Markku Markkula welcomes the Parliament's green light to EFSI: "CoR will mobilise regions and cities to put forward quality projects for the Investment Plan"
The adoption by the European Parliament of the regulation for the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) was welcomed by the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula: "We are happy see the new regulation taking on board the CoR's call for creating incentives for higher risk projects to boost growth while ensuring consistency with the economic, social and territorial cohesion across the EU. We also welcome that the 315bn Investment plan will work in synergy with the Structural and Investment funds and in the same time avoid any overlapping in order to ensure a clear added value of EFSI projects."
The CoR is pleased with the possibility of local and regional authorities' and of regional banks' to contribute directly in the EFSI projects, giving room also for smaller ventures. The Committee has also established a working partnership with the European Investment Bank to simplify and speed-up the implementation of projects. In addition, it is encouraging to see the inclusion in the investment platforms of different stakeholders, from regional and local authorities and citizens to researchers and business.
Cities' and regions' contribution was highlighted also by the European Commission's Vice-President in charge for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen i: "Regional level activity is essential for the successful implementation of the Investment Plan. All levels of government have a share in improving the investment environment, providing greater regulatory predictability and removing barriers to investment."
The role of the European Investment Advisory Hub to guide and assist local projects hand-in-hand with the existing national and regional operators, as well as the creation of an open European Investment Projects Portal was highlighted by President Markkula: "In our view, the advisory hub allows the regional and local authorities to contribute to the establishment and management of the EFSI projects. Moreover, by better informing regions and cities through the investment project portal, we can help them to share good practices and thus improve the quality of the investment proposals".
The rapporteur of the CoR EFSI opinion, Claude Gewerc, President of the Picardy Region (FR/PES), also welcomed the agreement: "The work of the European Committee of the Regions has usefully contributed to the parliamentary report on the EFSI. This step opens effectively the way to a better involvement of regional and local authorities, while limiting the initial will to reduce the EU budget credits allocated to scientific research and innovation (H2020) and Connecting Europe Facility funds."
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