The fi-compass State aid survey was conducted in May and June 2018. It focused on the experience of fi-compass stakeholders of implementing financial instruments under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) within the State aid rules. The survey, received over 300 responses and provides a good insight into the current practice amongst fi-compass practitioners in this subject area.
This fi-compass publication explains pioneering European Social Fund (ESF) financing instruments in Portugal that are being implemented during the 2014-2020 programming period through a Social Innovation Initiative with the special focus on the Social Impact Bonds Programme. The study had two main objectives:
Through the fi-compass mid-term survey, fi-compass stakeholders in all EU Member States were given the opportunity to share feedback on the various fi-compass products and help in shaping activities for the remainder of the 2014-2020 programming period.
The scope of this factsheet is to serve as guidance for European Social Fund (ESF) managing authorities that decide to set up a microcredit financial instrument.
This factsheet aims to provide an overview of the State aid rules with implications for the use of financial instruments financed through the European Social Fund (ESF) in a concise and user-friendly manner. The factsheet is based on the relevant European Union (EU) Regulation, available fi-compass resources and the European Commission’s (EC) ‘Guidance on State aid in European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds Financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period’.
This case study illustrates how financial engineering instruments co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) were used in Cyprus, a Member State with no prior experience of this type of support, to address the lack of finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The financial products (loans with lower interest rates and lower collateral requirements than commercial bank loans) supported the sustainable development of over 500 Cypriot SMEs, contributing to regional development in Cyprus.
