Search En
  • FR
  • DE
menu ClientConnect
Close ClientConnect
Search
Search
  • Who we are
  • back
    • Overview
    • back
      • EU climate bank
      • back
        • Our development expertise
        • back
          • EIB at a glance
          • back
            • Overview
            • Our priorities
            • Our initiatives
            • Tackling global challenges together
          • Governance and structure
          • back
            • Overview
            • Shareholders
            • Statutory bodies
            • Control and evaluation
            • Organisation structure
          • Corporate responsibility
          • back
            • Overview
            • Providing finance
            • Borrowing
            • Human rights and the EIB
            • Reporting on sustainability
            • Our internal commitment
            • Managing our environment
          • Transparency, accountability and access to information
          • back
            • Public consultations
            • back
              • Compliance
              • back
                • Overview
                • Taxation: avoiding misuse of EIB Group operations
              • Accountability
              • back
                • Overview
                • Complaints Mechanism overview
                • Project procurement complaints
                • Investigating Prohibited Conduct
              • EFSI
              • back
              • What we offer
              • back
                • Overview
                • back
                  • Loans
                  • back
                    • Overview
                    • Loans for the public sector
                    • Framework loans for the public sector
                    • Loans for the private sector
                    • Intermediated loans for SMEs, mid-caps and other priorities
                    • Microfinance
                  • Equity
                  • back
                    • Overview
                    • Venture debt
                    • Investments in infrastructure and environmental funds
                    • Investments in SME and mid-cap funds
                  • Guarantees
                  • back
                    • Overview
                    • Credit enhancement for project finance
                    • Guarantees in support of SMEs, mid-caps and other objectives
                  • Advisory services
                  • back
                    • Overview
                    • Strategic Development
                    • Market Development
                    • Project Development
                  • Mandates and partnerships
                  • back
                    • Overview
                    • European Guarantee Fund
                    • EU Blending facilities
                    • EU Trade and Competitiveness Programme in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia
                    • Kulima Access to Finance Project
                    • SME Access to Finance Initiative
                    • Neighbourhood Investment Platform
                    • Asia Investment Facility
                    • Caribbean Investment Facility
                    • Africa Investment Platform
                    • Latin America Investment Facility
                    • Natural Capital Financing Facility
                    • Mutual Reliance Initiative
                    • Connecting Europe Facility Debt Instrument
                    • ESIF Financial Instruments
                    • Donor partnerships
                    • InnovFin – EU Finance for innovators
                    • Boost Africa
                • Projects
                • back
                  • Overview
                  • back
                    • Our regions of activity
                    • back
                      • Overview
                      • The EIB in the Enlargement countries
                      • The EIB in the European Union
                      • European Free Trade Association
                      • EIB in the Mediterranean partner countries*
                      • The EIB in the Eastern neighbourhood countries
                      • The EIB in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific
                      • Asia and Latin America
                      • Central Asia
                      • United Kingdom and the EIB
                    • Our sectors
                    • back
                      • Overview
                      • Agriculture sector
                      • Digital economy sector
                      • Forestry sector
                      • Health and life science sector
                      • Energy sector
                      • Transport sector
                      • Urban development sector
                      • Regional development & cohesion
                      • Education and training sector
                      • Water and wastewater management sector
                      • Solid waste management sector
                    • Projects to be financed
                    • back
                      • Financed projects
                      • back
                        • Project cycle
                        • back
                          • Operations evaluation
                          • back
                          • Media centre
                          • back
                            • Overview
                            • back
                              • Newsroom
                              • back
                                • Overview
                                • All releases
                                • Press contacts
                              • Stories and essays
                              • back
                                • Overview
                                • Stories
                                • Essays
                                • Podcasts
                                • All Cartoons
                              • Events
                              • back
                                • Newsletter
                                • back
                                  • Public register
                                  • back
                                    • EIB surveys
                                    • back
                                      • Overview
                                      • EIB climate survey
                                    • Multimedia centre
                                    • back
                                      • Overview
                                      • Picture library
                                      • Video library
                                      • Infographics
                                  • Publications and research
                                  • back
                                    • Overview
                                    • back
                                      • Publications
                                      • back
                                        • Our research
                                        • back
                                          • Overview
                                          • Economic analysis
                                          • Surveys and data
                                          • Assessing EIB impact
                                          • Stories - Economics
                                          • Economic conferences and research networks
                                        • EIB open data
                                        • back
                                          • Open learning: resources for learners and researchers
                                          • back
                                          • Work with us
                                          • back
                                            • Overview
                                            • back
                                              • Financial partners
                                              • back
                                                • Investor Relations
                                                • back
                                                  • Overview
                                                  • Overview of the EIB
                                                  • Statistics & publications
                                                  • Climate Awareness Bonds
                                                  • Debt products
                                                • Civil society
                                                • back
                                                  • Jobs
                                                  • back
                                                    • Overview
                                                    • Diversity and Inclusion
                                                    • How to apply
                                                    • Internships
                                                  • Procurement
                                                  • back
                                                    • Institute
                                                    • back
                                                      • Contact us
                                                      • back
                                                      Results
                                                      Top 5 search results See all results Advanced search
                                                      Top searches
                                                        Most visited pages
                                                            • Home
                                                              • Who we are
                                                              • What we offer
                                                              • Projects
                                                              • Media centre
                                                              • Publications and research
                                                              • Work with us
                                                            • Publications and research
                                                              • Publications
                                                              • Our research
                                                              • EIB open data
                                                              • Open learning: resources for learners and researchers
                                                            • Publications
                                                              • Find a publication

                                                            Restoring EU competitiveness

                                                            • Publication information

                                                              19 Jan 2016

                                                            • Related tags

                                                            Part of the series :

                                                            • Thematic studies
                                                            • Thematic studies
                                                            PDF (EN)

                                                            Market integration is the backbone of Europe’s prosperity. In order to preserve its strength, the EU economy needs to be at the global innovation frontier. Investments in today’s innovation only make sense if they can rely on access to a vast integrated market. Integration inevitably leads to higher interdependence between Member States’ economic developments. Links are no longer just trade, but also include European value chains, financial markets, fiscal contagion, etc. As unwinding integration would come with unbearable economic and societal costs, we will need a European approach to economic policy.

                                                            The effects of the crisis have exacerbated structural weaknesses and contributed to a legacy of economic and policy challenges that need to be tackled. These have been made more pressing by the unprecedented rise in migration witnessed over the past year, and which – in all likelihood – will continue in the near future. The way to meet these challenges is through deeper European market integration, supporting cohesion and convergence, investing in innovation, and stepping up efforts to make European firms and markets stronger and more competitive.

                                                            Europe’s competitiveness and long-term, sustainable growth potential, however, suffer from a history of underinvestment in important areas, underperforming financial markets, and institutional barriers. Seven years of crisis undermined confidence, lowered aggregate investment, and further aggravated structural investment gaps. At the same time, constrained fiscal space and the necessary regulatory response to the banking crisis have significantly limited the ability of Member States and the European banking sector to take risks and catalyse valuable investment.

                                                            This report is an update of an EIB study published in February 2015. It has revised investment gap figures, expanded its scope to include deeper analysis of the importance of the EU single market, and updated the section and data around EIB activities. It focuses on key enablers that require long-term investment and are critical to our future well-being. Its purpose is to help inform the identification of strategic priorities and show why action needs to be stepped up at the European level to revitalize long-term, competitiveness-enhancing investment in the EU.

                                                            All publications in this series

                                                            • The EIB COVID-19 Economic Vulnerability Index - An analysis of countries outside the European Union
                                                            • From starting to scaling
                                                            • Three foundations: A competitive, sustainable, inclusive Europe
                                                            • Feeding future generations: How finance can boost innovation in agri-food
                                                            • Feeding future generations: How finance can boost innovation in agri-food - Executive summary
                                                            • Smart Cities, Smart Investment in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
                                                            • Investing in Europe’s future: the role of education and skills
                                                            • Inequality in Europe
                                                            • Migration and the EU: Challenges, opportunities, the role of EIB
                                                            • Unlocking lending in Europe
                                                            • ECON Note - PPPs and their financing in Europe
                                                            • ECON Note - The impact of the recession in 2008-2009 on EU regional convergence
                                                            • ECON Note n°02-2012 - EIB Priorities Studies
                                                            • ECON Note n°01-2012 - EIB Priorities Studies
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2010
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 05/2010
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 04/2010
                                                            • Innovation and productivity growth in the EU services sector
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2010
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 03/2010
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2009
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2008
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2007
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2007
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 03/2007
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 03/2006
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2006
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2006
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 03/2005
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2005
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2005
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2004
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2004
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2003
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2003
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2002
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2002
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 03/2001
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2001
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2001
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/2000
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/2000
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 02/1999
                                                            • Economic and Financial Reports Volume 01/1999
                                                            Logo eib

                                                            © European Investment Bank 2021

                                                            Information
                                                            • Work with us
                                                            • Investor relations
                                                            • Contact
                                                            • Privacy
                                                            • Terms of use
                                                            GET OUR NEWSLETTER

                                                            Receive updates of the EIB Group’s activities in Europe and around the world.

                                                            Next
                                                            Please use a valid email address
                                                            Thank you for subscribing to the European Investment Bank’s monthly newsletter.
                                                                       
                                                            European Union EIB Institut European Investment Fund
                                                             

                                                            Our website uses anonymised cookies to give you the best browser experience and to collect aggregated statistics. This does not include online advertising cookies.

                                                            Manage cookies  
                                                             

                                                            Cookies on our Careers Section

                                                            Our website uses anonymised cookies to give you the best browser experience and to collect aggregated statistics. If you agree, this website section will also include third-party cookies used in online advertising.

                                                            Manage cookies  
                                                            Coronavirus pandemic: All about the EIB Group’s response