that civil servants are largely incapable or unwilling to provide information for querying businesses. Instead, businessmen are left to fend for themselves on a wild goose chase of endless calls and misinformation.
The present political bustle and din are easily and conveniently diverting attention away from the issue - that is until it's too late when the country's SMEs can't meet or beat competition from other EU firms. Other critics, however, point out that if the current government survives, it will not undertake supplemental actions to implement the necessary tax cuts, reduce red tape or liberalise the labour market in order to give SMEs an added boost.
And no PR campaign - no matter how well developed and informative - could overcome that.
