European Parliament plenary vote marks green light for EFSI 2.0 Today Members of the European Parliament voted to adopt the Regulation to extend and enhance the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. This successful final step follows the agreement in principle reached by the European Parliament and Member States on 13 September. European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "The Investment Plan has brought real benefits to companies across...

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Ten years ago the EU and U.S. signed the EU-U.S. Air Transport Agreement, bringing together the world's two largest aviation markets and linking more than 800 million people on both sides of the Atlantic.   Widely considered the most important air transport agreement in the world, it enables the EU and the U.S. to tackle new challenges in the areas of safety, security, environment, climate, competition policy, and business. Listen to our latest EU Now podcast with EU Director-General for...

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Ahead of the EU leaders' thematic debate on migration to be held on 14 December, the Commission is today proposing a political road map to reach a comprehensive agreement by June 2018 on how to pursue a sustainable migration policy. As Europe is moving away from crisis management, an agreement on a stable and future-proof EU migration and asylum policy for the long term is needed in order to maintain the momentum an all fronts – internal and external. European Commission...

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Building on the vision set out in the Five Presidents' Report of June 2015 and the Reflection Papers on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union and the Future of EU Finances of spring 2017, the European Commission is setting out a roadmap for deepening the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), including concrete steps to be taken over the next 18 months. A number of initiatives are also presented as part of this package. The overall aim is to enhance the unity, efficiency and...

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ramirent, a leading Finnish rental group for construction machinery and equipment, have signed a EUR 50mn loan agreement to further modernise and expand Ramirent’s fleet. The agreement was made possible by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, which was launched by the EIB Group and the European Commission to boost the competitiveness of the European economy. The EIB loan underpins Ramirent’s European growth strategy and commitment...

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EU and African leaders committed to investing in youth for a sustainable future; Joint EU-AU-UN Task Force to improve the situation on the ground in Libya The 5th African Union - European Union Summit took place on 29-30 November in Abidjan, under the overarching theme of Youth. The Summit brought together leaders from 55 African Union and 28 European Union Member States.  The EU was represented by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the President of the Council...

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European Investment Bank (EIB) and Europe’s leading National Promotional Banks are pleased to announce the launch of Marguerite II, a pan-European infrastructure fund with total commitments in excess of EUR 700m; ensuring continued support to key infrastructure investments in renewables, energy, transport and digital infrastructure by the Marguerite platform. Marguerite II, launched today, will continue the important work of the 2020 European Fund for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure (also known as the Marguerite Fund). Like its predecessor, Marguerite II...

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URBIS, for "Urban Investment Support" will help cities plan investments to support their own urban development strategies and get easier access to finance. Cities face particular challenges when it comes to accessing finance. Individual municipal projects, for example in the fields of social inclusion, urban regeneration or energy efficiency, can be too risky or too small for the market. At the same time, funding for integrated urban programmes can also be difficult to access, because they group several small projects...

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The Commission has today adopted rules that will make electronic payments in shops and online safer. This will also allow consumers to access more convenient, cost-effective and innovative solutions offered by payment providers. These rules implement the EU's recently-revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) which aims to modernise Europe's payment services so as to keep pace with this rapidly evolving market and allow the European e-commerce market to blossom. Today's rules allow consumers to use innovative services offered by third party...

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