Regional promotional banks can help make €315bn EU Investment Plan work - Hoofdinhoud
Promotional banks at the regional level must be taken into account in rolling out the Investment Plan for Europe argues an opinion by Adam Banaszak (PL/ECR) adopted at the European Committee of the Regions' plenary session. The Committee argues that local and regional authorities must be given a greater say deciding financial solutions and that ex-post evaluations should match the long-term nature of the projects.
The economic and financial crisis has had a significant impact on Europe's society and economy, which can still be felt today. The EU i's financial systems are not fully recovered yet, which results in an estimated gap of €300 billion in public and private investment since 2008. Promotional banks and investment platforms are stepping in across Europe to fill this gap but while the Commission focuses on national promotional banks, the CoR urges for local and regional solutions.
"Year on year, there has been a shortfall in investment which is threatening Europe's future. Regional promotional banks can help make the Investment Plan for Europe work and, coupled by careful public investment, kick-start growth. What is paramount is that local and regional authorities are given more flexibility to decide what financial solutions are right for their local economies. This is my top priority and will form the basis of our Bratislava Declaration to be adopted at our Summit in July later this year", said Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions.
Members of the CoR call for an increase in the role of local authorities in the creation, operation and evaluation of the impact of promotional banking in regions that do not have their own promotional instruments. They underline that this can be achieved by giving local and regional authorities a bigger say in the strategic focus and governance of national promotional banks or by complementing the services offered by national promotional banks through the creation of banks on the regional and local level.
"Ultimately, we need regional promotional banks to make the Investment Plan for Europe work and deliver results on the ground. The 'centralised' promotional support models based solely on a national bank and its non-autonomous local branches do not always meet the needs of local communities, especially in less developed regions", said the CoR rapporteur Adam Banaszak (PL/ECR).
Speaking to the Committee's members, Laszlo Baranyay, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, remarked, "cooperation with promotional banks is indeed critical for the European Investment Bank (EIB i) in order to deliver finance to boost growth, jobs and investment throughout the European Union. The complementarity between the ElB's pan-European scope and the local promotional banks’ depth of knowledge and impact within Member States is a tremendous asset for the Investment Plan for Europe, and we must make best use of its full potential ,
The Committee also expressed its concern about the European Commission's proposed assessment system. It underlined that the assessment system - which would be used before setting-up a new promotional bank - may hamper their operational capacity and complicate the process. They further point out that evaluations of a promotional banks effectiveness should be done on a longer-term basis (10-15 years), reflecting the timeframe of the investment projects.
Background:
The Investment Plan for Europe announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker i aims to leverage €315 billion of investment to fill the investment gap and create jobs and growth. While the implementation of the plan relies mainly on the Commission and EIB working together as strategic partners, an effective involvement of National Promotional Banks is necessary as reflected in the regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments. The Commission published a Communication on 27 July 2015 to provide guidance to Member States intending to set up new NPBs. The investment programme including the role of and cooperation among promotional banks is due to be evaluated following its completion on 30 June 2018.
Contact:
Carmen Schmidle
Tel. +32 (0)2 282 2366
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