| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2015) 10 final (13.1.15) |
| Publication Date | 13/01/2015 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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As a consequence of the economic and financial crisis, the level of investment in the EU has dropped by about 15% since its peak in 2007. The current level is well below what historical trends would imply, and – in the absence of action – projections point towards an only partial rebound over the coming years. Economic recovery, job creation, long-term growth and competitiveness are being hampered as a result. This investment gap poses risks to reaching the targets set by the Europe 2020 Strategy. The President of the European Commission in his Political Guidelines for the Commission 2014-2019 therefore identified this issue as a key policy challenge, as did the European Council on 18 December 2014 as well as the Group of Twenty Leaders' Summit on 15-16 November 2014. General uncertainty about the economic situation, high levels of public and private debt in parts of the EU economy and their impact on credit risk limit the room for manoeuvre. However, significant levels of savings and high levels of financial liquidity exist. Moreover, recent enquiries conducted jointly by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and EU Member States have confirmed that a significant number of viable investment projects remains unfunded. Against this backdrop, in its Communication "An Investment Plan for Europe", published on 26 November 2014, the Commission proposed an EU-level initiative to address this issue. The Plan is based on three mutually reinforcing strands. First, the mobilisation of at least €315 billion in additional investment over the next three years, maximising the impact of public resources and unlocking private investment. Second, targeted initiatives to make sure that this extra investment meets the needs of the real economy. And third, measures to provide greater regulatory predictability and to remove barriers to investment, making Europe more attractive and thereby multiplying the impact of the Plan. This proposal creates the necessary legal framework and provides the budgetary allocations for the first two strands of the Plan in the framework of the EU's legal order. Upon adoption of the proposed regulation, it will be implemented jointly by the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), as strategic partners, with the clear aim of rallying stakeholders at all levels. For the third strand of the Investment Plan concerning the regulatory environment and the removal of barriers to investment, the Commission has set out a first set of actions in its Work Programme, adopted on 16 December 2014. The Commission will also work together with the other EU Institutions and the Member States in the context of the European Semester as far as these matters are concerned. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2015:010:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
