Scoping study for the use of financial instruments under the EMFF and related advisory support activities

The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) policy framework emphasises the need for more use of financial instruments in 2014-2020: the overall aim is therefore to deliver more ESIF funding through financial instruments in the future. To help achieve this, the European Commission, in partnership with the EIB, has set up a single advisory platform on ESIF financial instruments for the programming period 2014-2020. This advisory platform is called fi-compass. DG MARE shares the ambition for greater use of financial instruments under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and requested the fi-compass advisory platform to carry out this study examining the potential for financial instruments under the EMFF, the most appropriate forms of financial instruments for the sector and to identify the advisory needs of the sector to be addressed to help overcome the barriers to this ambition for more widespread financial instruments' implementation.