BETA

Activities of Claude TURMES related to 2016/0276(COD)

Shadow opinions (1)

2016/11/22
Committee: ITRE
Dossiers: 2016/0276(COD)
Documents: PDF(675 KB) DOC(157 KB)

Amendments (40)

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1 a (new)

(1a) Underlines that the primary aim of EFSI is to support projects that provide European citizen with long-term environmental and societal benefits such as high quality long-term jobs and public infrastructure; therefore wants to support projects that provide this genuine additionality and quality rather than maximizing leverage factors or project speed and volumes.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4

(4) The EFSI, implemented and co- sponsored by the EIB Group, is firmly on track to deliver the objective of mobilising at least EUR 315 billion in additional investments in the real economy by mid- 2018. The market absorption has been particularly quick under the SME Window where the EFSI is delivering well beyond expectations. In July 2016 the SME Window was thus scaled-up by EUR 500 million withinvestments in the real economy with over 50% of the investments approved so far being climate relevant, according to the communication from the Commission with the title “Accelerating Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy”. Regulation (EU) No 2015/1017 must be revised so as to enable the EFSI focusing its efforts on sustainable investments allowing the ~~existing parameters of Regulation (EU) No 2015/1017. A~~Union honouring its Paris Climate Conference (COP21) commitments. With this in mind, a larger share of financing is also to be geared towards climate relevant projects of SMEs given the exceptional market demand for SME financing under the EFSI: 40% of the increased risk bearing capacity of the EFSI should be geared towards increasing access to financing for SMEs.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6

(6) The EFSI was established for an initial period of three years and with the aim of mobilising at least EUR 315 billion in investments. Given its success, the Commission is committed to the doubling of the EFSI, both in terms of duration and financial capacity. The legal extension covers the period of the current Multiannual Financial Framework and should provide a total of at least half a trillion euro investments by 2020. In order to enhance the firepower of the EFSI even further and reach the aim of doubling the investment target, Member States should also contribute as a matter of priority.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)

~~http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/INOP16_02/INOP_EFSI_EN.pdf)~~(6a) On 11 November 2016, the European Court of Auditors concluded that it was still too soon for the economic, social and environmental impacts to be measured or for a conclusion to be drawn as to whether EFSI was achieving its objectives. A comprehensive impact assessment shall provide for the necessary evidence whether or not the EFSI should be extended. Or. en (European Court of Auditors Press Release:

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8

(8) The extended EFSI should address remaining market failures and sub-optimal investment situations and continue to mobilise private sector financing in investments crucial for Europe’s future job creation – including for the youth –, growth and competitiveness with strengthened additionality. They include investments in the areas of energy, environment and climate action, social and human capital and related infrastructure, healthcare, research and innovation, cross- border and sustainable transport, as well as the digital transformation. In particular, the contribution of operations supported by the EFSI to achieving the Union’s ambitious targets set at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) should be reinforced. E~~nerg~~lectricity interconnection priority projects and energy efficiency projects should also be increasingly targeted. In addition, EFSI support to motorways should be avoided, ~~unless it is needed to support private investment in transport in cohesion countries or in cross-border transport projects involving at least one~~except for cross-border sections as defined in regulation 1316/2013 between cohesion countryies. For reasons of clarity, ~~although they are already eligible,~~ it should be explicitly laid down that projects in the fields of agriculture, fishery and aquaculture ~~come within the general objectives eligible for EFSI support~~are not eligible for EFSI support. EFSI support for fossil fuel projects, especially infrastructure and nuclear installations must be avoided.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9

(9) Additionality, a key feature of the EFSI, should be strengthened in the selection of projects. In particular, operations should only be eligible for EFSI support if they address clearly identified market failures or sub-optimal investment situations. Operations in infrastructure under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window linking two or more Member States, including e-infrastructure, should be considered additional given their inherent difficulty and their high added value for the UnionProjects supported by the EFSI should also be considered additional when generating long-term societal and environmental benefits. The Investment Committee shall ensure that additionality is verified in its selection procedure.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11 a (new)

(11a) With a view to contributing to the Union objective of economic, social, and territorial cohesion and reducing regional disparities, the geographic balance of EFSI support needs urgently be enhanced by providing for effective implementation of geographic diversification and by strengthening the role of the EIAH, including the creation of decentralised regional clusters of technical assistance;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18

(18) With a view to enhancing the transparency of EFSI operations, the Investment Committee should explain in its decisions, which are made public and accessible, the reasons why it deems that an operation should be granted the EU guarantee, with particular focus on compliance with the additionality criterion. The scoreboard of indicators should be made public once an operation under the EU guarantee ~~is signed~~has been evaluated, with the exclusion of commercially sensitive information.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21

(21) The European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) should be enhanced through increased accessibility and transparency, and its activities should focus on needs not covered adequately under current arrangements.: It should pay particular attention to supporting the preparation of projects providing genuine additionality, involving two or more Member States and ~~projects~~ that contribute to achieving the objectives of COP21. Notwithstanding its objective to build upon existing advisory services of the EIB and the Commission, so to act as a single technical advisory hub for project financing within the Union, the EIAH should also contribute actively to the objective of sectorial and geographical diversification of the EFSI and support the EIB where needed in originating ~~projects~~and eventually aggregating projects, for example in the area of energy efficiency. It should also actively contribute to the establishment of investment platforms and provide advice on the combination of other sources of Union funding with the EFSI, as well as informing about the respective eligibility criteria to be respected by these funds.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2

~~The projects supported by the EFSI, while striving to create employment and sustainable growth,~~(1a) in Article 5 (1) subparagraph 2 is replaced by the following The projects supported by the EFSI shall not be considered ~~to provide additionality if they carry a risk~~additional solely based on a risk profile corresponding to EIB special activities, as defined in Article 16 of the EIB Statute and by the credit risk policy guidelines of the EIB. , but only if they also match the additionality criteria: Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 3

To better address market failures or sub- optimal investment situations, EIB special activities supported by the EFSI shall typically have features ~~such as subordination, participation in risk- sharing instruments, cross-border characteristics, exposure to specific risks or other identifiable aspects as further described in Annex II.~~as further described in Annex II. (This AMs changes the new text as proposed by the COM in addition to Article 5, paragraph 1, point 1 (new))

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4

EIB projects carrying a risk lower than the minimum risk under EIB special activities may also be supported by the EFSI if the use of the EU guarantee is required to ensure additionality as defined in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.deleted

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4

~~EIB projects carrying a risk lower than the minimum risk under EIB special activities may~~The EIB shall revise its risk assessment methodology in order to incorporate elements additional to financial criteria. Additionality should also be ~~support~~linked byto the ~~EFSI if the use of the EU guarantee is required to ensure additionality as defined in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.”~~ innovative nature and long-term environmental and societal benefits of the project and their potentially longer-term and higher risk financing needs.” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 5

~~The p~~Projects ~~supported by the EFSI~~ that consist of physical infrastructure linking two or more Member States or of the extension of physical infrastructure or services linked to physical infrastructure from one Member State to one or more Member States, shall ~~also~~not be considered to provide additionality. as such, except when generating long-term societal and environmental benefits; the Investment Committee shall ensure that such genuine additionality is verified in its selection procedure.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2

Where the risk level so requires, EIB special activities shall be more broadly used under this Regulation than before the entry into force thereof. This shall in particular apply with respect to those Member States where EIB special activities have not been used or have been used only excep(2a) in Article 5(2), subparagraph 2 is replaced by the following: For each project approved under EFSI there needs to be a substantiated and verifiable justification of additionallity b~~efore the entry into force of this Regulation, in order to allow~~ y the Steering Board. Therefore, the ~~implementation of additional operations and~~assessment of additionality of individual projects, has ~~well as additional financing by the EIB and national promotional banks or institutions or investment platforms.”~~ to be detailed, especially in relation to the addressed market failures.” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point -a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 7 – paragraph 8 – point d

(-a) point d) is amended as follows “(d) information and communication technologies infrastructures;” such as energy efficient block chain technologies to create economic incentives for environmentally responsible behaviour;” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point a – point ii

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 7 – paragraph 8 – point l

~~(ii) The following point (l) is added: (l) aquaculture.~~deleted agriculture, fishery and

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 4 – point d

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 7 – paragraph 12 – subparagraph 2 – second sentence

Decisions approving the use of the EU guarantee shall be public and accessible through detailed minutes, and include the rationale for the decision, with particular focus on compliance with the additionality criterion. The Scoreboard shall function as a priority setting tool for each EFSI project and shall be publicly available after the evaluation of projects applying for the use of the EU guarantee. The publication shall not contain commercially sensitive information. In reaching its decision, the Investment Committee shall be supported by the documentation provided by the EIB.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point -a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point f – introductory part

~~“(f) environment and resource efficiency, in particular through:”~~ (-a) in paragraph 2 point f is replaced by the following: “(f) climate change mitigation and adaptation, environment and resource efficiency, in particular through:” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point h

~~(h) agriculture, fishery and aquaculture;~~Deleted

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point i

(i) for less-developed regions and transition regions as listed respectively in Annex I and Annex II of Commission Implementing Decision 2014/99/EU5, other industry and services eligible for EIB support. __________________ 5 Commission Implementing Decision No 2014/99/EU of 18 February 2014 setting out the list of regions eligible for funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund and of Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund for the period 2014-2020, OJ L 50, 20.2.2014, p. 22.deleted

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point i a (new)

(aa) in paragraph 2 the following point is added: (ia) When EFSI is combined with other funds such as Horizon 2020, CEF or the European Structural and Investment Funds, the additionality criteria must apply, the highest risk tranche shall be covered by EFSI and the project eligibility criteria of the European Structural and Investment Funds shall apply to the entire project;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a b (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – point i b (new)

(ab) in paragraph 2 the following point is added: (ib) EFSI cannot be used for defence or military related expenditure and current EIB lending criteria must continue to apply in this regard to purely civilian ends.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a

The EIB shall ~~target~~ensure that at least 460 % of EFSI financing under the infrastructure and innovation window supports projects ~~with components that~~ contribute to climate action, in line with the COP21 commitments, including that at least 30% of EFSI financing shall go to projects in the sectors listed in Article 9 (2) point (b) (ii). The Steering Board shall provide detailed guidance to that end.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 b (new)

(ba) in paragraph 2 the following subparagraph is added: All EFSI projects shall comply with National Energy and Climate Plans in delivering 2030 targets and should simultaneously be climate-proofed in line with the COP21 commitments and the EU 2050 objective to reduce GHG emissions by 80-95%. The Steering Board shall develop adequate assessment tools and detailed guidance to that end.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b b (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 c (new)

(bb) in paragraph 2 the following subparagraph is added: EFSI financing in support of projects that contribute to climate action shall not be included into the EIB climate action target established for its standard portfolio of projects.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point b – point i

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point c

(c) leveraging local knowledge to facilitate EFSI support across the Union and contributing where possible to the objective of sectorial and geographical diversification of the EFSI referred to in Section 8 of Annex II by supporting the EIB to originate and aggregate operations;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point b – point ii

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point e

(e) providing pro-active support on the establishment of investment platforms, notably in the area of energy efficiency;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point b – point iii

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – point f

(f) providing advice on the combination of other sources of Union funding (such as the European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility) ~~with the EFSI~~under the prerequisite of EFSI taking the highest risk taking tranche, as well as informing about the respective eligibility criteria to be respected for project selection of these funds and therefore by the project as a whole;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point d

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 14 – paragraph 6 – second sentence

In this respect, the EIAH shall assess the possibility to establish decentralised regional clusters of technical assistance to better meet the needs of a specific sector and/or region. This assessment shall be done with the involvement of Member States and national promotional banks. The EIAH shall in particular assess the relevance of establishing such a decentralised regional cluster to support energy efficiency projects in South- Eastern Europe. Cooperation between, on the one hand, the EIAH and, on the other hand, a national promotional bank or institution, an international financing institution or an institution or a managing authority, including those acting as a national advisor, having expertise relevant for the purposes of the EIAH, may take the form of a contractual partnership.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9 – point d a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 14 – paragraph 7

(da) paragraph 7 is replaced by the following: “7. The Union shall contribute up to a maximum of EUR 250 000 000 per annum towards covering the costs of EIAH operations until 31 December 2020 for the services provided by the EIAH under paragraph 2 which are in addition to those already available under other Union programmes, insofar as those costs are not covered by the remaining amount from fees referred to in paragraph 4.” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 9 a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 16 – paragraph 6 a (new)

(9a) in Article 16 the following paragraph is added: 6a. The Commission shall submit an annual report listing the details of all projects per policy area that received EU support through EFSI, the total amount of the contribution of each source, as well as the risk profiles;” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 19 – paragraph 1

(10 a) in Article 19, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: In accordance with its transparency policies and general Union principles on access to documents and information, the EIB shall make publicly available on its website information relating to all EIB financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation, including on the role of financial intermediaries, and relating to the manner in which those operations contribute to the general objectives set out in Article 9(2).” The projects selected for potential use of the EFSI guarantee should also be notified as such on the EIB website before the Investment Committees ‘decision, so that genuine transparency of the EFSI pipeline is achieved.’ Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 13

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Article 23 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – first and second sentence

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 7(13) and (14) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 4 July 2015. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period; The Commission shall propose a revision of delegated regulation 2015/1558 within one month after this regulation is published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Scoreboard of indicators shall be used by the Investment committee to ensure an independent and transparent assessment of the potential and actual use of the EU guarantee, and to prioritise the use of the EU guarantee for operations that display higher scores and added value. In its proposal, the Commission shall give employment and sustainability more weight and the scores on the different pillars shall be aggregated into an overall single rating.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point 1 – point a

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Annex II – section 2 – point b – subparagraph 1 a

EFSI support to motorways ~~shall~~must be avoided, ~~unless it is needed to support private investment in transport in cohesion countries or in cross-border transport projects involving at least one cohesion country;~~ except for cross-border sections as defined in Article 2(2) of the regulation 1316/2013 between cohesion countries; Or. en (Regulation 1316/2013 Article 2 (2))

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point 1 – point a a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Annex II – section 2 – point b – subparagraph 1 b (new)

(aa) in point (b), a third subparagraph is added: EFSI support to airport infrastructure must be avoided, unless related to environmental protection or mitigation of environmental impact;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – point 1 – point a b (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Annex II – section 2 – point b – subparagraph 1 c (new)

(ab) in point (b), a fourth subparagraph is added: EFSI support must not be used for fossil fuel infrastructure or nuclear energy installations;

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point 1 – point b

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Annex II – section 2 – point c – second sentence

In this context, it is expected that the EIB will provide finance under the EFSI with a view to reach a~~n overall target of at least EUR 500 000 000 000 of~~ maximum realisation of quality projects contributing i.e. to achieve EU COP21 commitments through public or private investment, including financing mobilised through the EIF under EFSI operations relating to the instruments referred to in Article 10(2)(b), national promotional banks or institutions and increased access to financing for entities having up to 3 000 employees.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point 1 a (new)

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Annex II – section 3 – paragraph 1

(1a) in section 3, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: “The EU guarantee shall be granted in support of operations that meet the criterion of providing additionality as defined in Article 5(1) of this Regulation.” and shall generate long-term societal and environmental benefits.” Or. en (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32015R1017&from=EN)

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE

Proposal for a regulation
Annex – point 3

Regulation (EU) 2015/1017
Annex II – section 5

The scoreboard shall be made public as soon as an operation under the EU guarantee ~~is sign~~has been evaluated, with the exclusion of commercially sensitive information.

2017/03/02
Committee: ITRE