Investment Plan for Europe: evaluations give evidence to support its reinforcement

The Commission has today adopted a Communication which summarises the findings of three evaluations on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the core of the Investment Plan for Europe. Given the concrete results achieved since the Commission unveiled the Investment Plan two years ago, President Jean-Claude Juncker announced in his State of the Union address of 14 September that the EFSI would be reinforced to boost investment even further. A legislative proposal to that end was presented the same day. Three evaluations followed that proposal, including an independent evaluation that was foreseen when the EFSI was set up. All three find that the EFSI has already proven useful in encouraging a sustainable increase in investment across Member States through improving access to financing and mobilising private capital. It also identified areas in which the Investment Plan could be enhanced, for example as regards geographical coverage and technical assistance via the European Investment Advisory Hub. This Communication will feed into the legislative debate on the Commission’s proposal with the European Parliament and Member States. President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “The Investment Plan is our flagship policy. It has already shown it works to improve Europe’s investment environment. We have listened and learnt from the early experiences. The feedback we have received is in line with our proposal to fine-tune, expand and strengthen the Plan.”