Brussels refocuses investment plan following evaluation
Jyrki Katainen - Photo EC
(BRUSSELS) - The EU Commission is to extend its European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the core of its flagship Investment Plan for Europe, following evaluation reports published Tuesday.
The findings from three evaluations are summarised in a Communication from the Commission and will feed into the legislative debate on the Commission's proposal with the European Parliament and the EU Member States.
The reports are by the Commission, the European Investment Bank – the Commission's strategic partner in the Investment Plan – and an external, independent evaluation by global accounting firm EY.
All three reports find that the EFSI has already increased access to financing as well as mobilised private capital, and identified areas in which the Investment Plan could be enhanced.
Investment Commissioner Jyrki Katainen said the Investment Plan was bringing concrete results and reaching people and companies across Europe: "Companies can expand their activities, hire new employees and invest more in research and development. The projects which the EIB has approved under the EFSI mobilise EUR 154 billion in total investments across 27 Member States and support almost 380,000 SMEs."
Mr Katainen urged the Member States and the European Parliament to adopt 'EFSI 2.0' without delay to help the EU "support sustainable investment in order to put Europeans back in jobs and to boost EU growth."
The current EFSI allows the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance projects worth EUR 63 billion, mobilising additional investment worth EUR 315 billion in 3 years' time.
The new Proposal allows the EIB to finance projects EUR 100 billion in five years' time.
This, said Mr Katainen, would lead additional investment of approximately EUR 500 billion in 5 years' time.
The findings in the three evaluations are broadly addressed in the Commission's proposal to double the duration and capacity of the EFSI by extending, in a first step, its duration until the end of 2020 and increasing the total investment target from EUR 315 billion to at least half a trillion euros. The proposal already puts greater focus on private sector contributions and additionality as well as on enhancing transparency in the selection of projects.
The Investment Plan for Europe consists of three pillars.
The European Fund for Strategic Investments provides an EU guarantee to mobilise private investment.
The European Investment Advisory Hub and the European Investment Project Portal provide technical assistance and greater visibility of investment opportunities and thereby help investment projects reach the real economy.
And the third is the removal of regulatory barriers to investment both nationally and at EU level.
For further information on EFSI opportunities, businesses need to call the EIB office in a Member State capital.
Factsheets about the Investment Plan, including EFSI results for each country and project examples