Activities of Ramon TREMOSA i BALCELLS related to 2015/0009(COD)
Plenary speeches (2)
European Fund for Strategic Investments (debate)
European Fund for Strategic Investments (A8-0139/2015 - José Manuel Fernandes, Udo Bullmann)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Fund for Strategic Investments and amending Regulations (EU) No 1291/2013 and (EU) No 1316/2013 PDF (2 MB) DOC (1 MB)
Amendments (40)
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) development of infrastructure, including in the areas of transport, particularly in industrial centresfor the priorities of the TEN-T network as defined in the TEN-T Guidelines; transport investments shall represent at least 33% of the total investments under the EFSI; energy, in particular energy interconnections; and digital infrastructure;
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Title 1
Title 1
Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Fund for Strategic Investments and amending Regulations (EU) No 1291/2013 and (EU) No 1316/2013
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Endowments to the guarantee fund referred to in paragraph 2 shall be used to reach an appropriate level to reflect the total EU guarantee obligations ('target amount'). The target amount shall be set at 525%/30%/40% of the Union's total guarantee obligations.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19
Article 19
Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013
Article 5 – Paragraph 1
Article 5 – Paragraph 1
Amendment to Regulation (EU) No In Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.The financial envelope for the implementation of the CEF for the period 2014 to 2020 is set at EUR 29 942 259 000 (*) in current prices. That amount shall be distributed as follows: (a) transport sector: EUR 23 550 582 000, of which EUR 11 305 500 000 shall be transferred from the Cohesion Fund to be spent in line with this Regulation exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund; (b) telecommunications sector: EUR 1 041 602 000; (c) energy sector: EUR 5 350 075 000. These amounts are without prejudice to the application of the flexibility mechanism provided for under Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013(*). (*) Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-20 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884).’rticle 19 deleted 1316/2013
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The investment environment within the Union should be improved by removing barriers to investment, reinforcing the Single Market and by enhancing regulatory predictability, in particular by completing the opening of the digital, transport, energy and telecoms markets . The work of the EFSI, and investments across Europe generally, should benefit from this accompanying work.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The investment environment within the EUnion should be improved by removing barriers to investment, such as obstacles to PPPs that remain at national and EU level, by reinforcing the Single Market and by enhancing regulatory predictability. With the view to mobilising private companies and supporting the development of PPPs, it should be ensured that there is no discrimination depending on the management of the projects, be it private or public. The work of the EFSI, and investments across Europe generally, should benefit from this accompanying work.
Amendment 217 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Many small and medium enterprises, as well as mid-cap companies, across the Union require assistance to attract market and private equity and venture capital financing, especially as regards investments that carry a greater degree of risk. The EFSI should help these businesses to overcome capital shortages 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.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Recital 12 a (new)
(12a) The EFSI will work with a wide range of financial instruments. Among others, the EFSI will be able to use debt instruments, guarantees, equity, quasi- equity instruments, credit enhancement tools or venture capital.
Amendment 310 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The EFSI should target investments that are expected to be economically and technically viable, which may entail a high degree of appropriate risk, whilst still meeting the particular requirements for EFSI financing.
Amendment 314 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) The EFSI should target investments that are expected to be economically and technically viable, which may entail a degree of appropriate risk, whilst still meeting the particular requirements for EFSI financing. When a national court of audit or an independent council or any anti-corruption body of a Member State has expressed some concerns on a project, a type of investment or on a body having the responsibility of investing public money and these concerns are communicated to the EFSI, it should take into account the opinions expressed.
Amendment 367 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) In order to allow for further increase in its resources, participation in the EFSI should be open to third parties, including Member States, natregional governments with fiscal and legislative powers, national and regional promotional banks or public agencies owned or controlled by Member States, private sector entities and entities outside the Union subject to the consent of existing contributors. Third parties may contribute directly to the EFSI and take part in the EFSI governance structure.
Amendment 439 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Alongside the financing operations that will be conducted through the EFSI, a European Investment Advisory Hub ('EIAH') should be created. The EIAH should provide strengthened support for project development and preparation across the Union, by building on the expertise of the Commission, the EIB, national and regional promotional banks and the managing authorities of the European Structural and Investment Funds. This should establish a single point of entry for questions related to technical assistance for investments within the Union.
Amendment 479 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) To partially finance the contribution from the Union budget, the available envelopes of the Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2014-2020, provided by Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 will be progressively authorised by a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council2 , and the Connecting Europe Facility, provided by Regulation (EU) No in the framework of the annual budgetary procedures up to 2020, using in priority all provisions under Council regulation (EU, Euratom) n°13161/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council3 , should be reduced. Those programmes serve purposes that are not replicated by the EFSI. However, the reduction of both programmes to finance the guarantee fund is expected to ensure a grealaying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014- 2020, in particular its articles 5, 11, 13 and 14, as well as any budgetary surplus entered investment in certain areas of their respective mandates than is possible through the existing programmes. The EFSI should be able to leverage the EU guarantee to multiply the financial effect within thto the general budget of the European Union, and avoiding to affect programmes that already serve an investment purpose, areas of research, development and innov operational and transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure compared to if the resources had been spent via grants within the planned Horizon 2020 and Connecting Europe Facility programmes. It is, therefore, appropriate to redirect part of the funding presently envisaged for those programmes to the benefit of EFSI. __________________ 3Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Coucontain a possibility to use innovative financial instruments. Therefore, envelops of programmes under the sub-heading 1A of the multiannual financial of 11 December 2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010 (OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 129)framework could be reduced only if proved necessary and as a last resort solution.
Amendment 502 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Member States, in partnership with their regional governments, have also begun work at national level on establishing and promoting project pipelines for projects of national and European significance. The information prepared by the Commission and the EIB should provide links to the accompanying national project pipelines.
Amendment 711 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
To meet that objective, the EIAH shall use the expertise of the EIB, the Commission, national and regional promotional banks and the managing authorities of the European Structural and Investment Funds.
Amendment 730 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 3
Article 2 – paragraph 3
3. Member States and third parties that become parties to the EFSI Agreement shall be able to provide their contribution, in particular, in the form of cash or a guarantee acceptable to the EIB. Other third parties shall be able to provide their contribution only in cash.
Amendment 778 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
For as long as the only contributors to the EFSI are the Union and the EIB, the number of members and votes within the Steering Board shall be allocated based on the respective size of contributions in the form of cash or guarantees. Additionally, the European Parliament should also be represented in the Steering Board without voting rights.
Amendment 808 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
When a national court of audit or an independent council or any anti- corruption body of a Member State has expressed some concerns on a project, a type of investment or on a body having the responsibility of investing public money and these concerns are communicated to the EFSI, the Steering Board should take into account the opinions expressed and shall take a decision by a majority of three quarters of the votes.
Amendment 886 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. When carrying on their duties, the members of the Investment Committee shall be independent and shall not take instructions from the EIB, the Union institutions, Member States or any other public or private body.
Amendment 915 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – introductory part
The EU guarantee shall be granted for EIB financing and investment operations approved by the Investment Committee referred to in Article 3(5) or funding to the EIF in order to conduct EIB financing and investment operations in accordance with Article 7(2). The operations concerned shall be consistent with Union policies, be based on a positive cost-benefit analysis, and support any of the following general objectives:
Amendment 936 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
(a) development of infrastructure, including in the areas of transport, particularly in industrial centrwith priority for the TEN-T network as defined in the TEN-T Guidelines; energy, in particular energy interconnections; and digital infrastructure;
Amendment 942 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 – point a
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 digital and telecoms infrastructure;
Amendment 1023 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
In addition, the EU guarantee shall be granted for support of dedicated investment platforms and national promotional banks, national and regional promotional banks, Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM), which manage Alternative Investment Fund (AIFs) authorised in accordance with Directive 2011/61/EU, managers of collective investment undertakings authorised in accordance with Regulation 2013/345/EU (qualifying venture capital funds) and managers of collective investment undertakings in accordance with regulation 2013/346/EC (qualifying social entrepreneurship funds), via the EIB, that invest in operations meeting the requirements of this Regulation. In that case, the Steering Board shall specify policies regarding eligible investment platforms, AIFs, qualifying venture capital and social entrepreneurship funds.
Amendment 1045 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 5 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. EIB financing and investment operations on the territory of a Member State according to this Regulation shall take into account if the relevant Member State has made substantial progress in implementing Council recommendations under Regulation (EC) No 1466/97, Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 and country specific recommendations under the European Semester.
Amendment 1083 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 6 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) EIB loans, guarantees, counter- guarantees, capital market instruments, any other form of funding or credit enhancement instrument, equity (including venture capital) or quasi- equity participations. These Instruments shall be granted, acquired or issued for the benefit of operations carried out in the Union, including cross-border operations between a Member State and a third country, in compliance with this Regulation and where EIB financing has been granted in accordance with a signed agreement which has neither expired nor been cancelled;
Amendment 1123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) payments from the general budget of the Union, originating from, in order of priority, decommitments from the 2007- 2013 financial period, unused contingency margin, yearly surplus.
Amendment 1146 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 2
The target amount shall be set at 25% of the Union's total guarantee obligations. The target amount shall initially be met by the gradual payment of resources referred to in paragraph 2(a). If there have been calls on the guarantee during the initial constitution of the guarantee fund, endowments to the guarantee fund provided for in points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 shall also contribute to meet the target amount up to an amount equal to the calls on the guarantee.
Amendment 1155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Without prejudice to Article 8(5), the initial target amount shall be met by gradual budgetary contributions to the guarantee fund, to be decided by the budgetary authority in the frame of the annual budgetary procedures up to 2020, making use in priority of all means available under Council regulation 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, in particular article 5, 11, 13, 14, as well as any budgetary surplus entered in the general budget of the European Union. If needed, as a last resort solution and in full respect of point 17 and 18 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, funds from multiannual programmes under heading 1A may be redeployed to the guarantee fund if these programmes prove to be under- implemented.
Amendment 1168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 7 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 7 – point a
(a) any surplus shall be paid in one transaction to a special heading in the statement of revenue in the general budget of the European Union of the year n+1, and shall be reallocated to programmes which envelopes might have been reduced to finance the guarantee fund, as referred to in paragraph 5a (new), in order to compensate these losses;
Amendment 1213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall develop, update and disseminate, on a regular and structured basis, information on current and future investment projects in their territory. Member States authorities shall collaborate with regional authorities in those cases when projects affect their territory.
Amendment 1228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The EIB, in cooperation with the EIF as appropriate, shall report annutrimestrally to the European Parliament and to the Council on EIB financing and investment operations. The report shall be made public and include:
Amendment 1294 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. The Managing Director shall reply to written questions addressed to the EFSI by any Member from the European Parliament.
Amendment 1296 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Upon request of the competent committees of the European Parliament, and without disclosing information on ongoing investigations, OLAF may provide information on the application of this Regulation.
Amendment 1297 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2 b (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. The European Commission shall reply to written questions addressed to its role in the governance of the EFSI by any Member of the European Parliament through the normal procedure.
Amendment 1298 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 2 b (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Minutes of the meetings of the Steering Board shall be made available to the European Parliament including for each project the results of the votes in case the Steering Board did not take a decision by consensus.
Amendment 1299 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 3
Article 11 – paragraph 3
3. At the request of the European Parliament, the Commission and/or the EIB shall report to the European Parliament on the application of this Regulation.
Amendment 1343 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
The EU guarantee and the payments and recoveries under it that are attributable to the general budget of the Union shall be audited by the Court of Auditorsexternal audit of the activities undertaken in accordance with the EFSI Regulation is carried out by the European Court of Auditors in accordance with Article 287 TFEU.
Amendment 1362 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
OLAF may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5 ), Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96(6 ) and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 (7 ) in order to protect the financial interests of the Union, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption, money laundering or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with any operations supported by the EU guarantee. OLAF may transmit to the competent authorities of the Member States concerned information obtained in the course of investigations. The competent authorities shall follow up on the information transmitted, unless not compatible with the national legal framework. __________________ 5 Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1). 6 Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2). 7 Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests (OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1).
Amendment 1432 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19
Article 19
Amendment 1440 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19
Article 19
Regulation (EU) N°1316/2013
Article 5, paragraph 1
Article 5, paragraph 1
Amendment to Regulation (EU) No In Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘ 1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the CEF for the period 2014 to 2020 is set at EUR 29 942 259 000 (*) in current prices. That amount shall be distributed as follows: (a) transport sector: EUR 23 550 582 000, of which EUR 11 305 500 000 shall be transferred from the Cohesion Fund to be spent in line with this Regulation exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund; (b) telecommunications sector: EUR 1 041 602 000; (c) energy sector: EUR 5 350 075 000. These amounts are without prejudice to the application of the flexibility mechanism provided for under Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013(*). (*) Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-20 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884). ’rticle 19 deleted 1316/2013