The Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) – COSME – is the Union’s programme to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of enterprises, to encourage an entrepreneurial culture and to promote the creation and growth of SMEs. It contributes to the overall objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth while seeking to optimise synergies with other EU programmes such as Horizon 2020 and the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). As stipulated in the COSME regulation , the Commission has carried out the interim evaluation of the programme in order to assess its relevance and added-value as well the effectiveness and efficiency of its implementation and coherence with other EU programmes.

This report summarises the main findings of the evaluation, enlists conclusions and lessons learnt.