[ParlTrack]

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9

(9) The investment environment within the Union should be improved by removing barriers to investment by establishing a truly functional Capital Markets Union to make financing available and accessible irrespective of the geographic location within the Union, reinforcing the Single Market and by enhancing regulatory predictability. The work of the EFSI, and investments across Europe generally, should benefit from this accompanying work.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Michał BONI, Lambert van NISTELROOIJ, Carlos ZORRINHO, Pilar DEL CASTILLO VERA, Markus PIEPER, Christian EHLER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Seán KELLY

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10

(10) The purpose of the EFSI should be to help resolve the difficulties in financing and implementing productive investments in the Union and to ensure increased access to financing. It is intended that increased access to financing should be of particular benefit to small and medium enterprises. It is also appropriate to extend the benefit of such increased access to financing to mid- cap companies, which are companies having up to 3000 employees. Overcoming Europe's current investment difficulties should contribute to strengthening the Union's economic, social and territorial cohesion and digital development.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) The EFSI should support strategic investments with high economic value added contributing to achieving Union policy objectives especially to facilitate the completion of the single market in telecommunications, energy and goods and services.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) Many small and medium enterprises, as well as mid-cap companies, across the Union require assistance to attract market financing, especially as regards investments that carry a greater degree of risk. The EFSI should help these businesses to overcome capital shortages and market failures by allowing the EIB and the European Investment Fund ('EIF') to provide direct and indirect equity injections, as well as to provide guarantees for high-quality securitisation of loans, and other products that are granted in pursuit of the aims of the EFSI.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15

(15) The EFSI should target projects with a higher risk-return profile than existing EIB and Union instruments to ensure additionalitly over existing operations. The EFSI should finance projects across the Union, avoiding geographical concentration and facilitating investment in regions where capital markets are less developed, including in the countries most affected by the financial crisis. The EFSI should only be used where financing is not available from other sources on reasonable terms.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Antonio TAJANI

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9

(9) The investment environment within the Union should be improved by removing barriers to investment by establishing a truly functional Capital Markets Union to make financing available and accessible irrespective of the geographic location within the Union, reinforcing the Single Market and by enhancing regulatory predictability. The work of the EFSI, and investments across Europe generally, should benefit from this accompanying work.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17

(17) Decisions on the use of the EFSI support for infrastructure and large mid- cap projects should be made by an Investment Committee. The Investment Committee should be composed of independent experts who are knowledgeable and experienced in the areas of investment projects. The Investment Committee should be accountable to a Steering Board of the EFSI, who should supervise the fulfilment of the EFSI's objectives. To effectively benefit from the experience of the EIF, the EFSI should support funding to the EIF to allow the EIF to undertake individual projects in the areas of small and medium enterprises and small mid-cap companies. The decisions made by the Investment Committee should be free from any undue interference so as to ensure its full independence, which is the key to maintain the investor trust.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17 a (new)

(17a) In order to ensure that the goals laid down in this Regulation are met and a wide geographical scope of the projects within the Union is achieved, technical assistance to Member States, where capital markets are less developed in comparison to other Member States, should be provided.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Christian EHLER, Markus PIEPER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Deirdre CLUNE, Iuliu WINKLER, Henna VIRKKUNEN

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10

(10) The purpose of the EFSI should be to help resolve the difficulties in financing and implementing productive investments in the Union that provide an immediate boost to Europe's economy and to ensure increased access to financing. It is intended that increased access to financing should be of particular benefit to small and medium enterprises~~. It is also appropriate to extend the benefit of such increased access to financing to~~, small mid- cap companies, ~~which are~~and mid-cap companies having up to 3000 employees, but should not be limited to these types of companies. Overcoming Europe's current investment difficulties should contribute to ~~strengthening the Union'~~closing the innovation divide in Europe, strengthening the Union's innovation potential, competitiveness, economic growth and employment, as well as economic, social and territorial cohesion.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11

(11) The EFSI should support strategic investments with high economic value added contributing to achieving Union policy objectives especially to facilitate the completion of the single market in telecommunications, energy and goods and services.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Christian EHLER, Markus PIEPER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Deirdre CLUNE, Iuliu WINKLER

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11 a (new)

(11a) Taking into account that small mid- cap companies with up to 499 employees and mid-cap companies with up to 3000 employees represent the most innovative segment of companies in the private sector, generating on average a higher number of patents, process innovations and product innovations as well as higher returns on investment, while still facing similar problems as SMEs regarding access to finance, the EFSI should tailor some of its financial products towards small mid-caps and mid-cap companies in particular.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12

(12) Many small and medium enterprises, as well as mid-cap companies, across the Union require assistance to attract market financing, especially as regards investments that carry a greater degree of risk. The EFSI should help these businesses to overcome capital shortages and market failures by allowing the EIB and the European Investment Fund ('EIF') to provide direct and indirect equity injections, as well as to provide guarantees for high-quality securitisation of loans, and other products that are granted in pursuit of the aims of the EFSI.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Lambert van NISTELROOIJ, Reinhard BÜTIKOFER

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29 a (new)

~~</>~~(29a) Given the multiannual commitments characterising some current EU programmes, the use, where appropriate, of all available mechanisms of flexibility and relevant provisions under the 2014-2020 MFF Regulation to finance the contribution from the Union budget to the EU budget Guarantee Fund, must ensure a maximum linearity of the funding of these EU programs to secure their functioning and viability. Or. en

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Christian EHLER, Markus PIEPER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Deirdre CLUNE, Iuliu WINKLER, Henna VIRKKUNEN

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)

(12a) Many small and medium enterprises, as well as mid-cap companies, across the Union require assistance to attract market financing, especially as regards investments that carry a greater degree of risk. The EFSI should help these businesses to overcome capital shortages and market failures by allowing the EIB and the European Investment Fund ('EIF') to provide direct and indirect equity injections, as well as to provide guarantees for high-quality securitisation of loans, and other products that are granted in pursuit of the aims of the EFSI.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Antonio TAJANI

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15

(15) The EFSI should target projects with a higher risk-return profile than existing EIB and Union instruments to ensure additionality over existing operations. The EFSI should finance projects across the Union, avoiding geographical concentration and facilitating investment in regions where capital markets are less developed, including in the countries most affected by the financial crisis. The EFSI should only be used where financing is not available from other sources on reasonable terms.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

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

The EFSI Agreement shall provide for the creation of a European Investment Advisory Hub ('EIAH') within the EIB. The EIAH shall have as its objective to build upon existing EIB and Commission advisory services in order to provide advisory support for investment project identification, preparation and development and act as a single technical advisory hub for project financing within the Union. This shall include support on the use of technical assistance for project structuring, use of innovative financial instruments, use of public-private partnerships and advice, as appropriate, on relevant issues of EU legislation by taking into account differences of Member States, especially for those with less developed capital markets.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2

The Investment Committee shall be composed of ~~six~~eight independent experts and the Managing Director. Independent experts shall have a high level of relevant market experience in project finance and be appointed by the Steering Board for a renewable fixed term of three years. The experts shall be appointed in an open and transparent selection procedure. The decisions made by the Investment Committee shall be free from any undue interference.

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17

(17) Decisions on the use of the EFSI support for infrastructure and large mid- cap projects should be made by an Investment Committee. The Investment Committee should be composed of independent experts who are knowledgeable and experienced in the areas of investment projects. The Investment Committee should be accountable to a Steering Board of the EFSI, who should supervise the fulfilment of the EFSI's objectives. To effectively benefit from the experience of the EIF, the EFSI should support funding to the EIF to allow the EIF to undertake individual projects in the areas of small and medium enterprises and small mid-cap companies. The decisions made by the Investment Committee should be free from any undue interference to ensure its full independence, which is the key to maintain investor trust.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Antonio TAJANI

Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17 a (new)

(17a) In order to ensure that the goals laid down in this Regulation are met and wide geographical scope of the projects within the Union is achieved, technical assistance to Member States, where capital markets are less developed in comparison to other Member States, should be provided.

2015/03/19
Committee: BUDG ECON

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a

(a) development of infrastructure, including in the areas of transport, particularly in industrial centres; energy, in particular energy interconnections and other projects in line with Energy Union priorities; and digital infrastructure;

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Christian EHLER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a a (new)

(aa) development and modernisation of the energy sector, increasing its competitiveness and enhancing the security of energy supply, including full exploitation of indigenous energy sources; development, in line with Union climate goals, of low-emission technologies including clean-coal technologies;

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Michał BONI, Lambert van NISTELROOIJ, Danuta Maria HÜBNER, Carlos ZORRINHO, Pilar DEL CASTILLO VERA, Markus PIEPER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point b a (new)

(ba) improvement and promotion of the smart use of ICT and the integration of SMEs in digital value chains;

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Christian EHLER

Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point c

(c) expansion of renewable energy and energy and resource efficiency in line with the Union goals;

2015/03/16
Committee: ITRE

Christian EHLER, Krišjānis KARIŅŠ, Ivan ŠTEFANEC, Markus PIEPER, Deirdre CLUNE, Iuliu WINKLER

Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 a (new)

Article 1a Definitions 1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: a) 'small and medium-sized enterprises' or 'SMEs' means micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Recommendation 2003/361/EC. b) 'small mid-cap companies' means legal entities having up to 499 employees which are not SMEs. c) 'mid-cap companies' means legal entities having up to 3000 employees which are not SMEs. d) 'additionality' means the support by the EFSI of operations which address - Market failures or - sub-optimal investment situations, and which could not have been carried out - in that period, or - under reasonable conditions, or - to the same extent under instruments offered by - regional promotional banks - national promotional banks, - commercial banks, and by - the EIB under their normal investment policies Consequently, the EU guarantee can be combined with, or can be used to complement, accelerate or strengthen existing EU financial instruments.