Brussels, 25/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - During the structured dialogue with regional bodies, organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) on Friday 22 April, Commission Vice President, Jyrki Katainen, explained that the regions had to set up thematic investment platforms if they wanted to take full advantage from the funding and technical assistance available under the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI).
In a reply to representatives asking about the risk of investment concentration in the richest regions that already have the necessary resources for requesting assistance from the EFSI, Mr Katainen pointed out that the Commission was unable to control all investment decisions and could only play a facilitating role. He believes it is therefore necessary that the regions set up investment platforms that bring together public and private partnerships around specific themes (such as energy efficiency and connectivity) in an effort to bring projects together and make economies of scale, as well as attract investment.
He subsequently highlighted a number of concrete examples, such as in Denmark, which set up an ambitious for funding projects in the renewable energies domain, supported by pension funds and, encouraged by Greece and Cyprus, also set up similar platforms for tourist projects platform. Nonetheless, Mr Katainen did acknowledge that the firm still suffered from a low profile amongst regional actors, which he was seeking to rectify as soon as possible.
It should be pointed out that so far only France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Poland have outlined selected projects on the Commission dedicated website. In February, the Commissioner for Regional Policy announced the publication of a brochure, which seeks to help the regional and local authorities combine ESI and EFSI funding and enhance synergies.
According to the most recent figures published by the Commission on 14 April (see EUROPE 11534), 57 projects have benefited from a public guarantee approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the total value of €7.8 billion, as well as 165 financing agreements for SMEs, which received the go-ahead from the European Investment Fund (EIF) for €3.4 billion. According to Commission estimates, these projects are expected to attract €82.1 billion in investment. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)