EU funds ‘there for the taking’ before Brexit

The Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce is urging local entrepreneurs to tap into €3.8million of EU funding, highlighting that ‘the money is there for the taking’ before a Brexit deal is struck.

So far €1.8million has been spent from the ‘Gibraltar Investment for Growth and Jobs’ programme.

The remaining cash will continue to be available until the UK and Gibraltar leave the EU. Any unspent funding after Brexit will be returned to the EU.

Director of European Programmes Charles Collinson aims to spend the cash locally by March 2019 – the date he predicts Gibraltar will leave the EU.

The current EU funding schedule will run until 2020, meaning the money will be spent around a year before the programme ends.

Locally the funds have helped create 11 new businesses and helped nine more to develop.

The Chamber of Commerce added these businesses are forecast to create 63 full time jobs and 39 part time jobs.

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