Second EU fi-compass conference on EAFRD financial instruments for agriculture and rural development in 2014-2020, Brussels, 25 November 2016

Overview

Picture: Mr Gabriel Csicsai, State Secretary, Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU; Mr Pim van Ballekom, Vice-President, European Investment Bank; Mr Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; Mr Jyrki Katainen, European Commission’s Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness; Mr Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive, European Investment Fund

Additional resources and support announced at the second EU fi-compass conference on financial instruments for agriculture and rural development in 2014-2020

The 'Second EU fi-compass conference on financial instruments for agriculture and rural development in 2014-2020' took place on 25 November 2016. Organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) this flagship fi-compass conference launched a useful range of new information about financial instruments for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The conference was very well attended by EAFRD managing authorities, national and regional authorities, financial intermediaries, as well as farm- and agriculture-related associations from all across the EU.

Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, opened the conference. He highlighted the capacity of financial instruments to help farmers and agri-businesses innovate, grow, export and create jobs, which are pillars of the Investment Plan for Europe.

Picture: A panel of distinguished keynote speakers opened the conference

The Commissioner announced a significant new EU financing initiative for Europe's rural economy which combines funding for rural development with the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) funding. Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President of the European Commission for Growth, Jobs, Investment and Competitiveness, confirmed the innovative features of this new rural development financing tool and its capacity to significantly address market failures in the agri-food and agri-business sectors. He also underlined the effective collaboration between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group within this initiative.

The benefits anticipated from the proposed new investment platform were underlined by Pim van Ballekom, Vice-President of the EIB, and by Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund.

Picture: Mr Mihail Dumitru, Deputy Director-General, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission, talking to event participants

Important information about simplified EAFRD procedures for encouraging greater use of rural development financial instruments was presented by DG AGRI's Deputy Director, Mihail Dumitru. Other key conference messages, launched new case study material and feasibility research findings from fi-compass about EAFRD financial instruments. These included presentations about opportunities for using a specialised loan for tackling price volatility in agriculture.

In addition, Marko Gorban, Deputy Secretary General for Agricultural and Rural Life Policies at the Ministry of Agriculture in Estonia gave details on the context of their ex-ante assessment and how financial instruments can help to diversify the rural economy. Further elements from this presentation are included in the recent fi-compass case study Loans for Rural Development 2014-2020, Estonia.

Interesting discussions followed contributions from a broad range of other conference speakers, who presented views and opinions on the farming sector, as well as cases (including under the COSME Programme) and support from other institutions and bodies. In addition, a new fi-compass animated video on the use of financial instruments under the EAFRD was shown in Brussels for the first time.

The conference built on the success of the first annual conference in Dublin as well as further events dedicated to financial instruments under the EAFRD in Vienna, Riga, Madrid, Rome and Warsaw.

A full recording of all the conference sessions (in the 23 EU official languages) is available here. These showcase success stories of financial instruments in action during this flagship fi-compass conference. They also include the keynote speeches that confirmed simplified systems for using EAFRD financial instruments and that launched the new EFSI investment opportunity for rural Europe.

 

Title Speakers
pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Welcome and introductions

Mr Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development

file not yet available video file not yet available file not yet available

Welcome and introductions

Mr Jyrki Katainen, European Commission’s Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Welcome and introductions

Mr Pim van Ballekom, Vice-President, European Investment Bank

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Welcome and introductions

Mr Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive, European Investment Fund

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Welcome statement from

Mr Gabriel Csicsai, State Secretary, Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Farm policy statements on the future of EU and Belgian farms and their investment needs

Mr Miklos Zsolt Kis, Vice-President of COPA, COPA – COGECA

file not yet available video file not yet available file not yet available

Farm policy statements on the future of EU and Belgian farms and their investment needs

Mr François Huyghe, Flemish Farm Union “Boerenbond”

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Farm policy statements on the future of EU and Belgian farms and their investment needs

Ms Isabelle Jaumotte, Walloon Farm Union (FWA)

file not yet available video file not yet available file not yet available

Q&A

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

EAFRD support through financial instruments, the omnibus proposal and the future

Mr Mihail Dumitru, Deputy Director-General, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Role of EIB in supporting EAFRD financial instruments

Mr Simon Barnes, Director of Advisory Services, European Investment Bank

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

EIF experience with EAFRD financial instruments and the SME Initiative

Mr Hubert Cottogni, Deputy Director, European Investment Fund

file not yet available video file not yet available file not yet available

Q&A

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

EAFRD fi-compass Price volatility study –  first results and conclusions

Mr Frank Lee, Head of Financial Instruments Advisory Division, European Investment Bank

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

The Irish “MilkFlex” Fund in practice

Mr Cathal Fitzgerald, Head of Food and Agriculture Investments, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund MilkFlex

file not yet available video file not yet available file not yet available

Q&A

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

EBRD support for EU agriculture

Ms Zsuzsanna Hargitai, Director, EU Funds Co-Financing & Financial Engineering, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

EU Guarantee Institutions in support for agriculture

Ms Katrin Sturm, Secretary General, EU Association of Guarantee Institutions

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

EAFRD Loan Funds for agriculture in Estonia: results so far and future policy options

Mr Marko Gorban, Deputy Secretary General for Agricultural and Rural Life Policies, Ministry of Agriculture, Estonia

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Access to credit for agricultural and agro-food processing enterprises

Mr Michel Cottet, SIAGI, France

file not yet available video file not yet available file not yet available

Q&A

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Introduction to the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises - COSME

Ms Astrid Bartels, Director, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

COSME support for Danish young farmers

Mr Rolf Kjærgaard, Senior Vice-President of VÆKSTFONDEN, Denmark

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Q&A

pdf
video file not yet available file not yet available

Closing remarks

Mr Aldo Longo, Director, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission