Activities of Elisabeth SCHROEDTER related to 2011/0283(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Risk sharing instruments for Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 as regards certain provisions relating to risk-sharing instruments for Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability PDF (302 KB) DOC (379 KB)
Amendments (5)
Amendment 25 #
Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Recital 16 b (new)
Recital 16 b (new)
(16b) The Member State making a request to the Commission to benefit from the risk-sharing instrument should clearly specify in its written request why it considers that it falls under one of the eligibility conditions of Article 77(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 and it should attach to its request all the necessary information, required by this Regulation in order to prove the specified eligibility condition. For all operations that have not been subject to a Commission decision under Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 the Member State shall include in its request the information as required under Article 40 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 . Requests or parts of requests concerning operations that do not fall under one or more existing operational programmes co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund shall be drawn up in cooperation with the partners referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 . The requesting Member State in its request should also identify the programmes (while submitting the concrete list of proposed projects and funding needs), co- financed by Cohesion policy instruments and the part of the 2012 and 2013 allocations to such programmes that it wants to allocate to the risk-sharing instrument. It is necessary, therefore, that the request of the Member State is transmitted to the Commission by 31 August 2013 at the latest with a view to the adoption of a Commission decision on the participation of the requesting Member State in a risk-sharing instrument by 31 December 2013 at the latest. It is also necessary that following the decision of the Commission on the Member State request, the related operational programmes under the ERDF and the CF be revised and amended, in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) 1083/2006.
Amendment 26 #
(16c) Selected operations, eligible under a risk-sharing instrument, should be either major projects that have already been subject to a Commission decision under Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 or other projects, co-financed by the ERDF or the CF and falling under one or more of their operational programmes, in cases, where these projects face a lack of finance regarding the investment costs to be borne by private investors. Moreover, selected operations could also be operations which contribute to the objectives of the national strategic reference framework of the requesting Member State and of the Community strategic guidelines on cohesion and which can by virtue of their character contribute to support growth and strengthen the economic recovery subject to availability of funds under the risk- sharing instrument. Finally, the risk sharing instrument could also be used to finance operations resulting from the re- programming of parts of or whole operational programmes co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund, taking into account the investment opportunities laid down in Regulation (EC) No 397/2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in housing and in line with Regulation (EU) No 437/2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities. The financial allocations available to operations not falling under one or more existing operational programmes co- financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund should be limited to the amounts left after financing the operations that are part of such operational programmes.
Amendment 27 #
Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Recital 16 e (new)
Recital 16 e (new)
(16e) The Commission should verify whether the submitted information by the requesting Member State is correct and thus the Member State request is justified, and should be empowered to adopt a decision within four months on the concrete terms and conditions of the participation of the requesting Member State in the risk-sharing instrument. It should be ensured, however, that only projects with demonstrable positive impacts on local economies and labour markets, and for which a favourable financing decision has been taken either by the European Investment Bank or by the national or international public sector bodies or bodies governed by private law with a public service mission, as the case may be, should be made eligible for financing from an established risk- sharing instrument. The Commission decision, for the sake of transparency and legal certainty should be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Amendment 29 #
(16g) In line with Regulation (EC) No 397/2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in housing, and in line with Regulation (EU) No 437/2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities, and also in the light of point 1.1.3. of Council Decision 2006/702/EC on Community strategic guidelines on cohesion, projects consisting of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities and projects to promote energy efficiency, for example in buildings, the dissemination of low energy intensity development models and renewable energies, which can give the concerned Member States a leading edge and thus strengthen their competitive position while contributing to the achievement of the targets of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, should be given preferential access to financing through a risk-sharing instrument.
Amendment 32 #
Proposal for a regulation – amending act
Article 1 - point 2
Article 1 - point 2
Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006
Article 36 - paragraph 2a
Article 36 - paragraph 2a
(2) In Article 36, the following paragraph 2a is inserted: "2a. Member States meeting one of the conditions set out in Article 77(2), may contribute a part of the financial allocations indicated in Article 19 and Article 20 to a risk sharing instrument, to be established by the Commission in agreement with the European Investment Bank, or in agreement with national or international public sector bodies or bodies governed by private law with a public service mission providing adequate guarantees as referred to in Article 54(2)(c) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, under similar terms and conditions to those applied to and by the European Investment Bank, to cover the provisioning and capital allocation of guarantees and loans, as well as other financial facilities, granted under the risk sharing instrument. Such risk sharing instrument shall be used exclusively for loans and guarantees, as well as other financial facilities, to finance operations co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund, regarding expenditure which is not covered by Article 56. The risk sharing instrument shall be implemented by the Commission within the framework of indirect centralised management in accordance with Article 54(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. Payments to the risk sharing instrument shall be made in tranches, in accordance with the scheduled use of the risk sharing instrument in providing loans and guarantees financing specific operations. The Member State concerned shall address a request to the Commission who shall adopt a decision by means of an implementing act, describing the system established to guarantee that the amount available is used for the exclusive benefit of the Member State which provided it within its cohesion policy financial allocation pursuant to Article 18(2), as well as the terms and conditions applicable to such risk sharing instrument. These terms and conditions shall at least address the following: (a) traceability and accounting, information on the use of the funds and monitoring and control systems; and (b) structure of the fees and other administrative and management costs. The financial allocations to the risk-sharing instrument shall be strictly capped and shall not create contingent liabilities for the Union budget or the Member State concerned. Any amount left-over after the completion of an operation covered by the risk sharing instrument may be reused, at the request of the Member Sate concerned, within the risk-sharing instrument, if the Member State still meets one of the conditions set out as specified in Article 77(2). If the Member State no longer meets those conditions, the amount left-over shall be considered as assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 18 of the Financial Regulation. At the request of the Member State concerned, additional commitment appropriations generated by this assigned revenue shall be added the following year to the cohesion policy financial allocation of the Member State concernedThe following Article is inserted: "Article 36a Risk sharing instrument 1. For the purpose of this Article a risk- sharing instrument means a financial instrument (loans, guarantees, as well as other financial facilities) which guarantees the total or partial coverage of a defined risk, where appropriate in exchange for an agreed remuneration. 2. Member States meeting one of the conditions set out in Article 77(2)a, b and c, may contribute a part of the financial allocations indicated in Article 19 and Article 20 to a risk-sharing instrument, which shall be established by means of a cooperation agreement, to be concluded by the Commission either with the European Investment Bank, or with national or international public sector bodies or bodies governed by private law with a public service mission providing adequate guarantees as referred to in Article 54(2)(c) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, under similar terms and conditions to those applied to and by the European Investment Bank (hereinafter: contracted implementing body), to cover the provisioning and capital allocation of guarantees and loans, as well as other financial facilities, granted under the risk-sharing instrument. 3. The cooperation agreement, referred to in paragraph 2, shall contain rules in particular on the following: (a) the total amount of the Union contribution and the schedule about how it will be made available; (b) the trust account conditions to be set up by the contracted implementing body; (c) the eligibility criteria for the use of the Union contribution, the details of the exact risk-sharing (including the leverage ratio), to be ensured and the guarantees to be provided by the contracted implementing body; (d) the pricing of the instrument, based on the risk margin and the coverage of all the administrative costs of the instrument; (e) the application and approval procedure of the project proposals, covered by the instrument, including a cost-benefit analysis that comprises a risk assessment and the foreseeable impact on the sector concerned and on the socio- economic situation of the Member State and/or the region; (f) the period of availability of the instrument and the reporting requirements. The exact risk-sharing (the leverage ratio), which shall be undertaken in the cooperation agreement by the contracted implementing body, shall as an average aim at being at least 1,5 times the amount of the Union contribution to the risk- sharing instrument. Payments to the risk sharing instrument shall be made in tranches, in accordance with the scheduled use of the risk sharing instrument in providing loans and guarantees financing specific operations. 4. The risk-sharing instrument shall be used to finance operations co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund, regarding, by way of derogation from Article 54(5), investment costs which cannot be taken into account as eligible expenditure pursuant to Article 55 or as public expenditure as defined in Article 2(5), pursuant to the EU rules on state aids. It may also be used to finance operations, which contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the national strategic reference framework of the requesting Member State and the Community strategic guidelines on Cohesion1, and bring the greatest added value to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It may also be used to finance operations resulting from the re-programming of a whole operational programme or parts of an operational programme co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund, taking into account the investment opportunities laid down in Regulation (EC) No 397/2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in housing and in line with Regulation (EU) No 437/2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 on the European Regional Development Fund as regards the eligibility of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities. 5. The risk sharing instrument shall be implemented by the Commission within the framework of indirect centralised management in accordance with Article 54 and Article 56(1) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002. 6. An eligible Member State seeking to benefit from a risk-sharing instrument shall submit a written request to the Commission not later than 31 August 2013. In its request, the Member State shall provide all the information necessary to establish: (a) that it meets one of the conditions referred to in points (a), (b) or (c) of Article 77(2), by providing a reference to a Council Decision or other legal act proving this fact; (b) the list of programmes co-financed either by the ERDF or by the CF and the part of the 2012 and 2013 allocations to such programmes that it wants to reallocate to the risk-sharing instrument; (c) the list of proposed projects pursuant to paragraph 4 and the part of the 2012 and 2013 allocations that it wants to reallocate to the risk-sharing instrument; (d) the amount available for its exclusive benefit within its cohesion policy financial allocation pursuant to Article 18(2) and an indication of the amount, which could be earmarked for the objectives of the risk-sharing instrument exclusively from the EU budget commitments which remain to be effected in years 2012 and 2013 pursuant to Article 75(1); e) for all operations that have not been subject to a Commission decision under Article 41, the information as required in Article 40; f) for requests or parts of requests concerning operations that do not fall under one or more operational programmes co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund or the Cohesion Fund, a demonstration that the request has been drawn up in cooperation with the partners referred to in Article 11. 7. The Commission - after verifying in the light of the information submitted by the Member State that the request is justified - shall adopt within four months a decision by means of an implementing act describing the system established to guarantee that the amount available is used for the exclusive benefit of the Member State which provided it within its cohesion policy financial allocation pursuant to Article 18(2), as well as on the concrete terms and conditions of the participation of the requesting Member State in the risk sharing instrument. The concrete terms and conditions shall in particular include the following: (a) traceability, democratic scrutiny and accounting, information on the use of the funds, payments conditions and monitoring and control systems; (b) the structure of the fees and other administrative and management costs; (c) an indicative list of eligible projects for financing and (d) the maximum amount of the Union contribution that can be allocated to the risk-sharing instrument from the Member State allocations available, and the instalments for practical implementation. The Commission decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. When deciding on the Member State request, the Commission shall ensure that only projects with demonstrable positive impacts on local economies and labour markets, and for which a favourable financing decision has been taken either by the EIB or by a national or international public sector body or body governed by private law with a public service mission, shall be accepted as eligible for being financed from an established risk-sharing instrument. 8. The Commission decision, referred to in paragraph (7) shall be preceded by the revision of the operational programmes concerned under the ERDF and the CF in accordance with Article 33(2). 9. The financial allocations to the risk- sharing instrument shall be strictly capped and shall not exceed 10% of the indicative total allocation for the requesting Member State for the years 2007-2013 regarding the ERDF and the CF, which was approved in accordance with Article 28(3)b. The financial allocations available to the projects in paragraph 4, subparagraph 2 of this article are limited to the amounts left after financing the operations mentioned in paragraph 4, subparagraph 1. Beyond the total Union contribution to the risk- sharing instrument, endorsed in the decision, referred to in paragraph (7), the Union participation in a risk-sharing instrument shall not create any further contingent liabilities either for the Union budget or for the Member State concerned. 10. Any amount left-over after the completion of an operation covered by the risk sharing instrument may be reused, at the request of the Member State concerned, within the risk-sharing instrument, if the Member State still meets one of the conditions set out in Article 77(2)a, b and c. If the Member State no longer meets any of those conditions, the amount left-over shall be considered as assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 18 of the Financial Regulation. At the request of the Member State concerned, additional commitment appropriations generated by this assigned revenue shall be added the following year to the cohesion policy financial allocation of the Member State concerned. _______________ 1 See: Council Decision No. 2006/702/EC of 6 October 2006 on Community strategic guidelines on cohesion, OJ L 291, 21.10.2006, p.11."