An EU investment fund for economic resilience and sustainable competitiveness

Key points

The EESC:

• considers that while the EU has set ambitious goals with respect to decarbonisation, digitalisation, resilience and sustainable competitiveness, the funding gap remains the Achilles heel of these ambitions;

• underlines that the EU needs to improve the framework conditions for private investments in the Single Market, including the implementation of central components of the Capital Markets Union, completing the banking union, integrating the European energy market, speeding up permitting procedures and reducing the regulatory burden while preserving social standards;

• stresses that substantial amounts of public funding are needed to trigger private investments in areas where there is not yet a business case for carbon-neutral solutions and in strategic sectors where production would otherwise take place in geoeconomically competing world regions where dependencies could be abused. Public funds are also key for investments in infrastructure (e.g. in grids or hydrogen pipelines) and in other public goods which market actors have no incentive to provide;

• concurs that in order to ensure effective and growth-friendly implementation of the reformed Stability and Growth Pact, the new legal framework focused on controlling debt and deficit levels must be complemented by a targeted EU-level investment capacity, aimed at increasing the sustainable competitiveness and economic resilience of the EU Single Market;

• proposes that an EU investment fund be established as part of the next Multiannual Financial Framework with the aim to provide financial resources for investment projects that are of strategic European interest. A set of criteria should guide the prioritisation and selection of eligible investments;

• has identified four investment fields that deserve EU-level financing by a future EU investment fund: a) cross-border infrastructure projects b) investments to complete the energy union c) investments to strengthen the competitiveness of European industries d) investments in qualification and training;

• considers that the EU investment fund should be financed by a mix of resources (Member State contributions, new own resources and joint EU debt issuance), and should include financial support through low-interest loans, guarantees and targeted subsidies for companies, public equity investment, and grants and loans;

• recommends that the disbursement of money from the proposed EU investment fund should be conditional on social criteria (e.g., site retention and employment guarantees, qualification and training measures, measures to improve workers’ participation or collective agreements), while respecting the varieties of social dialogue in the Member States and not leading to undue discrimination against certain types of companies or Member States.