Brussels, 20/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 17 June, the European finance ministers expressed a “generally positive” judgement of the implementation of the Juncker investment plan.
“In general, it has had a positive reception”, said the President-in-exercise of the Ecofin Council, Jeroen Dijsselbloem. He said that some delegations had also asked for an “in-depth assessment” to be carried out, in order to develop the experiment and make the investment plan “even more effective”. He went on to say that the member states approved of the Commission's plans to present a concrete proposal later this year.
On the first anniversary of the Juncker plan, which is designed to draw down more than €300 billion in additional investment over three years, the Commission has already announced that it was planning to extend the term of the plan after 2018, building on the existing regulatory framework (see EUROPE 11563). However, the European Parliament questions the capacity of the plan to support projects which would not see the light of day without the public guarantee provided by the EU budget, through the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
Dijsselbloem also reported that the member states had warmly welcomed the Commission's proposal to build on the model of the investment plan to finance projects in the countries of origin or transit of migrants attempting to reach the EU (see EUROPE 11567).
The Ecofin Council's assessment of the Juncker plan has been put to the European Council, which will be called upon, on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 June, to adopt “operational conclusions” on the future of the experiment. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)