Brussels, 17/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 July, the United Kingdom announced that it will participate in the Juncker Investment Plan and pledged co-financing of €8.5 billion.
This contribution to British projects benefiting from aid from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the Juncker Plan's financial arm (which will become fully operational in early September) will come through the British Business Bank.
In London that day, EU Growth Commissioner Jyrki Katainen said: “I am delighted that the UK announced £6 billion - nearly €8.5 billion - of co-financing for the European Fund for Strategic Investments projects. This is the biggest announcement yet and will have a big impact on SMEs and infrastructure in the UK,” adding: “The Investment Plan for Europe is moving into high gear. A key part of the government's long-term plan is to ensure that infrastructure projects and SMEs across the UK have access to the necessary finance,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
The British contribution is the ninth announced by member states, coming on top of the following contributions from member states' national investment banks: Poland (€8 billion), Germany (€8 billion), Spain (€1.5 billion), France (€8 billion), Italy (€8 billion), Slovakia (€400 million), Bulgaria (€100 million) and Luxembourg (€80 million). National co-financing for the Juncker Plan totals €42.6 billion to date.
The EFSI will have a public guarantee of €21 billion (€16 billion from the EU budget and €5 billion from the EIB) to cover any initial financial losses from EFSI projects selected by the EIB (see EUROPE 11323).
In 2014, the EIB lent a record a €7 billion in the UK in 2014: an increase of 20% compared to 2013, which itself was a 56% increase on 2012. The EIF has supported 25,000 UK SMEs. (Mathieu Bion)