With this agreement, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission can start the interinstitutional discussion to adopt the programme. InvestEU will make EU funding for investment projects simpler to access and more efficient. It will bring together under one roof and with a single brand 14 EU financial instruments currently available to support investment.
Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: “InvestEU is our 21st century answer to the EU’s investment needs and this agreement by Member States is a key step towards the creation of that programme. By triggering at least €650 billion of additional investment in the EU, InvestEU will boost our competitiveness in support of a smarter, circular economy, a more cohesive society and climate neutrality.”
By providing an EU budget guarantee of at least €38 billion, the InvestEU Fund will crowd in public and private resources to mobilise investments in four main areas: sustainable infrastructure; research, innovation and digitisation; small and medium businesses; and social investment and skills.
Creating jobs, boosting investment and achieving sustainable economic growth has been President Jean-Claude Juncker‘s number one priority since the Commission took office in November 2014. The Commission’s proposal for InvestEU builds on the success of the Investment Plan for Europe – the Juncker Plan – which has already mobilised almost €380 billion of investments since its launch and supported 842,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the EU.
The budgetary aspects of InvestEU are subject to the overall agreement on the EU’s next long-term budget, proposed by the Commission in May 2018.
For more information
Press release: InvestEU Programme to support jobs, growth and innovation in Europe
Memo: InvestEU Programme – questions and answers
Factsheet: What is InvestEU?
Factsheet: InvestEU – what will it finance?
Proposal for a Regulation establishing the InvestEU Programme
Follow Vice-President Katainen on Twitter: @jyrkikatainen
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