The paper aims at conducting a comparative analysis of European funds used to increase competitiveness through the Operational Competitiveness Program (COP) in three counties in different development regions of Romania, namely Galati (SE), Iasi (NE) and Timis (V). Entrepreneurship is a key factor in the sustainable economic growth of a region or a country, and therefore this economic development depends both on capitalizing the entrepreneurial potential, on the existence of a national strategy on competitiveness and the creation and development of an innovative infrastructure. Given that research and innovation in entrepreneurship requires financial support from both public funds and private investment, a series of financing actions must be carried out at national, European and global level, as there is a discontinuity between the research and the application of its results. Increasing public funding for research and innovation in the field of innovative entrepreneurship is achieved through the Horizon Europe program and thus more and more EU member states decided to coordinate their research activities, in order to encourage the growth of private investment, but also to develop entrepreneurship, knowledge exchange and improved access to research results. At national level, in Romania, there is also the Operational Program Competitiveness (POC) which ensures financing from European funds of projects aiming at increasing the competitiveness of companies in the fields of RDI and ITC, which generates a sustainable growth given the multiplier role of these fields. Romania, as the other EU Member States, has been affected by the economic crisis caused by the COVID ‐ 19 pandemic as it has affected the activity of most entrepreneurs, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are facing a sudden deficit of liquidity, and the European funds and those provided by PNRR represent a support for recovery and for increasing their competitiveness.