Communication : Strengthening European investments for jobs and growth – towards a second phase of the European Fund for Strategic Investments and a new European External Investment Plan

Background and further information:

Since November 2014, the Commission has mobilised significant EU financial resources in an innovative way that maximises the impact of public funds and mobilises private investment. Sustainable investment, in particular in infrastructure and small and medium-sized companies, has been at the centre of its political action, notably through a more efficient use of the limited resources of the EU budget, accompanied by measures improving the general business environment.

The Commission continues to promote new ways to make the most of each euro of public resources, to mobilise the private sector and deliver tangible results in the real economy. In the EU, this approach is already showing encouraging results. The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), core of the Investment Plan for Europe, should therefore be reinforced and extended, both in time and as regards its financial capacity.

Outside the EU, this new approach will also be useful to address the multiple challenges both in the EU Neighbourhood and in Africa. Against this background, and with a view to promoting sustainable development, jobs and growth in partner countries and addressing root causes of migration, the Commission is putting forward an ambitious European External Investment Plan (EIP).

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: State of the Union 2016: Strengthening European Investments for jobs and growth http://www.europeansources.info/record/state-of-the-union-2016-strengthening-european-investments-for-jobs-and-growth/

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