EFSI: we are ready to start negotiations with the Council

The EPP Group today welcomed the vote on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The European Parliament (EP) is now ready to start negotiations with the Council. Today's vote ensures the EP’s firm stance.

"The EPP Group supports the Juncker Plan. We need investments to facilitate growth and create jobs. The Juncker Plan is a concrete instrument in this direction and the EPP Group will make all efforts to close negotiations as soon as possible", said Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group, Marian-Jean Marinescu MEP.

Our aim is for an overall agreement to be reached by the end of June and thus to enable new investments to begin as early as mid-2015. Low levels of investment are a real and acknowledged problem - we need to move forward.

The Investment Plan will unlock public and private investments in the real economy in the upcoming three years.

The EFSI will be established within the European Investment Bank (EIB) by an agreement between the European Commission and the EIB. The fund will support projects in a broad range of areas including transport, energy and broadband infrastructure, education, health, research and risk finance for SMEs.