The estimated EU-wide investment needs for water and waste infrastructure amount to about EUR 98 billion annually. Given the current investment levels, the resulting EU-wide investment gap may amount up to EUR 63 billion per year. This points to a need for the Member States to step up their environmental action, and indicates the need for ERDF / CF financial instruments in the sector.
The Public-Private Partnership for the Bratislava bypass ring road called D4R7 is part financed through a Cohesion Fund supported financial instrument which is providing a mezzanine loan into the scheme. The case study also shows how European Structural and Investment Funds financial instruments and European Fund for Strategic Investments resources can be combined at project level.
The managing authority of the Operational Programme ‘Polska Cyfrowa’ (Digital Poland), has developed a financial instrument for the deployment of broadband infrastructure. This is one of only two financial instruments in this sector in the 2014-2020 programming period. The EUR 145 million financial instrument is managed by the Polish promotional bank Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) acting as fund of funds manager and implemented through financial intermediaries.
The Lithuanian national promotional institution INVEGA has developed ERDF-supported financial instruments 100% focused on research, development and innovation (RDI), leveraging and structuring the RDI ecosystem of the country, as well as aligning the strengths and interest of research centres, Venture Capital and Private Equity funds,as well as Business Angels to specifically finance RDI.
In 2019, Greece set up a EUR 450 million fund of funds managed by the European Investment Bank, using European Regional Development Fund resources from Thematic Objective (TO) 4 and TO 6 aimed at financing projects related to Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Urban Development. The latter sub-sector also benefited from the reflows of the JESSICA Holding Fund set up in Greece during the 2007-2013 programming period.
The Czech Ministry of the Environment has set up a EUR 18.5 million loan instrument managed by the State Environmental Fund (SEF) to address, reduce and manage environmental risks. The instrument is, probably, the only financial instrument in the 2014-2020 programming period addressing Thematic Objective 6 – Environment and resource efficiency in the enterprise sector.
This case study forms part of the fi-compass Stocktaking study on financial instruments by sector.
A skilled and qualified workforce is the cornerstone of a competitive economy and an inclusive society. In light of the funding gap in this field, financial instruments constitute a potential solution due to their capacity to provide long-term affordable finance to those who need it most.
