Alexandra Attalides
Press Attaché
European Parliament Office in Cyprus
Since its launch in November 2014, the Investment Plan for Europe (IPE) has had considerable success in mobilising private investment across Europe. Despite its success, investment levels in Europe remain below pre-crisis levels. There is therefore a need to provide for an extended EU investment programme under the new multiannual financial framework (MFF), which caters for multiple objectives in terms of simplification, flexibility, synergies and coherence across relevant EU policies. The InvestEU programme, expected to run from 2021 onwards, has been designed to address this challenge. It will bring diverse EU financial instruments within a single structure, making EU funding for investment projects in Europe simpler and more efficient and flexible. It will build on the success achieved by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and consist of the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal.
The report, on the new EU programme to support investment and access to finance during 2021-2027, by co-rapporteurs José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, PT) and Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, IT) and the partial agreement with EU Ministers was adopted by the Plenary of the European Parliament in April with 463 votes in favour, 64 against and 29 abstentions. The European Parliament wants to boost jobs, growth and investment. The programme will be the Launchpad for investments which otherwise would have been difficult to finance with stronger focus on climate protection and employment. MEPs intend to improve the Commission’s proposal by increasing the EU guarantee from €38 billion to €40.8 billion, to trigger €698 billion in investments (the Commission aimed at €650 billion).
