Brussels, 06/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Poland is prepared to make a direct contribution to the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), as long as this contribution is neutral from the point of view of the Stability and Growth Pact.
The EFSI, which will be created in mid-2015 under the aegis of the European Investment Bank as part of the European investment plan, is “underfunded”, meaning that “public sector contributions to its capital must be higher”, said the Polish Finance Minister, Mateusz Szczurek, on Tuesday 6 January, at a conference on investment hosted by the ALDE group at the European Parliament. He argues that the “best way to convince member states to put paid in capital” into the EFSI would be to treat all public contributions as neutral with regard to the Stability and Growth Pact, as is already the case for the national contributions to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the permanent bailout fund of the eurozone. These contributions increase the public debt of the country, but do not add to its public deficit. If the conditions are met, then “yes, Poland will pay into the fund”, Szczurek said.
Szczurek also highlighted the risk that the EFSI is underfunded due to a lack of public money. A situation of this kind would limit the type of investments which could be made, with the risk of ruling out certain major infrastructure projects which could complete the single market in certain sectors, such as energy and transport.
“We are lacking almost everything except money!”, said the Commissioner for Investment, Jyrki Katainen, presenting the Commission's investment plan, which received the blessing of the European Council in late December (EUROPE 11221).
According to the Finnish Liberal, investment will take off primarily if “confidence” returns and “political uncertainty” and “regulatory inflexibility” are overcome. In this regard, he stressed the importance of “credible and responsible” budgetary policies and “structural reforms” (employment market, healthcare and pensions systems) which, despite their poor reputation, can offer an alternative to unadorned budget cuts, as long as the “social model” of the EU is preserved. Amongst other things, he called for the member states to provide better training for education and teaching professionals and to make investment in research and development easier. (MB)