On Tuesday 23 September, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union reached a provisional political agreement on the revision of the InvestEU programme designed to attract additional private investment to the EU (see EUROPE 13588/4).
“With this deal, we will mobilise at least a further €50 billion in investments (...). At the same time, we are cutting red tape for companies applying for the funds and for the implementing partners”, said Morten Bødskov, Danish Minister for Industry, in a press release. In the opinion of Aura Salla (EPP, Finnish), “a stronger, smarter, and more effective InvestEU programme proves that simplification goes hand in hand with competitiveness”.
Achieved after just two trilogue negotiating sessions, the agreement provides for an increase of €2.9 billion (from €26.2 billion to €29.1 billion) between now and 2027 in the public guarantee from the EU budget, which is used to cover losses on investment projects supported by InvestEU funds. Having adopted the European Commission’s initial proposal, the EU Council wanted to limit this increase to €2.5 billion, whereas MEPs were in favour of a €4.5 billion increase (see EUROPE 13666/34).
With an increase in the public guarantee of €2.5 billion, the European Commission initially estimated that it would be possible to attract €25 billion in additional investment.
The revised InvestEU programme will also be able to re-use budgetary resources (‘reflows’) from previous financial instruments or programmes, such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the debt instrument of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and the InnovFin Facility, an initiative of the EIB.
According to the European Commission, such an approach would mean a further €25 billion in private investment could be attracted.
It should be noted that the legislative revision strengthens the appeal of the national strand of the InvestEU programme by facilitating financial contributions from Member States and by targeting specific investments pertaining to national priorities, such as housing.
MEPs also insisted on the introduction of a turnover ceiling of €50 million to ensure that European funds are really benefitting SMEs.
The European Parliament and the EU Council have agreed on a reduction in the administrative burden for beneficiaries and managers of the InvestEU programme. As a result, the frequency and scope of annual reporting obligations have been reduced. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)