Jyrki Katainen – Photo EC
(BRUSSELS) – The European Commission looked Wednesday to extend its flagship Investment Plan for Europe beyond 2018, hailing its achievements in creating jobs and ‘getting Europe investing again’.
Eighteen months after Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker launched the investment plan, and a year after the start of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the Commission takes stock in a Communication of achievements to date.
Jyrki Katainen, Commissioner responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said the Commission, together with the European Investment Bank, had achieved a lot over the last year: “We have supported innovative energy projects, healthcare centres, urban development and high-speed broadband. Close to 150,000 SMEs have access to new financing.”
The Communication reports that the EFSI, managed by the EIB Group, is on track to deliver on mobilising at least EUR 315 billion in additional investments in the real economy by mid-2018.
It makes concrete proposals for the future of the EFSI, building on the positive results so far. These proposals include extending the EFSI beyond its initial three year period; scaling up the resources for SME financing, one of the EFSI’s major success stories; making the Advisory Hub services more local; and exploring the possibility to use an EFSI-type model for investments in developing third countries.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular have benefited from the EFSI so far. To encourage more EFSI activity in the Member States lagging behind so far, the EIB and the Commission say they will increase their local outreach.
The EFSI provides a first loss guarantee, so that the EIB has been able to invest in more projects, sometimes riskier projects, and to invest sooner than without the EFSI. Overall, the EFSI is already active in 26 Member States and is expected to trigger EUR 100 billion in investment with the approvals given so far.
Today also saw the official launch of another element of the Investment Plan, the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP), an online platform bringing together European project promoters and investors from the EU and beyond. The Portal will increase the visibility of projects to invest in across Europe.
The Commission has also published Communication on the Single Market Agenda which outlines the many strands of work that have been or will be carried out at EU level to create a business-friendly environment to encourage innovation and invest in people.
Further information
Communication: Taking stock of the Investment Plan for Europe and next steps
