Council Negotiating Stance on EFSI Regulation

At the ECOFIN Council Meeting on 10 March 2015, EU Finance Ministers agreed ECOFIN's negotiating stance on the Commission's proposed regulation for setting up the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). This document is the basis for the Council's negotiations with the European Parliament to reach an agreement on the EFSI.

In line with the Commission's proposal, the ECOFIN agreed that EU funding for the EFSI would mostly come by redeploying grants from Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe facility (transport, energy and digital networks), as well as unused margins in the budget. With regard to EFSI governance, the compromise agreed by the Council provides a two-tier structure consisting of a steering board for strategic governance and an independent investment committee for the selection of projects to receive EFSI funds. A European Investment Advisory Hub is due to be set up alongside the fund, to provide technical assistance to ensure projects are of high quality.