The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) – the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe – has been one of the good news stories to emerge in a decade of economic uncertainty. Launched by the Juncker Commission and the EIB Group in 2014, it has gone well beyond its target of €500 billion in mobilised investments. In the meantime, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the biggest economic downturn in the history of the EU, increasing the urgency for investment into the future of the European economy.
How do we stimulate the investment needed to create a sustainable and digital Europe when economies are in crisis? What lessons can we draw from Europe’s first paradigm-changing financial initiative, the EFSI? How can we build on it and ensure its successor InvestEU will be efficient, fast and well targeted in its support?