Daily News 27 / 08 / 2019 - Government World Magazine

Juncker Plan in Lithuania: Vilnius Factoring Company to issue €10 million in new microloans with EIF support

Vilnius Factoring Company, a private lending company in Lithuania, has signed an agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF) to issue microloans of up to €25,000. Micro-enterprises and farmers in Lithuania can now benefit from non-banking funding opportunities under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI). The company is issuing microloans up to a total of €10 million with a guarantee from the EIF. The agreement is backed by the Juncker Plan’s European Fund for Strategic Investments, which allows the European Investment Bank Group to invest in more projects that often come with greater risks. Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, said: “Thanks to this financial support from the EU, more micro-entrepreneurs in Lithuania will gain access to finance. This will allow them to start up or develop their business, creating more jobs and opportunities at grassroots level. I warmly welcome this agreement which, once again, shows that, through our programme for employment and social innovation, the EU can take concrete action to tackle financial and social exclusion. This agreement brings us one step closer to building a fairer and more social Europe.” The funds can be invested in either the company’s working capital or its business development. More information can be found in this press release. As of July 2019, the Juncker Plan has mobilised €424 billion of additional investment, including €1.6 billion in Lithuania. The Plan is currently supporting 967,000 small and medium businesses across Europe. (For more information: Christian Wigand – Tel.: +32 229 62253; Siobhan Millbright – Tel.: +32 229 57361)

European Investment Bank signs €25 million financing deal with podcast company Acast under the Juncker Plan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €25 million ‘quasi-equity’ financing agreement with podcast company Acast to expand its research and development activities and to further develop its audio content distribution platform. As well as independent podcasts, Acast also looks after the audio content of larger publishers, such as the Financial Times, the Guardian, Vogue, Aftonbladet and Billboard.The EIB financing is supported by the Juncker Plan’s European Fund for Strategic Investments. The EIB’s ‘quasi-equity’ financing has the characteristics of an equity stake in the company, yet does not translate into the EIB owning shares in Acast. European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: “The main motivation for creating the Juncker Plan was to provide alternative sources of financing to innovative companies in need of financial support that struggled to obtain a traditional bank loan, and as a result to boost jobs, growth and investment in the EU. Today’s agreement between the EIB and Acast does exactly that, and it does so using a novel form of financing. I wish the company every success with its expansion plans.” More information can be found in this press release.As of July 2019, the Juncker Plan has mobilised €424 billion of additional investment, including €12.9 billion in Sweden. The Plan is currently supporting 967,000 small and medium businesses across Europe. (For more information: Vanessa Mock – Tel.: +32 229 56194; Siobhan Millbright – Tel.: +32 229 57361)

Concentrations : La Commission autorise l’acquisition du groupe OCEA par ICG et Predica

La Commission européenne a approuvé, en vertu du règlement européen sur les concentrations, l’acquisition du groupe OCEA, basé en France, par Intermediate Capital Group plc («ICG»), basé au Royaume Uni, et Prévoyance Dialogue du Crédit Agricole S.A. («Predica»), basée en France. OCEA est principalement présent dans le secteur de la gestion de la performance énergétique des logements sociaux et copropriétés. Predica est une compagnie française d’assurance-vie et d’assurance-santé appartenant au groupe Crédit Agricole qui offre une vaste gamme de services dans le domaine bancaire. ICG fournit des services de gestion d’actifs en Europe, Asie Pacifique et aux États-Unis. La Commission a conclu que l’opération envisagée ne soulèverait pas de problème de concurrence, compte tenu de son impact très limité sur la structure du marché.L’opération a été examinée dans le cadre de la procédure simplifiée du contrôle des concentrations. De plus amples informations sont disponibles sur le site internet concurrence de la Commission, dans le registre public des affaires sous le numéro d’affaire M.9436. (Pour plus d’informations: Lucía Caudet – Tel. +32 229 56182; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Concentrations: la Commission européenne autorise l’acquisition d’Indigo par Mirova et Predica

La Commission européenne a approuvé, en vertu du règlement européen sur les concentrations, l’acquisition d’Infra Foch Topco SAS, société holding du groupe Indigo (« Indigo »), par Mirova S.A. et Prévoyance Dialogue du Crédit Agricole S.A. (« Predica »), toutes trois basées en France. Indigo propose des services de stationnement de véhicules dans plusieurs états membres de l’Union européenne. Mirova est une société de gestion contrôlée par la Banque Populaire et Caisse d’Epargne. Predica est une compagnie française d’assurance-vie et d’assurance-santé appartenant au groupe Crédit Agricole qui offre une vaste gamme de services dans le domaine bancaire. L’opération donne lieu à des chevauchements horizontaux limités entre Mirova et Indigo sur les services de stationnement de véhicules dans quelques villes de France. La Commission a toutefois conclu que l’opération envisagée ne soulèverait pas de problèmes de concurrence en raison du nombre de parkings concurrents présents sur les marchés et du pouvoir de marché limité des entreprises concernées, en particulier de Mirova, dans le secteur. De plus amples informations sont disponibles sur le site internet concurrence de la Commission, dans le registre public des affaires sous le numéro d’affaire M.9367. (Pour plus d’informations: Lucía Caudet – Tel. +32 229 56182; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commissioner Oettinger travels to the Netherlands to discuss EU’s next long-term budget

European Commissioner in charge of Budget and Human Resources, Günther H. Oettinger, will travel to the Netherlands later today to talk about the EU budget for 2021-2027. In The Hague, the Commissioner will meet with the Dutch Minister of Finance Mr Wopke Hoekstra and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Stef Blok. The meetings with senior government representatives from the Netherlands are part of the ongoing efforts of the Commission to support the negotiations on the EU’s next long-term budget towards an agreement in the autumn of this year. Ahead of his visit, Commissioner Oettinger said: “The EU needs an agreement on EU’s next long-term budget as early as possible for the benefit of our entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers and students. The Commission is doing its best to make an autumn agreement a reality and we count on seeing all Member States – including the Netherlands – working towards the same objective. EU citizens expect results from us and we should be able to deliver.” On 2 May 2018, the Commission put forward a proposal for a modern, balanced and fair long-term budget to deliver on Europe’s priorities as set out by Leaders in Bratislava in 2016 and in Rome in 2017. Since then, the Commission has worked hand in hand with the rotating Presidencies of the Council, and in close collaboration with the European Parliament, to take the negotiations forward. In line with the conclusions from the European Council meeting of 20 and 21 June 2019, an agreement is due before the end of the year. The Commission shares the firm believe that sticking to this timeline is essential, for the hundreds of thousands of students, farmers and researchers across Europe, as well as everybody else who benefits from the EU budget. To facilitate this objective, Commissioner Oettinger travelled earlier this summer to Finland, which currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. More information about why a timely agreement is of key importance is available here and here. (For more information: Mina Andreeva – Tel.: +32 229 91382; Andreana Stankova – Tel.: +32 2 29 57857)

Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)