The European Parliament adopted by 496 votes to 57, with 144 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the InvestEU programme.
The proposed regulation aims to establish the InvestEU Fund, which will provide an EU guarantee in support of financing and investment operations carried out by implementing partners that contribute to the EU's policy objectives. The Commission and the EIB Group would establish a partnership to support the implementation of the InvestEU programme and promote its consistency, inclusiveness, additionality and efficient deployment.
The European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amends the Commission's proposal as follows:
Objectives of the InvestEU Programme
The general objective of the InvestEU Programme is to support the policy objectives of the Union by means of financing and investment operations that contribute to:
- the competitiveness of the Union, including research, innovation and digitisation;
- growth and employment in the Union economy, the sustainability of the Union economy and its environmental and climate dimension contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement and to the creation of high-quality jobs;
- the social resilience, inclusiveness and innovativeness of the Union;
- the promotion of scientific and technological advances, of culture, education and training;
- the integration of Union capital markets and the strengthening of the internal market, including solutions to address the fragmentation of Union capital markets, diversify sources of financing for Union enterprises and promote sustainable finance;
- the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion; or
- the sustainable and inclusive recovery of the Union economy after the COVID-19 crisis, including by providing capital support for SMEs that were negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis and were not already in difficulty in State aid terms at the end of 2019.
Budget and amount of the EU guarantee
The InvestEU Fund would mobilise public and private investment through an EU guarantee of EUR 26 152 310 073 (current prices) that would support the investment projects of implementing partners. The guarantee would be provisioned at 40%. An additional amount of the EU guarantee could also be provided in the form of cash or guarantees by the Member States.
It is provided that EUR 11 327 310 073 (current prices) be earmarked for objectives relating to support for sustainable infrastructure, research, innovation and digitalisation, accessibility of finance for SMEs and availability of microfinance and finance for social enterprises.
The actions taken should contribute to achieving a target of 30% of all Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) expenditure dedicated to the integration of climate objectives and the ambition to have 7.5% of the budget earmarked for biodiversity expenditure in 2024 and 10% in 2026 and 2027.
Policy windows
The InvestEU Fund would operate through four policy windows, each aimed at addressing market failures or sub-optimal investment situations in their specific scope, namely:
(1) sustainable infrastructure (up to EUR 9 887 682 891);
(2) research, innovation and digitisation (up to EUR 6 575 653 460);
(3) SMEs (up to EUR 6 906 732 440);
(4) social investment and skills (up to EUR 2 782 241 282).
Just Transition Mechanism
A Just Transition Facility would be implemented horizontally across all policy strands. This would include investments to address social, economic or environmental challenges arising from the transition process towards the EU's 2030 climate target and its 2050 climate neutrality objective.
Strategic investments
All policy windows may include strategic investments including important projects of common European interest to support final recipients whose activities are of strategic importance to the Union, in particular in view of the green and digital transitions, of enhanced resilience and of strengthening strategic value chains.
In the case of strategic investments in defence and space sectors and in cybersecurity, as well as in specific types of projects with actual and direct security implications in critical sectors, the investment guidelines) should set out limitations with respect to final recipients controlled by a third country or third country entities and final recipients having their executive management outside the EU.
Investor advice and information services
The regulation would also establish:
- an ‘Invest EU Advisory Hub’ to support the development of investible projects, facilitate access to finance and assist in related capacity building;
- an ‘InvestEU Portal’, a database that would give visibility to projects for which promoters are seeking funding and provide investors with information on investment opportunities.
The financial envelope for the implementation of these measures would be set at EUR 430 000 000 (current prices).