The President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Werner Hoyer, welcomed the legislative proposal by the European Commission to set up the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will be jointly established by the Commission and the EIB Group.
The President commented: “EFSI will unlock additional investment of at least EUR 315 billion over the next three years, strengthening confidence and improving the competitiveness of Europe´s economy.” He added: “We welcome that EFSI will be set up within the EIB Group. Our know-how and experience, in partnership with the Commission, will help provide fresh stimulus for the real economy in Europe. We have a strong track record of putting money to work.”
EFSI will be initially endowed with a EUR 16 billion guarantee from the Commission and EUR 5 billion from EIB´s own resources. EFSI will use these funds to provide catalytic, risk-bearing capacity, and enable project promoters to attract additional private finance for investment in strategic infrastructure and innovation, and small and medium enterprises.
President Hoyer: “This initiative marks a paradigm shift in the use of limited public resources, away from grants and subsidies, and toward loans and guarantees capable of leveraging private capital and of multiplying the effect of the initial funding, an approach in which the EIB has considerable experience.”
EFSI activities will be complemented by a European investment advisory “Hub” to help with project identification, preparation and development across the European Union. Also, a European Investment Project Pipeline is set to improve investors' knowledge of existing and potential future projects.