#investEU Newsletter

On 8 December, the European Parliament and EU Member States in the Council reached apolitical agreement on the InvestEU Regulation. Once the European Parliament Plenary and the Council approve the final text and the Regulation enters into force, InvestEU will provide the EU with crucial long-term funding, crowding in private investments in support of a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and helping build a greener, more digital and more resilient European economy.

The main elements of the political agreement include: four policy windows (Sustainable Infrastructure; Research, Innovation and Digitisation; SMEs; Social Investment and Skills); an overall EU budgetary guarantee of EUR 26.2 billion; possibility of strategic investments to promote the EU’s open strategic autonomy in key sectors; at least 30% of investments will contribute to the EU objectives on climate action; Just Transition Scheme to generate additional investments to the benefit of just transition regions; possibility to implement part of the national plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility via the InvestEU programme and the InvestEU Advisory Hub; implementation in partnership with the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund and multiple other implementing partners.

InvestEU is the EU's proposed flagship investment programme to kick-start the European economy. It is well-placed to provide long-term funding and to support Union policies in the recovery from a deep economic and social crisis. The InvestEU Programme builds on the success of the Investment Plan for Europe and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

For more information:

• Questions and Answers: The proposed InvestEU Programme
• The InvestEU programme - legal texts and factsheets
• Becoming an Implementing Partner in the context of the InvestEU Programme – Pillar assessment

• As of December 2020, EFSI is expected to trigger €546.5 billion in additional investments and to benefit more than 1.46 million small and mid-sized companies.

As of December 2020, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) was expected to trigger €546.5 billion in overall investments (exceeding the initial target of €500 billion, ahead of the end-2020 deadline) and to benefit around 1,460,732 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in all 28 Member States. Currently, the top five countries ranked in order of investment amounts triggered relative to GDP are Estonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Portugal and Spain. In absolute terms, the top five beneficiary countries are France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Poland.

Under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window, the European Investment Bank approved 1,062 projects amounting to €314.5 billion in expected total investment value in all 28 Member States. Approved EFSI financing under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window amounts to €69.7 billion.

Under the SME Window, the European Investment Fund has approved 816 operations in all 28 Member States for a total expected investment value of over €232.0 billion. Approved EFSI financing under the SME Window amounts to €33.0 billion.

The investment period during which the EU guarantee may be granted for supporting financing and investment operations covered by the EFSI Regulation ended on 31 December 2020. Contract between the EIB Group and beneficiary or financial intermediaries of operations approved until 31 December 2020 can be signed until 31 December 2022.

For more information and project examples for each Member State:

• Press release
• Investment Plan results
• Factsheet
• EIB/JRC 2019: Assessing the macroeconomic impact of the EIB Group

The European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH), a joint initiative by the Commission and the EIB, is a single access point to advisory and technical assistance services. The EIAH offers a single access point to a 360 degree offer of advisory and technical assistance services with the aim of strengthening Europe's investment and business environment.

The EIAH has already received 1,837 requests from all Member States. 611 of those requests received or are receiving detailed advisory support. The top countries requesting support are Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, France, Greece and Belgium. 56% of the project-specific requests come from the private sector. Financial support to SMEs and small midcaps, environment and resource efficiency, development of transport and of energy sectors are the main domains covered by the requests.

The EIAH has signed more than 29 active agreements with national promotional institutions (NPIs) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Member States to develop their ability to support investment pipelines and to enhance local provision of assistance. Nine Funding Agreements were signed with National Promotional Banks (NPBs) since the launch of a call for proposals in December 2017 to support the development and delivery of local advisory services.

For more information:

• European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH)

The European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) was established by the Commission to provide greater transparency about EU investment opportunities. The EIPP is the EU's online matchmaking portal, connecting EU project promoters to investors worldwide. The EIPP went live on 1 June 2016 and offers EU-based project promoters a convenient way to boost the visibility of their investment projects and attract investors worldwide.

The EIPP features currently around 1,070 investment projects from all EU Member States (projects from the UK have been removed as of 31/12/2020), covering all sectors of the EU economy. A number of the projects have already received financing after publication on the EIPP. Most of the projects come from the knowledge and digital economy sector followed by financing for SMEs and midcaps, and the social sector. The total investment proposed amounts to €62 billion. The top countries where the published projects come from are Spain, Germany, Italy and France. As of July 2020, the EIPP is publishing projects that are awarded with a dedicated ‘COVID-19 Response Seal of Excellence’ by the Commission’s Research and Innovation DG. Recently, also a “Green deal” tag is assigned to new projects in this area.

In the first quarter of 2021, when the “InvestEU” Regulation has entered into force, the EIPP will become the “InvestEU Portal”, with new features.

For more information:

• European Investment Project Portal (EIPP)

• Austria: EIB Group cooperates with Hypo Vorarlberg to support climate action investments;
• Austria/Finland/Germany/Luxembourg/Netherlands: First six Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Technology funds backed by InnovFin raise a total of EUR 700m;
• Bulgaria: EIB and Boni Holding AD agree €30 million loan under Investment Plan for Europe;
• Bulgaria: EIF and Raiffeisenbank sign a €10 million guarantee agreement to support SMEs in the culture and creative sectors in Bulgaria;
• Estonia: European support for SMEs in cultural and creative sectors with €6 million guarantee to Finora Capital;
• Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania: EU and Luminor support Baltic SMEs and Mid-Caps;
• Finland: European backing for Finnish crowdlending platform Vauraus;
• France: Ages & Vie speeds up development supported by the signature of a first €55m loan agreement between Korian and the EIB;
• France: GAGEO annonce le deuxième closing du fonds GAGEO 1 à hauteur de 85 M€;
• France: European Commission announces support for the Venture Centre of Excellence programme;
• Germany: European Investment Bank provides €290 million to Wacker Chemie;
• Germany: European Investment Bank provides €15 million of funding to IDnow;
• Germany: EIB Group and Commerzbank join forces to support small and mid-sized companies in COVID-crisis;
• Italy: EU backs MMI's Robotic System for Microsurgery;
• Luxembourg: European Investment Bank Announces first direct financing for a start-up in the European “New Space” sector - €20 million venture loan for Spire Global;
• Netherlands: Dutch district heating gets green acceleration;
• Netherlands: European guarantee for Invest-NL to expand financing options to innovative SMEs;
• Netherlands: ING and EIB Group come to the aid of Dutch SMEs and Mid-Caps during COVID-19;
• Poland: EIB provides additional support to chemical company PCC Rokita;
• Poland: EIB and LBBW finance four wind farms near Poznan;
• Portugal: Web Summit: EIB provides Bizay with €20 million to support its R&D programme and product development, promoting employment in Portugal;
• Slovakia: Slovakia: EIB Group and Slovenská sporitelňa (SLSP) join forces to support SMEs and mid-caps impacted by COVID-19;
• Spain: First operation under Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF): EIB and Banca March support Spanish companies affected by the COVID-19 crisis;
• Spain: EIB and Municipality of Malaga join forces to build 476 new social housing units in the Andalusian city;
• Spain: EIB finances Ferrer's RDI strategy with €50 million;
• Spain: Web Summit: EIB finances Worldsensing with €10 million to develop next-generation industrial monitoring solution;
• Spain: EIB and Gmp join forces to promote investment in sustainable buildings in Madrid;
• Spain: European Investment Bank provides Minoryx with up to €25 million to support development of breakthrough therapies in orphan neurodegenerative diseases;
• Spain: EIB Group and Santander provide over €900 million to support Spanish SMEs affected by the COVID-19 crisis;
• Sweden: EU backs Swedish cancer treatment research with quasi equity investment.