ROADMAP

Communication: Investing in Growth and Jobs – maximising the contribution of European Structural and Investment Funds 

 

 The negotiations on the more than 500 programmes are being finalised in 2015 and implementation is just starting. The Commission will present the outcome of negotiations on the programming documents (the Partnership Agreements and the programmes) at the end of 2015 to the European Parliament (EP), the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR). In addition to reporting on the outcome of the negotiations in each MS, it will include an overview of key issues, for each Member State. This policy communication is an important opportunity for the Commission to show how EU taxpayer's resources spent through the ESI Funds in Member States and regions will serve during the next years the European economy on the ground, contributing to growth and jobs. It will show the Commission's role in negotiating with Member States to come to good quality and solid frameworks for the years ahead and supporting reform efforts in Member States.

The ESI Funds will contribute to the Union's priorities, in particular to the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The ESI Funds will also support the President's Political Guidelines and the Commission’s priorities as set out in its work programme. The Communication will take into account the challenges of providing evidence on alignment between funds and these priorities, as they were not in place at the time the acts for 2014-2020 were adopted.

- A New Boost for Jobs, Growth and Investment: More than EUR 90 billion is planned for investment in transport networks and environmental infrastructure (including preserving natural capital which inter alia acts as a driver for growth) to benefit business and citizens by speeding transport access and addressing environmental sustainability in the wider economy. Moreover, the ESI Funds will help the Member States facing the difficult challenge of getting more people into work, and ensuring that workers have the skills they need to progress and adapt to the jobs of the future, including in the maritime and agricultural sectors. Finally, and as part of the Investment Plan for Europe the Commission has urged Member States to boost the impact of the ESI Funds by committing to increase significantly their use of financial instruments in key investment areas, leading to at least an overall doubling in the use of financial instruments for the 2014-2020 period. This Communication will outline how the ESI Funds will interact with the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) will act as a single technical advisory hub (including on legal issues) for project financing within the EU, and coordination mechanism for existing and new advisory programmes and technical assistance (TA) initiatives and will provide recommendations for project preparation, use of EU financial instruments, use of public-private partnerships and access to finance.

- A Connected Digital Single Market – more than EUR 13 billion euros is dedicated to building the digital economy, promoting e-society and investing in world-class ICT research and innovation under the thematic objective for ICT.

- A Resilient Energy Union and a Forward-Looking Climate change Policy – EUR 38 billion worth of expenditure is foreseen to support low carbon economy with the largest share of that envelope contributing

to building smart energy grids, wider use of renewable energy production and use and improving energy efficiency. The ESI Funds contribute as well to climate action and to the sustainable management of natural resources.

- A Deeper and Fairer Internal Market with a Strengthened Industrial Base – supporting SMEs is in the forefront of ESI Funds, with more than EUR 32 billion dedicated to addressing SME competitiveness helping the SMEs to start-up and grow with a strong emphasis on innovation and (or through) improving the knowledge base. Furthermore, as foreseen in the Investment Plan, the ESI Funds' impact can be further enhanced by a significant increase in the use of financial instruments.

The ESI Funds will further finance investments in the following fields:

- Getting people into work – major efforts are made towards providing more and better active labour market policies and quality training for the unemployed and others in need of (re)training to ensure that workers have the skills they need to progress and adapt. A specific focus is put through the Youth Employment Initiative on young people not in employment, education or training. Investing in education aims at improving its quality and increase access with a view to reduce early school-leaving and increase the number of people with a tertiary or equivalent education degree. To support the achievement of the Union's poverty reduction target and reintegrate people further away from the labour market, a minimum of 20% of the ESF is to be allocated to promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and discrimination. Moreover, the ESI Funds contribute to the creation and maintenance of employment in less developed regions, including rural areas, and to ensuring sustainable development of these areas.

- ESI Funds efforts are also foreseen for helping marginalised communities to integrate and make best use of their talents and skills. This supports the New Policy on Migration.

- Institutional capacity building of public authorities and stakeholders for policy delivery will be worth some 5 billion, and will have an impact on the efficiency of the public administration and reform initiatives.

- As well as contributing to the objectives described above, a significant proportion of the ESI Funds budget is devoted to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the EU through the provision of key public goods for the economy and society, such as water quality, biodiversity and nature protection.

- The funds stimulate the mobilisation and involvement of local communities through Community-led Local Development (CLLD), in designing and implementing integrated and multi-sectoral local strategies that help their areas address local needs and challenges.

- In addition, within sustainable fisheries and maritime policies – € 5.7 bn will help fishermen in the transition to sustainable fishing, supporting coastal communities in diversifying their economies and financing projects that create new jobs and improve quality of life along European coasts.

- Making the most of the opportunities for simplification for beneficiaries and the reduction of administrative burden that reach across the ESI Funds' implementation will improve the efficiency of the funds, contributing to better regulation.

It is important that the commitments taken by Member States and regions are now fully translated during the implementation of the programmes, and that the selection of operations maximises the contribution to the creation of jobs and growth.