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InvestEU aims to be a fund that provides support to EU investors by integrating and simplifying the financing, offered under a single budgetary guarantee scheme.

• Aim to generate at least €1 200 billion in investments
• Launchpad for investments which otherwise would be difficult to finance
• Solvency support to help companies overcome the COVID-19 crisis

On Wednesday evening, MEPs from the Budgetary and Economic and Monetary Affairs committees adopted with 71 votes to 17 and 7 abstentions the renewed EU programme to support investments and guarantee access to finance. It will address market failures, sub-optimal investments and the investment gap in targeted sectors, for the period 2021-27.

Six policy objectives mirroring key EU priorites

The EU guarantee of around €91.8 billion (current prices) is expected to mobilise more than €1 200 billion in additional investment across the European Union and should be allotted to the following policy objectives:

1. Solvency support: MEPs reintroduced this, as not all companies have the same level of access to market financing and certain member states may not have sufficient budgetary means available to provide adequate support to companies hit by the COVID-19 crisis. It will help recovering companies, safeguard employment levels, and counter-balance the expected distortions in the single market (up to around €11 billion);
2. Sustainable infrastructure: investment in the areas of sustainable transport and road safety, rail and road infrastructure, renewable energy, energy efficiency renovation projects, digital connectivity, environmental and climate resilience research (up to around €20 billion);
3. Innovation and digitisation (up to around €11 billion);
4. Access to finance primarily for SMEs, including for innovative SMEs and SMEs operating in the cultural and creative sectors, as well as small mid-cap companies (up to €5 billion);
5. Social investment and skills (up to around €6 billion);
6. Strategic European investment: future-oriented investment, including in critical healthcare, manufacturing of medicinal products and critical infrastructure, whether physical, analogue or digital (up to around €31 billion);

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