The key ambition of the new Investment Plan for Europe is to mobilise EUR 315 billion for additional investments in the next two years. To leverage these investments the European Commission and the European Investment Bank have set-up the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). With the approval of the ECOFIN Council (18 June) and the European Parliament (24 June), the Fund should be operational this summer. Regional and local authorities will play an important role in supporting or managing the investment projects. According to the EFSI regulation regions and cities would be a useful source of information when assessing whether the engagement of the EFSI will take place in the locations with the highest needs.
During this lunchtime briefing, representatives of the European Commission's DG for Economic and Financial Affairs and of the EIB will present the potential of the EFSI for regional and local stakeholders.
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SPEAKERS
• Alessandro Carano, Advisor, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission
• Christoph Kuhn, Head of Division, Knowledge Economy/Research, Development and Innovation, European Investment Bank (tbc)
• Stefan Appel, European Commission, Regional and Urban Policy DG
PROGRAMME
13:00-13:05
Welcome by Bert Kuby, Head of Unit, Directorate for Horizontal Policies and Networks, European Committee of the Regions
13:05-13:45
The European Fund for Strategic Investment: background, state-of-play, next steps implementation and impact for local/regional stakeholders, by Alessandro Carano andChristoph Kuhn.
13:45-14:30
Questions and answers
1) How will the EFSI be implemented and how can regions and cities benefit from it?
2) How will the EFSI relate to other EU funding mechanisms with a strong regional impact, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds?
3) To what extent does the final EFSI regulation respond to the needs and concerns of Europe's regional and local leaders, as highlighted in the CoR Opinion of 15 April (rapporteur Claude Gewerc)?
REGISTRATION
In order to participate in this event it is necessary to register by 6 July 2015 (4 pm) through the following
link