Activities of Antanas GUOGA related to 2015/0009(COD)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5

(5) On 15 July 2014, the then President- elect of the European Commission presented a set of Political Guidelines for the European Commission to the European Parliament. These Political Guidelines called for an Energy Union, a connected Digital Single Market, and the mobilisation of ‘up to EUR 300 billion in additional public and private investment in the real economy over the next three years’ to stimulate investment for the purpose of job creation.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Antanas GUOGA, Dita CHARANZOVÁ

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9

(9) The investment environment within the Union should be improved by removing barriers to investment, reinforcing the Single Market ~~and by enhancing regulatory predictability~~, in particular in energy, digital, and capital markets, by enhancing regulatory predictability and promoting a mentality shift towards a risk-taking culture. The work of the EFSI, and investments across Europe generally, should benefit from this accompanying work.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) The EFSI should support strategic investments with high economic and social value added contributing to achieving Union policy objectives. The EFSI should improve access to finance and the competitiveness of enterprises, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC, and invest in projects which aim to strengthen the Single Market. The EFSI should be complementary to existing EU programmes. In this context, the projects financed by the EFSI should have a higher risk than projects financed by other EU programmes or by other EIB operations.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Antanas GUOGA, Dita CHARANZOVÁ

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) Many small and medium enterprises, as well as mid-cap companies, across the Union require assistance to attract market financing, especially as regards investments that carry a greater degree of risk. The EFSI should help these businesses to overcome capital shortages by allowing the EIB and the European Investment Fund ('EIF') to provide direct and indirect equity injections, as well as to provide guarantees for high-quality securitisation of loans, and other products that are granted in pursuit of the aims of the EFSI. The EFSI should also ensure that the specificity of funding at different stages that innovative businesses, such as start-ups, need is taken into account.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14

(14) The EFSI should target projects delivering high societal and economic value. In particular, the EFSI should target projects that promote job creation, long- term growth and competitiveness, including through the development of innovation. The EFSI should support a wide range of financial products, including equity, debt or guarantees, to best accommodate the needs of the individual project. This wide range of products should allow the EFSI to adapt to market needs whilst encouraging private investment in the projects. The EFSI should not be a substitute for private market finance but should instead catalyse private finance by addressing market failures so as to ensure the most effective and strategic use of public money. The requirement for consistency with State aid principles should contribute to such effective and strategic use.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17

(17) Decisions on the use of the EFSI support for infrastructure and large mid- cap projects should be made by an Investment Committee. The Investment Committee should be composed of independent experts who are knowledgeable and experienced in the areas of ~~investment projects~~project structuring and project financing, and investment projects, and in different sectors, such as research and development, energy, transport and ICT. The Investment Committee should be accountable to a Steering Board of the EFSI, who should supervise the fulfilment of the EFSI's objectives. To effectively benefit from the experience of the EIF, the EFSI should support funding to the EIF to allow the EIF to undertake individual projects in the areas of small and medium enterprises and small mid-cap companies.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17 a (new)

(17a) For the purposes of the transparency, accountability and independence of the Steering Board and the Investment Committee, a system for the prevention of conflicts of interest should be adopted and implemented.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22

(22) In accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Infrastructure and project investments supported under EFSI should ~~be consistent~~comply with State aid rules. To that end, the Commission has announced that it will formulate a set of core principles, for the purpose of State aid assessments, which a project will have to meet to be eligible for support under the EFSI. If a project meets these criteria and receives support from the EFSI, the Commission has announced that any national complementary support, will be assessed under a simplified and accelerated State aid assessment whereby the only additional issue to be verified by the Commission will be the proportionality of public support (absence of overcompensation). The Commission has also announced that it will provide further guidance on the set of core principles with a view to ensuring an efficient use of public funds.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29

(29) To partially finance the contribution from the Union budget, the available envelopes of the Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2014-2020, provided by Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council2, and the Connecting Europe Facility, provided by Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council3, should be reduced. Those programmes serve purposes that are not replicated by the EFSI. However, the reduction of both programmes to finance the guarantee fund ~~is expected to~~should ensure a greater investment in certain areas of their respective mandates than is possible through the existing programmes, including energy interconnections, the synchronisation of energy systems and digital highways. The EFSI should be able to leverage the EU guarantee to multiply the financial effect within those areas of research, development and innovation and transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure compared to if the resources had been spent via grants within the planned Horizon 2020 and Connecting Europe Facility programmes. It is, therefore, appropriate to redirect part of the funding presently envisaged for those programmes to the benefit of EFSI. __________________ 2 Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) and repealing Decision No 1982/2006/EC (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 104). 3 Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010 (OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 129).

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34

(34) To ensure accountability to European citizens, the EIB should regularly report to the European Parliament and the Council on the progress and impact of the EFSI and its complementarity with other instruments and programmes.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1

The Commission shall ~~conclude~~be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 20a concerning an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on the establishment of a European Fund for Strategic Investments ('EFSI').

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

The purpose of the EFSI shall be to support investments that create growth and jobs in the Union and to ensure increased access to financing for companies having up to 3000 employees, with a particular focus on small and medium enterprises, through the supply of risk bearing capacity to the EIB ('EFSI Agreement').

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Antanas GUOGA, Kaja KALLAS, Dita CHARANZOVÁ

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

The purpose of the EFSI shall be to support investments in the Union and to ensure increased access to financing for companies having up to 3000 employees, with a particular focus on small and medium enterprises, and innovative enterprises, through the supply of risk bearing capacity to the EIB ('EFSI Agreement').

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1

For as long as the only contributors to the EFSI are the Union and the EIB, the number of members and votes within the Steering Board shall be allocated based on the respective size of contributions in the form of cash or guarantees.deleted

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1

When other parties accede to the EFSI Agreement in accordance with Article 1(2), the number of members and votes within the Steering Board shall be allocated based on the respective size of contributions from contributors in the form of cash or guarantees. The number of members and votes of the Commission and the EIB, according to paragraph 2, shall be recalculated accordingly.deleted

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2

The Investment Committee shall be composed of six independent experts and the Managing Director. Independent experts shall have a high level of relevant market experience in project ~~finance and~~structuring and project financing. The Investment Committee shall have expertise in different sectors, with a particular focus on research and development, energy, ICT and transport. It shall be appointed by the Steering Board for a renewable fixed term of three years.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 3 a (new)

The Investment Committee shall be accountable to the Steering Board of the EFSI, which shall supervise the achievement of the EFSI's objectives, but when implementing the guidelines adopted by the Steering Board, the Investment Committee shall not take instructions from the EIB, the Member States, other EU institutions or any other body.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1

The EU guarantee shall be granted for EIB financing and investment operations approved by the Investment Committee referred to in Article 3(5) or funding to the EIF in order to conduct EIB financing and investment operations in accordance with Article 7(2). The investment operations concerned shall be complementary to existing EU programmes, bring EU added value, be consistent with Union policies and support any of the following general objectives:

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1

The EU guarantee shall be granted for EIB financing and investment operations approved by the Investment Committee referred to in Article 3(5) or funding to the EIF in order to conduct EIB financing and investment operations in accordance with Article 7(2). The EFSI shall target projects with a higher risk profile than existing EIB and Union instruments or programmes so as to ensure additionality over existing operations. The operations concerned shall be consistent with Union policies and support any of the following general objectives:

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a

(a) development of infrastructure, including in the areas of transport, particularly in industrial centres; energy, in particular energy interconnections and the synchronisation of energy systems; and digital infrastructure;

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point e

(e) providing financial support for the companies referred to in Article 1(1), including working capital risk financing, as appropriate in relation to the different stages of development of those companies.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO

Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1

1. The EIB shall notify OLAF promptly and provide it with the necessary information when, at any stage of the preparation, implementation or closure of operations subject to the EU guarantee, it has grounds to suspect that there is a potential case of conflict of interests, fraud, corruption, money laundering or other illegal activity that may affect the financial interests of the Union.

2015/03/13
Committee: IMCO