The InvestEU Programme is a European initiative that aims to bring together, under one roof, most of EUs financial instruments that are at the moment available to support investment in the EU. The goal is to help make the process of European funding for investment projects, simpler and more efficient as well as more flexible.
The programme consists of the following parts:
- The InvestEU Fund
- The InvestEu Advisory Hub
- The InvestEU Portal
Through the programme, the EU will be able to further support investments and innovation in the EU as well as boost job creation. The programme is set to run from 2021 until 2027. It builds on the utter success of the Juncker Plan’s European Fund and Strategic Investments (EFSI). This is through providing an EU budget that will be able to guarantee the support and access to finances in the EU. It is also a goal for the InvestEU to manage and trigger the amount of 650 billion euros in additional investments.
There are four policy areas that will be supported by the InvestEU fund:
- Sustainable infrastructure
- Research innovation and digitization
- Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
- Social investments and skills
The flexibility of the programme will help with adjustments that will need to be made based on the evolution of the European and global marketplace and priority policies.
The InvestEU Advisory Hub will provide all the necessary technical support and assistance thus helping the processes of preparing, developing, structuring and implementing the projects under the programme, including capacity building.
The InvestEU Portal will be responsible to bring together potential investors as well as project promoters through an easily-accessible and user-friendly database.p>
How will it work?
The programme will work to mobilize both public and private investments. The guarantee budget will be close to 38 billion euros for the projects that will be implemented under the programme. There will also be financial partners such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) that is expected to contribute at least 9.5 billion euros in risk-bearing capacity.
Apart from the European Investment Bank, which will be the main financial partner for the programme, the InvestEU fund will be invested through more financial partners. Other financial partners include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank and the Council of Europe Bank as well as other national promotional banks.
Member states may also add to the EU’s guarantee provisioning. They can voluntarily channel up to 5% o their Cohesion Policy Funds and that way benefit from the EU guarantee and the high credit rating, national and regional investments they can receive!
The InvestEU finance
The programme will be market-based and demand-driven as well as policy-focused. Crowding-in private investors will have a positive effect on the EU’s goals regarding sustainability, scientific excellence and social inclusion. Here are how investments will be allocated, under the four policy areas:
- Sustainable infrastructure: €11.5 billion
- Research, innovation and digitisation: €11.25 billion
- SMEs: €11.25 billion
- Social investment and skills: €4 billion
What will be the InvestEU eligibility criteria?
- address market failures or investment gaps and be economically-viable
- need EU backing in order to get off the ground
- achieve a multiplier effect and where possible crowd-in private investment
- help meet EU policy objectives
There are more important questions to be answered for the InvestEU Fund to become a clear concept for potential stakeholders. In an effort to make this as clear as possible we will break down the process and explain how the Fund will work. Stay tuned for our future updates!
