Purpose The economic situation in Europe is improving, nevertheless in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still lacking in finances. In this situation, public funding can play an important role. Besides grants, the use of financial instruments (FIs) has become increasingly popular lately in CEE as well. This paper aims to examine the micro-level effects of the different financial tools to understand which type of finance could be most recommended for policymakers in relation to improving access to finance for SMEs, and thus achieving long-term, sustainable economic growth. Design/methodology/approach The database used is a panel with firm-years as the units of analysis, the variables contain firm-level characteristics, yearly aggregated information on European Union (EU) subsidies and yearly aggregated information on credits received by the firms. The analyses are done using propensity score matching. The ultimate goal is to show whether the EU funds – grants and FIs – have contributed to the development of the Hungarian post-communist economy at micro level or not. Findings The result shows that the use of subsidies has a positive impact on employment, sales and in certain settings on productivity. It is very important to notice, that grants seem to be used effectively. However, the results also show that the provision of the FI holds more direct relevance to advanced productivity. The conclusion is that FIs have more positive impact on the Hungarian economy. Originality/value At the time of the programming for the EU 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework, the paper presents original research in the field of access to finance showing evidence and evaluating the effect of using grants versus FIs, emphasiing differences between the two development tools. It is providing an invaluable insight to the policymaker for planning policy tools and use of funds in a most effective and efficient way.

To enhance the effectiveness of and return on public investments, using financial instruments in addition to grants has lately become an increasingly preferred policy instrument choice in Central and Eastern Europe. The paper examines the impact different financial tools bring about at a micro-level. This enables recommendations for policy-makers to be produced on the type of assistance that could be of best use to improve access to finance for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, and thus achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth. The analysis is based on counterfactual evaluation and difference-indifferences. The findings indicate that the use of European Union funds (both grants and financial instruments) has a beneficial influence on employment and sales. However, the results also illustrate that in order to achieve the goal of higher impact and certain productivity effects, subsidies should be allocated to the initially less productive small firms in the less developed regions. Another important outcome is that, to some extent, financing through financial instruments has more direct relevance to advanced productivity, and due to their revolving nature, they generate more positive impact on the Hungarian economy than do grants.

Europe is facing an investment gap and the so-called financial instruments seem to be one of the solutions. They invest public sources on a repayable basis with a revolving character, which allows for a much greater efficiency in the allocation of public capital and the long-term sustainability of public investment. Policymakers see considerable value in supporting the further development of FIs and their use in both existing and new policy-related areas of activity3. The combined-credit is a unique financial development tool where credit and non-repayable assistance can be requested within a single financial product. [10,13] The paper analyses the Hungarian practice using this special financial instrument with the application of information technology, both looking at the empirical evidences and seeking for an answer to the question, whether the combined utilization of financial instruments and grants is effective, useful or not, and how the different IT solutions could affect the efficiency of this financial product. It is argued in this paper that the utilization of information technology can significantly improve the effectiveness of using financial instruments. This paper has three main aims: first, to review the legislation and the approach of Member States on the utilization of financial instruments; second, to analyse current and previous forms of IT support and their impact on the efficient utilization of the above instruments; third, to make proposals for further research on the e-government-based utilization of financial instruments.

This paper discusses the maturity of data protection and privacy measures in order to develop a better understanding of the importance and impacts of this domain. The practical relevance of this topic is that the General Data Protection Regulation provides that data controllers in EU Member States shall comply with uniform data protection rules. Even though European legislation sets detailed requirements for data controllers, the implementation of appropriate technical and organisational measures can be realised at different levels of maturity. Based on the analysis of the pertinent literature, various maturity models are available to assess privacy policies, but GDPR requirements are addressed just partially. The exploration of the issue of maturity offers a new relevant research opportunity to assist data controllers in finding the appropriate methodology for the assessment and further development of their data protection measures. This paper has three main objectives. First, to systematically review the relevant literature on the issue of maturity. Second, to analyse the relevant maturity models and their main methodological elements. Third, to make suggestions for a new specific model focusing on GDPR requirements.

This paper presents a new approach to measure the effects of e-government concepts on the reduction of administrative burdens, in the domain of European fund management. The topic may receive considerable interest since the present European legislation specifies that Member States shall provide online portal services and offer paperless fund management possibilities for beneficiaries in order to reduce the administrative burdens of cohesion policy. This concept is marked with the term “eCohesion” in the scientific discourse. Based on former studies, the concept has several micro- and macro-level attributes that leverage its effectiveness and impact on burden reduction. Nevertheless the level of their influence has not been underpinned by evidence based research yet. Consequently this paper outlines a research design for the measurability and impact assessment of the above attributes. The development of the research design is based on the Standard Cost Model, the widely-used methodology for the measurement of administrative burdens. The present paper applies the model to the attributes of eCohesion by formulating research hypotheses in order to make them measurable and to assess their relevance. The design created paves the way for a further quantitative research and methodologically supports Member States in developing a deeper understanding of the nature of eCohesion.