The Investment Plan for Europe – high political stakes

Summary:

In January 2015, the European Commission proposed its “Investment Plan for Europe”, as promised by Jean-Claude Juncker in his campaign for the Presidency. The centrepiece of this initiative was the setting up of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), targeting the injection of €315 billion in the European economy. The EFSI in particular aims to stimulate private investment in infrastructure, innovative projects and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through a guarantee on the EU budget worth €16 billion given to the European Investment Bank (EIB) in order to generate about €60 billion of loans and guarantees to support riskier projects, for an estimated total of €315 billion in investment leveraged. The EFSI reinforces the role of the EIB as the public bank of the EU.