The European Commission is very satisfied with the results achieved in three years by the Juncker investment plan launched in 2015 and extended until 2020 (see EUROPE 11924).
This initiative is undoubtedly "a game changer" in Europe, said European Commission Vice-President for Growth Jyrki Katainen on Thursday 22 November.
According to him, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has covered "one third" of the investment gap observed in the European Union at the start of the plan, during the recession period following the 2008 financial crisis.
The Commissioner listed the positive results of the Juncker plan. In three years, 360 billion euros of private investment has been raised to finance projects that would not have been possible so quickly. Through this, 850,000 SMEs got access. 750,000 jobs would have been created and, at this rate, this figure would rise to 1.5 million jobs by 2020.
Another element highlighted is that the main beneficiary countries - Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Portugal and Bulgaria - are said to have suffered most from the financial crisis.
However, current investment levels remain below pre-crisis levels.
The Commission therefore urges the European legislature to adopt the InvestEU programme for the period from 2021 to 2027 as soon as possible which, by building in part on the experience of the European investment plan, will bring together no fewer than 14 financial instruments (see EUROPE 12035).
The importance of creating a regulatory environment more favourable to investment is also emphasised. This includes deepening the single market (see other news) and the finalisation of the Capital Markets Union. "It is particularly important, as Europe's largest financial centre is about to leave the Single market", the Commission stresses.
For more information: http://bit.ly/2Bp8pqz. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)