Renewed InvestEU programme and Solvency Support Instrument

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the strengthening of the InvestEU programme and the complementary Solvency Support Instrument (SSI) and calls for swift agreement on these proposals to ensure that both programmes can be made operational quickly and that a sufficient number of eligible projects can be developed to benefit from them;
• asks the legislators to make provisions to ensure that there will not be a funding gap after 2026 and before the start of the MFF post-2027;  
• underlines that the COVID-19 crisis does not steer the EU away from its medium and long-term objectives, as outlined in the European Green Deal, the 2020 Sustainable Growth Strategy and the European Pillar for Social Rights;
• considers the InvestEU programme to be especially well-placed to provide long-term funding and to support Union policies in the recovery from a deep economic and social crisis;
• stresses the importance of having a clear definition of which projects are eligible to benefit from the new fifth window, as this is crucial to create complementarity with the other four policy windows;
• advocates for a wider definition of innovation that goes beyond information technology and digitalisation;
• considers that Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and in particular micro- and small enterprises, should be explicitly eligible for support under the new fifth window;
• calls for specific and clear guidelines aimed at identifying projects eligible to benefit from InvestEU, as well as on the possibilities for synergies between the numerous EU programmes, thereby ensuring their adequate and efficient implementation;
• welcomes the new Solvency Support Instrument and underlines the importance of ensuring that it can indeed benefit those Member States whose economies have been most affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic;
• underlines the role of the European financial markets in ensuring that these instruments can mobilise the expected amounts of investment, as well as the leading role of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and European Investment Fund (EIF)) and the considerable need for an appropriate structure for the implementing partners, especially at national level.