Commission and EIB launch new advisory service on financial instruments
On 19 January, the European Commission, in partnership with
the European Investment Bank (EIB), is launching fi-compass, a new advisory service on
financial instruments for the European Structural and Investment Funds. This
service is part of the "one stop shop" advisory hub, to be launched
as an important part of the EU Investment
Plan.
The work to deliver the Investment Plan is moving fast. Just
50 days after President Juncker announced plans for an EU investment offensive,
and the Commission has already launched alegislative
proposal for the European Fund for Strategic Investments - to
mobilise at least €315 billion in private and public investment across the
European Union. With the launch of fi-compass, the Commission and EIB are now
moving quickly to deliver on the second pillar of the Investment Plan to make
actual investment happen in the economy. This second pillar aims at enhancing
technical assistance (with an advisory hub to provide all the necessary
financial and technical support to public and private promoters) and providing
transparency to investors. A transparent project pipeline of viable projects
will be launched with the EIB later this year.
This new fi-compass platform will be launched during a
two-day conference attended
by European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen responsible for Jobs,
Growth and Competitiveness, Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu, and
EIB Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer. They will join Member States and regions
at this high-level conference to exchange experience and best practice on the
design and use of these instruments.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Vice-President Jyrki Katainen
said "There is money out there, but investors tell us that they
need well-structured projects and access to clear information to reconnect
investment finance with a pipeline of trusted projects. We want to fast track
the work to set up a technical hub which will provide a one stop shop for
advice and support for potential investors. The launch of fi-compass is an
important step in the right direction."
Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu commented "I
welcome the launch of the fi-compass to pool our joint know-how in order to
yield the best impact on the ground. Excellent examples serve as inspiration
for other countries, in particular those struggling to draw EU funding and
ensure its efficient use. I encourage Member States to double the amount of
investments channelled through financial instruments in the new programming
period."
EIB Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer added “The EIB with
its technical, sectorial and country-specific expertise has a potential to
encourage more widespread use of financial instruments. This expertise has been
widely acknowledged by the Commission and the Member States. We will use it to
help recipients of EU funds target projects with high economic viability."
This platform will be an important enabler for Member States
to make use of financial instruments under the European Structural and
Investment Funds, as Cohesion policy will play a central part in reaching the
objectives of the Investment Plan, in terms of strategic and fruitful
investments, job creation and sustainable growth.
The Investment Plan set as target to double the use of
financial instruments in 2014-2020; by using them, the return of each euro
invested in the Member States will be increased. Fi-compass, set up by the
European Commission and the EIB, is intended to better equip and strengthen the
expertise of the managing authorities and stakeholders working with these
financial instruments.
Background
Financial instruments include loans, guarantees, equity,
venture capital and other risk-bearing instruments, possibly combined with
interest rate subsidies or guarantee fee subsidies. They represent a
resource-efficient way of using EU budget funds to enable investment in the
economy.
ESI Funds regulations for 2014-2020 have widened the scope
of financial instruments to include all thematic objectives and all five
European Structural and Investment Funds: the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the European
Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
Commissioners for Regional Policy, Agriculture and Rural
Development, Employment, Social Affairs Skills and Labour Mobility,
Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Vice President of the EIB and
Chief Executive Officer of the European Investment Fund have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a partnership for technical assistance and
advisory services to support the use of financial instruments under the
European Structural and Investment Funds and under the Programme for Employment
and Social Innovation (EaSI).
The conference marks the first in a series of actions under
the MoU, which will be a 7-year commitment between the Commission and the EIB.
The fi-compass advisory platform will provide Member States and their Managing
Authorities as well as microcredit providers with support and learning
opportunities for developing financial instruments.
