27 Amendments of Angelika MLINAR related to 2018/0229(COD)
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) With 1.8% of EU GDP, down from 2.2% in 2009, infrastructure investment activities in the Union in 2016 were about 20% below investment rates before the global financial crisis. Thus, while a recovery in investment-to-GDP ratios in the Union can be observed, it remains below what might be expected in a strong recovery period and is insufficient to compensate years of underinvestment. More importantly, the current investment levels and forecasts do not cover the Union’s structural investment needs in the face of technological change and global competitiveness, including for innovation, research, skills, infrastructure, small and medium- sized enterprises ('SMEs'), start- ups, and the need to address key societal challenges such as sustainability or population ageing. Consequently, continued support is necessary to address market failures and sub-optimal investment situations to reduce the investment gap in targeted sectors to achieve the Union's policy objectives.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In the last years, the Union has adopted ambitious strategies to complete the Single Market and to stimulate sustainable growth and jobs, such as the Capital Markets Union, the Digital Single Market Strategy, the Clean Energy for all Europeans package, the Union Action Plan for the Circular Economy, Horizon 2020, the Low- Emission Mobility Strategy, the Defence and the Space Strategy for Europe. The InvestEU Fund should exploit and reinforce synergies between those mutually reinforcing strategies through providing support to investment and access to financing.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) The InvestEU Fund should contribute to improving the competitiveness of the Union, including in the field of innovation and digitisation, scientific excellence, the sustainability of the Union's economic growth, the social resilience and inclusiveness and the integration of the Union capital markets, including solutions addressing their fragmentation and diversifying sources of financing for the Union enterprises. To that end, it should support projects that are technically and economically viable by providing a framework for the use of debt, risk sharing and equity instruments underpinned by a guarantee from the Union's budget and by contributions from implementing partners. It should be demand-driven while support under the InvestEU Fund should at the same time focus on contributing to meeting policy objectives of the Union.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5a) Access to finance remains an essential issue for companies in the cultural and creative sector. To further develop this highly innovation sector, the dedicated guarantee facility created in Creative Europe will be continued under InvestEU as it has showed to successfully strengthen the financial capacity and competitiveness of cultural and creative sectors companies.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) According to the 2018 Global Risks Report issued by the World Economic Forum, half of the ten most critical risks threatening the global economy relate to the environment. Such risks include air, soil , inland water and ocean pollution, extreme weather events, biodiversity losses and failures of climate-change mitigation and adaptation. Environmental principles are strongly embedded in the Treaties and many of the Union's policies. Therefore, the mainstreaming of environmental objectives should be promoted in the InvestEU Fund related operations. Environmental protection and related risk prevention and management should be integrated in the preparation and implementation of investments. The EU should also track its biodiversity-related and air pollution control-related expenditure in order to fulfil the reporting obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council15 Investment allocated to environmentally sustainability objectives should therefore be tracked using common methodologies coherent with that developed under other Union programmes applying to climate, biodiversity and air pollution management in order to allow assessing the individual and combined impact of investments on the key components of the natural capital, including air, water, land and biodiversity. __________________ 15 Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 1).
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) A significant effort is urgently needed to invest in digital transformation and to distribute the benefits of it to all Union citizens and businesses, in urban and rural areas. The strong policy framework of the Digital Single Market Strategy should now be matched by investment of a similar ambition, including in artificial intelligence.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the Union. However, they face challenges when accessing finance because of their perceived high risk and lack of sufficient collateral. Additional challenges arise from SMEs' need to stay competitive by engaging in digitisation, internationalisation and innovation activities and skilling up their workforce. Moreover, compared to larger enterprises, they have access to a more limited set of financing sources: they typically do not issue bonds, have only limited access to stock exchanges or large institutional investors. The challenge in accessing finance is even greater for those SMEs whose activities focus on intangible assets. SMEs in the Union rely heavily on banks and debt financing in the form of bank overdrafts, bank loans or leasing. Supporting SMEs that face the above challenges by simplifying their access to finance and providing more diversified sources of funding is necessary for increasing the ability of SMEs to finance their creation, growth and development, withstand economic downturns, and for making the economy and the financial system more resilient during economic downturn or shocks. This is also complementary to the initiatives already undertaken in the context of the Capital Markets Union. Programmes such as COSME and H2020 have been important for SMEs in that they facilitated access to finance in all phases of their lifecycle, and that this was added to by EFSI for which there was a quick SME uptake. The InvestEU Fund should provide an opportunity to focus on specific, more targeted financial products.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) In selecting implementing partners for the deployment of the InvestEU Fund, the Commission should consider the counterpart's capacity to fulfil the objectives of the InvestEU Fund and contribute its own resources, in order to ensure adequate geographical coverage and diversification, to crowd-in private investors and to provide sufficient risk diversification as well as new solutions to address market failures and sub-optimal investment situations. Given its role under the Treaties, its capacity to operate in all Member States and the existing experience under the current financial instruments and the EFSI, the European Investment Bank (‘EIB’) Group should remain a privileged implementing partner under the InvestEU Fund's EU compartment. In addition to the EIB Group, national or regional promotional banks or institutions should be able to offer a complementary financial product range given that their experience and capabilities at regional level could be beneficial for the maximisation of the impact of public funds on the territory of the Union. Moreover, it should be possible to have other international financial institutions as implementing partners, in particular when they present a comparative advantage in terms of specific expertise and experience in certain Member States. It should also be possible for other entities fulfilling the criteria laid down in the Financial Regulation to act as implementing partners.
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) In order to ensure that interventions under the EU compartment of the InvestEU Fund focus on market failures and sub- optimal investment situations at Union level, but, at the same time, satisfy the objectives of best possible geographic outreach, the EU guarantee should be allocated to implementing partners, which alone or together with other implementing partners, can cover at least threewo Member States. However, it is expected that around 75 % of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment would be allocated to implementing partner or partners that can offer financial products under the InvestEU Fund in all Member States.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 36
Recital 36
(36) In order to ensure a wide geographic outreach of the advisory services across the Union and to successfully leverage local knowledge about the InvestEU Fund, a local presence of the InvestEU Advisory Hub should be ensured, where neede in each Member State, with a particular focus on ensuring a presence in regions that face difficulties in developing projects under the InvestEU Fund, taking into account existing support schemes, with a view to provide tangible, proactive, tailor-made assistance on the ground.
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 15 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 15 a (new)
(15a) 'start up' means an enterprise that is often tech-enabled, in general combines fast growth, high reliance on innovation of product, processes and financing, utmost attention to new technological developments and extensive use of innovative business models, and, often, collaborative platforms 1a __________________ 1a COM (2016) 733
Amendment 196 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) to increase and simplify the access to and the availability of finance for SMEs and, in duly justified cases, for small mid- cap companies;
Amendment 221 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) sustainable infrastructure policy window: comprises sustainable investment in the areas of transport, energy, digital connectivity, supply and processing of raw materials, space, oceans , inland water, waste, nature and other environment infrastructure, equipment, mobile assets and deployment of innovative technologies that contribute to the environmental or social sustainability objectives of the Union, or to both, or meet the environmental or social sustainability standards of the Union;
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) SMEs policy window: simplified access to and availability of finance for SMEs and, in duly justified cases, for small mid-cap companies;
Amendment 236 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point d
(d) social investment and skills policy window: comprises microfinance, social enterprise finance, female entrepreneurship and social economy; skills, education, training and related services; social infrastructure (including social and student housing); social innovation; health and long-term care; inclusion and accessibility; cultural activities with a social goal; integration of vulnerable people, including third country nationals.
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. The SMEs policy window shall further develop the different EU guarantee facilities merged under InvestEU, in particular the Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility from the Creative Europe Programme.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
For the EU compartment, the eligible counterparts shall have expressed their interest and shall be able to cover financing and investment operations in at least threewo Member States. The implementing partners may also cover together financing and investment operations in at least threewo Member States by forming a group.
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 6
Article 20 – paragraph 6
6. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall have locala presence, where necessary. It shall be established in particular in Member State in every member state, with a special focus orn regions that face difficulties in developing projects under the InvestEU Fund. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall assist in the transfer of knowledge to the regional and local level with a view to building up regional and local capacity and expertise for support referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 377 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2
Article 27 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission shall implementlaunch an effective, informationve and EU-wide communication actions relating tostrategy to accompany the InvestEU Programme and its actions and resulin order increase the visibility of this programme, especially for SMEs, and therefore to attract the best potential projects. Financial resources allocated to the InvestEU Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, as far as they are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.
Amendment 403 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – introductory part
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – introductory part
2. Development of sustainable transport infrastructures and innovative mobility solutions, and equipment and innovative technologies in accordance with Union transport priorities and the commitments taken under the Paris Agreement, in particular through:
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point a
(a) projects supporting development of the TEN-T infrastructure, including its urban nodes, maritime and inland ports, airports, multimodal terminals and their connection to the main networks;
Amendment 410 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point b
(b) smart and sustainable urban mobility projects (targeting low-emission urban transport modes, accessibility, air pollution and noise, energy consumption and accidentsroad safety);
Amendment 411 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point d
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point d
(d) railway infrastructure, other rail projects, inland waterway infrastructure and maritime ports;
Amendment 421 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point h a (new)
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point h a (new)
(ha) Energy efficiency
Amendment 425 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 4
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 4
4. Development of digital connectivity infrastructure, in particular through projects supporting deployment of very high capacity digital networks., in urban and rural areas
Amendment 452 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 8
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 8
8. Cultural and creative sectors; media, augaming industry; fashion industry; medioa-visual sector and journalism; European Cultural Heritage Cloud.
Amendment 455 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 11 – point a
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point 11 – point a
(a) microfinance, social enterprise finance, female entrepreneurship and social economy;