Member states' EU ambassadors today agreed the Council's partial mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament on a revised Commission proposal for the InvestEU programme.
The aim of InvestEU is to encourage public and private investor
participation in financing and investment operations by providing
guarantees from the EU budget to address failures and sub-optimal
investment situations. The Commission presented a revised proposal for
this programme as part of the revised multiannual financial framework
and recovery package in May 2020. A key element of the revised proposal
was the introduction of a new fifth window for strategic European
investments in addition to the previously proposed policy windows for
sustainable infrastructure, research, innovation and digitisation, SMEs,
and social investment and skills.
Following the European Council conclusions of 17-21 July, the Council
integrated the proposed new strategic European investment window into
the other four policy windows, which therefore may support final
recipients whose activities are of strategic importance to the EU, in
particular in view of the green and digital transitions, enhanced
resilience and strengthening strategic value chains.
The Council also anchors the Just Transition Scheme under InvestEU,
as the second pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism, in the InvestEU
regulation. The scheme will be established horizontally across all
policy windows to support investments which adress social, economic or
environmental challenges deriving from the transition process towards EU
climate neutrality by 2050 and the achievement of the EU's 2030 climate
target, benefitting the territories most negatively affected.
On the basis of the guidance received from the European Council in
July, the Council indicates that the EU guarantee for the InvestEU
programme will amount to €23.5 billion, to be provisioned at the rate of
40%. The EU guarantee is distributed across the four policy windows as
follows:
35% for the sustainable infrastructure window
27.5 % for the research, innovation and digitisation window
27.5% for the SME window
10% for the social investment and skills window
On other parts of the InvestEU proposal, including governance, the
Council's position reflects the common understanding reached with the
European Parliament in April 2019.
Next steps
Negotiations with the European Parliament are expected to start as soon as the Parliament has agreed on its mandate.
© Council of the European Union
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