30.05.2024
EU Funding
Calling for equal treatment and access to EU Funding schemes for leasing
Leaseurope has finalised a Paper regarding “access to EU funding for leasing”, which aims to provide evidence of the obstacles that leasing companies encounter when attempting to acquire assets on behalf of their customers via funding programmes made available at national or at European level. Ahead of the EU Elections and the upcoming new European Commission, Leaseurope aspires to raise awareness on the unique role of leasing as link between businesses, as a facilitator of green and digital transition, and as the most important sources of financing for SMEs in Europe[1]. In the Paper, Leaseurope will call for equal treatment of leasing services compared to other financial products when it comes to EU funding schemes developed to support EU citizens and businesses. Moreover, Leaseurope will call for the specificities of leasing services to be given proper consideration so that the legal provisions are applicable at national level.
The overall message Leaseurope is carrying is that the leasing and rental industries can make a genuine difference in contributing to Europe’s objective towards a green and competitive economy, while at the same time facilitating and supporting a strong and resilient EU economy. Leasing is an instrumental financing tool to support European long-term investment. Given the demonstrated importance of leasing for supporting investment, SMEs and sustainable finance in Europe, Leaseurope calls on the European Commission to work on EU funding frameworks that enabling leasing to be used as a source of financing for investments eligible to benefit from EU funding programmes.
[1] Survey on Access to Finance of Enterprises in the euro area: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/ecb_surveys/safe/html/all-releases.en.html, According to the latest results of the Survey on Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE survey) 2023, leasing was the primary external financing source for SMEs, with bank loans following closely behind. The survey indicates that 48% of SMEs utilized leasing in the past and considered using it in the future.
