THE FINANCING OF INNOVATIVE SMEs –A SOLUTION FOR INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY ON GLOBAL MARKETS (English version)

Unlike large enterprises, SMEs, especially innovative ones, face increased difficulties in the attempt to obtain financing due to the specificity of their activity. This situation calls for the involvement of the state by means of polices aiming at providing support to this sector, and especially in order to encourage innovation, which can be a solution for increasing Romania's competitiveness at the global level. Among the methods used to support these ideas, we will list several, from among those used in the article: the analysis of statistical data from several complementary sources (including evolution over time) - indicators related to SMEs in general (the share of enterprises, of the workforce, of the turnover, of the added value, in the national economy etc.) and to innovative ones in particular (means for innovation - using own funds or in cooperation; types of innovation - technological or non-technological, etc.); a comparison on the one hand between the situation in Romania and the one in the EU, using indicators calculated as the average of values recorded in the member states, and, on the other hand, between Romania and other EU members states with innovation performances superior or comparable to those of our country; emphasizing the difficulties faced by this sector, especially those concerning access to financing, in relation to innovation-related characteristics.