THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN FUNDING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

The economic crisis from the last period significantly affected the business environment. Despite the progress registered by Romania in the last years, there are some important disparities in the field of competitiveness compared to the European Union member states. It is important to have adequate financial resources for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to increase the competitiveness.Companies may obtain European funds for investments in order to improve their activities, starting with the production facilities, procurement of IT equipment and modernization of the tourism infrastructure.The general objective of the Sectoral Operational Programme - “The Increase of Economic Competitiveness” (SOP IEC) is to increase the productivity of the Romanian enterprises in order to comply with the European Union principles: long term development and decrease of the disparities.With the support of the European funds it can be reduced the negative impact of the economic crisis