The European Commission's Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS) and the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Advisory Services Department have stepped up their cooperation in providing support to EU Member States. Following the declaration of intent signed today, the SRSS and the EIB, via the European Investment Advisory Hub, will collaborate closely to provide technical support and advice to Member States on a broad range of policy areas. The overall objective of this partnership is to continue improving Member States’ business environments by removing barriers to investment, which is a crucial part of the Juncker Plan. The SRSS and the Advisory Hub will work together to provide expertise to Member States’ authorities in areas such as public-private partnerships, support to national promotional banks and institutions, financial instruments and platforms, environmental and other sectoral reforms. For example, the partners can collaborate on designing support measures, providing advisory services and impact evaluation. The Structural Reform Support Service offers tailor-made support to all EU countries for the preparation, design and implementation of growth-enhancing reforms. The support is provided on the request of Member States, requires no co-financing and mobilises experts from all over Europe and beyond, from both the public and the private sector. The European Investment Advisory Hub is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the EIB which acts as a single point of access to advisory services to make projects ready for investment, using expertise of the EIB Group, the European Commission and other relevant institutions and services.
European Investment Advisory Hub sends projects worth €34 billion to EIB pipeline
The European Investment Advisory Hub releases its 2019 annual report today, which provides an overview of the impact it has had across the EU. Launched in 2015 as a key component of the Investment plan for Europe, the Advisory Hub has received more than 2,300 requests for advisory support and technical advice. The requests come from across the EU, with the majority coming from cohesion countries, and especially Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. As a direct result of the support received from the Advisory Hub, 150 investment projects worth a total of €34 billion are now being considered for European Investment Bank financing. Around half of those are potentially eligible for backing from the European Fund for Strategic Investments. This figure is expected to increase as advisory support translates into investable projects.