Legal provisions of COM(2020)403 - InvestEU Programme

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dossier COM(2020)403 - InvestEU Programme.
document COM(2020)403 EN
date March 24, 2021

Contents

CHAPTER I - General provisions


Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes the InvestEU Fund, which shall provide for an EU guarantee to support financing and investment operations carried out by the implementing partners that contribute to objectives of the Union’s internal policies.

This Regulation also establishes an advisory support mechanism to provide support for the development of investable projects and access to financing and to provide related capacity building assistance (the ‘InvestEU Advisory Hub’). It further establishes a database granting visibility to projects for which project promoters seek financing and which provides investors with information about investment opportunities (the ‘InvestEU Portal’).

This Regulation establishes the objectives of the InvestEU Programme, its budget and the amount of the EU guarantee for the period 2021 to 2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1)‘InvestEU Programme’ means the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, the InvestEU Portal and blending operations, collectively;

(2)‘EU guarantee’ means an overall irrevocable, unconditional and on demand budgetary guarantee provided by the Union budget under which the budgetary guarantees in accordance with Article 219(1) of the Financial Regulation take effect through the entry into force of individual guarantee agreements with implementing partners;

(3)‘policy window’ means a targeted area for support by the EU guarantee as laid down in Article 8(1);

(4)‘compartment’ means a part of the EU guarantee defined in terms of the origin of the resources backing it;

(5)‘blending operation’ means an operation supported by the Union budget that combines non-repayable forms of support, repayable forms of support, or both, from the Union budget with repayable forms of support from development or other public finance institutions, or from commercial finance institutions and investors; for the purposes of this definition, Union programmes financed from sources other than the Union budget, such as the EU ETS Innovation Fund, may be assimilated to Union programmes financed by the Union budget;

(6)‘EIB Group’ means the EIB, its subsidiaries and other entities established in accordance with Article 28(1) of Protocol No 5 on the Statute of the European Investment Bank annexed to the TEU and the TFEU (the EIB Statute);

(7)‘financial contribution’ means a contribution from an implementing partner in the form of own risk-taking capacity that is provided on a pari passu basis with the EU guarantee or in another form that allows an efficient implementation of the InvestEU Programme while ensuring appropriate alignment of interest;

(8)‘contribution agreement’ means a legal instrument whereby the Commission and one or more Member States specify the conditions of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment, as laid down in Article 10;

(9)‘financial product’ means a financial mechanism or arrangement under the terms of which the implementing partner provides direct or intermediated financing to final recipients using any of the types of financing referred to in Article 16;

(10)‘financing and investment operations’ or ‘financing or investment operations’ means operations to provide finance directly or indirectly to final recipients through financial products, carried out by an implementing partner in its own name, provided by the implementing partner in accordance with its internal rules, policies and procedures and accounted for in the implementing partner’s financial statements or, where applicable, disclosed in the notes to those financial statements;

(11)‘funds under shared management’ means funds that provide for the possibility of allocating a portion of those funds to the provisioning for a budgetary guarantee under the Member State compartment of the InvestEU Fund, namely the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund to be established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund for the years 2021-2027, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to be established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) (the ‘ESF+ Regulation for 2021-2027’), the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) to be established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and repealing Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 and the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) to be established by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the Common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the ‘CAP Strategic Plans Regulation’);

(12)‘guarantee agreement’ means a legal instrument whereby the Commission and an implementing partner specify the conditions for proposing financing and investment operations in order for them to be granted the benefit of the EU guarantee, for providing the EU guarantee for those operations and for implementing them in accordance with this Regulation;

(13)‘implementing partner’ means an eligible counterpart such as a financial institution or other financial intermediary with whom the Commission has concluded a guarantee agreement;

(14)‘important project of common European interest’ means a project that fulfils all the criteria laid down in the Commission Communication on Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal market of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest or any subsequent revision of that Communication;

(15)‘advisory agreement’ means a legal instrument whereby the Commission and the advisory partner specify the conditions for the implementation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

(16)‘advisory initiative’ means technical assistance and advisory services that support investment, including capacity building activities, provided by advisory partners, by external service providers contracted by the Commission, or by executive agencies;

(17)‘advisory partner’ means an eligible counterpart such as a financial institution or other entity with whom the Commission has concluded an advisory agreement for the purpose of implementing one or more advisory initiatives, other than advisory initiatives implemented through external service providers contracted by the Commission or through executive agencies;

(18)‘investment platform’ means a special purpose vehicle, managed account, contract-based co-financing or risk-sharing arrangement or an arrangement established by any other means by which entities channel a financial contribution in order to finance a number of investment projects, and which may include:

(a)a national or sub-national platform that groups together several investment projects on the territory of a given Member State;

(b)a cross-border, multi-country, regional or macro-regional platform that groups together partners from several Member States, regions or third countries interested in investment projects in a given geographic area;

(c)a thematic platform that groups together investment projects in a given sector;

(19)‘microfinance’ means microfinance as defined in the relevant provisions of the ESF+ Regulation for 2021-2027;

(20)‘national promotional bank or institution’ means a legal entity that carries out financial activities on a professional basis which has been given mandate by a Member State or a Member State’s entity at central, regional or local level to carry out development or promotional activities;

(21)‘small and medium-sized enterprise’ or ‘SME’ means a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (27);

(22)‘small mid-cap company’ means an entity that is not an SME and that employs up to 499 employees;

(23)‘social enterprise’ means a social enterprise as defined in the relevant provisions of the ESF+ Regulation for 2021-2027.

Article 3

Objectives of the InvestEU Programme

1. The general objective of the InvestEU Programme is to support the policy objectives of the Union by means of financing and investment operations that contribute to:

(a)the competitiveness of the Union, including research, innovation and digitisation;

(b)growth and employment in the Union economy, the sustainability of the Union economy and its environmental and climate dimension contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement and to the creation of high-quality jobs;

(c)the social resilience, inclusiveness and innovativeness of the Union;

(d)the promotion of scientific and technological advances, of culture, education and training;

(e)the integration of Union capital markets and the strengthening of the internal market, including solutions to address the fragmentation of Union capital markets, diversify sources of financing for Union enterprises and promote sustainable finance;

(f)the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion; or

(g)the sustainable and inclusive recovery of the Union economy after the COVID-19 crisis, including by providing capital support for SMEs that were negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis and were not already in difficulty in State aid terms at the end of 2019, upholding and strengthening existing strategic value chains of tangible or intangible assets, developing new ones, and maintaining and reinforcing activities of strategic importance to the Union, including important projects of common European interest, in relation to critical infrastructure, whether physical or virtual, transformative technologies, game-changing innovations and inputs to businesses and consumers and supporting a sustainable transition.

2. The InvestEU Programme has the following specific objectives:

(a)supporting financing and investment operations related to sustainable infrastructure in the areas referred to in point (a) of Article 8(1);

(b)supporting financing and investment operations related to research, innovation and digitisation, including support for the scaling up of innovative companies and the rolling out of technologies to market, in the areas referred to in point (b) of Article 8(1);

(c)increasing the access to and the availability of finance for SMEs and for small mid-cap companies and to enhance the global competitiveness of such SMEs;

(d)increasing access to and the availability of microfinance and finance for social enterprises, to support financing and investment operations related to social investment, competences and skills, and to develop and consolidate social investment markets, in the areas referred to in point (d) of Article 8(1).

Article 4

Budget and amount of the EU guarantee

1. The EU guarantee for the purposes of the EU compartment referred to in point (a) of Article 9(1) shall be EUR 26 152 310 073 in current prices. It shall be provisioned at the rate of 40 %. The amount referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 35(3) shall be also taken into account for contributing to the provisioning resulting from that provisioning rate.

An additional amount of the EU guarantee may be provided for the purposes of the Member State compartment referred to in point (b) of Article 9(1) of this Regulation, subject to the allocation by Member States, pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the instrument for financial support for border management and visa (the ‘Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027’) and the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation, of the corresponding amounts.

An additional amount of the EU guarantee may also be provided in the form of cash or guarantee by Member States for the purposes of the Member State compartment. The amount provided in cash shall constitute an external assigned revenue in accordance with the second sentence of Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.

The contributions from third countries referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation shall also increase the EU guarantee referred to in the first subparagraph, providing a provisioning in cash in full in accordance with Article 218(2) of the Financial Regulation.

2. An amount of EUR 14 825 000 000 in current prices of the amount referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be allocated for operations implementing measures referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 for the objectives referred to in Article 3(2) of this Regulation.

An amount of EUR 11 327 310 073 in current prices of the amount referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be allocated for the objectives referred to in Article 3(2).

The amounts referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall only be available as of the date referred to in Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) 2020/2094.

The indicative distribution of the EU guarantee for the purposes of the EU compartment is set out in Annex I to this Regulation. Where appropriate, the Commission may depart from the amounts referred to in Annex I by up to 15 % for each objective referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 3(2). The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of any such departure.

3. The financial envelope for the implementation of the measures provided in Chapters VI and VII shall be EUR 430 000 000 in current prices.

4. The amount referred to in paragraph 3 may also be used for technical and administrative assistance for the implementation of the InvestEU Programme, such as preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities, including for corporate information technology systems.

Article 5

Third countries associated to the InvestEU Fund

The EU compartment of the InvestEU Fund referred to in point (a) of Article 9(1) of this Regulation and each of the policy windows referred to in Article 8(1) of this Regulation may receive contributions from the following third countries for the purpose of participation in certain financial products pursuant to Article 218(2) of the Financial Regulation:

(a)members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which are members of the EEA, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

(b)acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries;

(c)European Neighbourhood Policy countries, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries;

(d)other third countries, in accordance with the conditions laid down in a specific agreement covering the participation of the third country to any Union programme, provided that the agreement:

(i)ensures a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the third country participating in the Union programmes;

(ii)lays down the conditions of participation in the programmes, including the calculation of financial contributions to individual programmes, and their administrative costs;

(iii)does not confer on the third country any decision-making power in respect of the Union programme;

(iv)guarantees the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management and to protect its financial interests.

The contributions referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first paragraph of this Article shall constitute assigned revenues in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.

Article 6

Implementation and forms of Union funding

1. The EU guarantee shall be implemented in indirect management with bodies referred to in points (c)(ii), (c)(iii), (c)(v) and (c)(vi) of Article 62(1) of the Financial Regulation. Other forms of Union funding under this Regulation shall be implemented in direct or indirect management in accordance with the Financial Regulation, including grants implemented in accordance with Title VIII of the Financial Regulation and blending operations implemented in accordance with this Article as smoothly as possible, in a manner that ensures efficient and coherent support for Union policies.

2. Financing and investment operations covered by the EU guarantee which form part of the blending operation combining support under this Regulation with support provided under one or more other Union programmes or covered by the EU ETS Innovation Fund shall:

(a)be consistent with the policy objectives and comply with the eligibility criteria set out in the rules of the Union programme under which the support is decided;

(b)comply with this Regulation.

3. Blending operations that include a financial instrument that is fully financed by other Union programmes or by the EU ETS Innovation Fund without the use of the EU guarantee under this Regulation shall be consistent with the policy objectives and comply with the eligibility criteria set out in the rules of the Union programme under which the support is provided.

4. In accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the non-repayable forms of support and financial instruments from the Union budget forming part of the blending operation referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be decided under the rules of the relevant Union programme and shall be implemented within the blending operation in accordance with this Regulation and with Title X of the Financial Regulation.

The reporting relating to such blending operations shall also cover their consistency with the policy objectives and eligibility criteria set out in the rules of the Union programme under which the support is decided as well as their compliance with this Regulation.

Article 7

Combination of portfolios

1. Support from the EU guarantee under this Regulation, Union support provided through the financial instruments established by the programmes in the programming period 2014-2020 and Union support from the EU guarantee established by Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 may be combined in financial products to be implemented by the EIB or the EIF under this Regulation.

2. By way of derogation from Article 19(2) and the second subparagraph of Article 16(1), the EU guarantee under this Regulation may also cover losses referred to in Article 19(2) in relation to the entire portfolio of financing and investment operations supported by the financial products referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Notwithstanding the objectives of the financial instruments referred to in paragraph 1, the provisions made to cover the financial liabilities arising from financial instruments referred to in paragraph 1 may be used to cover losses in relation to the entire portfolio of financing and investment operations supported by the financial products referred to in paragraph 1.

3. Losses, revenues and repayments from financial products as referred to in paragraph 1, as well as potential recoveries, shall be attributed pro rata between the financial instruments and EU guarantees referred to in that paragraph providing the combined Union support to that financial product.

4. The terms and conditions of the financial products referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, including the respective pro rata shares of losses, revenues, repayments and recoveries, shall be set out in the guarantee agreement referred to in Article 17.

CHAPTER II - InvestEU Fund


Article 8

Policy windows

1. The InvestEU Fund shall operate through the following four policy windows that shall address market failures or suboptimal investment situations within their specific scope:

(a)a sustainable infrastructure policy window which comprises sustainable investment in the areas of transport, including multimodal transport, road safety, including in accordance with the Union objective of eliminating fatal road accidents and serious injuries by 2050, the renewal and maintenance of rail and road infrastructure, energy, in particular renewable energy, energy efficiency in accordance with the 2030 energy framework, buildings renovation projects focused on energy savings and the integration of buildings into a connected energy, storage, digital and transport systems, improving interconnection levels, digital connectivity and access, including in rural areas, supply and processing of raw materials, space, oceans, water, including inland waterways, waste management in accordance with the waste hierarchy and the circular economy, nature and other environment infrastructure, cultural heritage, tourism, equipment, mobile assets and the deployment of innovative technologies that contribute to the environmental or climate resilience or social sustainability objectives of the Union and that meet the environmental or social sustainability standards of the Union;

(b)a research, innovation and digitisation policy window which comprises research, product development and innovation activities, the transfer of technologies and research results to the market to support market enablers and cooperation between enterprises, the demonstration and deployment of innovative solutions and support for the scaling up of innovative companies, as well as digitisation of Union industry;

(c)an SME policy window which comprises access to and the availability of finance primarily for SMEs, including for innovative SMEs and SMEs operating in the cultural and creative sectors, as well as for small mid-cap companies;

(d)a social investment and skills policy window, which comprises microfinance, social enterprise finance, social economy and measures to promote gender equality, skills, education, training and related services, social infrastructure, including health and educational infrastructure and social and student housing, social innovation, health and long-term care, inclusion and accessibility, cultural and creative activities with a social goal, and the integration of vulnerable people, including third country nationals.

2. A just transition scheme shall be established horizontally across all policy windows. That scheme shall comprise investments that address social, economic and environmental challenges deriving from the transition process towards the achievement of the Union’s 2030 climate target and its target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, as well as benefit territories identified in a just transition plan prepared by a Member State in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Just Transition Fund Regulation.

3. All policy windows may include strategic investments including important projects of common European interest to support final recipients whose activities are of strategic importance to the Union, in particular in view of the green and digital transitions, of enhanced resilience and of strengthening strategic value chains.

In the case of strategic investments in defence and space sectors and in cybersecurity, as well as in specific types of projects with actual and direct security implications in critical sectors, the investment guidelines adopted in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Article (the ‘investment guidelines’) shall set out limitations with respect to final recipients controlled by a third country or third country entities and final recipients having their executive management outside the Union with a view to protecting the security of the Union and its Member States. Those limitations shall be set out in line with the principles concerning eligible entities set out in the relevant provisions of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Defence Fund and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1092 and in the relevant provisions of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013, (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU.

The investment guidelines shall set out any necessary requirements relating to the control and executive management of final recipients for other areas, and to the control of intermediaries, in the light of any applicable public order or security considerations. Taking account of those requirements, the Steering Board shall set out any necessary additional requirements.

4. Where a financing or investment operation proposed to the Investment Committee falls under more than one policy window, it shall be attributed to the policy window under which its main objective or the main objective of most of its sub-projects falls, unless the investment guidelines provide otherwise.

5. Financing and investment operations shall be screened to determine whether they have an environmental, climate or social impact. If those operations have such an impact they shall be subject to climate, environmental and social sustainability proofing with a view to minimising detrimental impacts and to maximising benefits to the climate, environment and social dimensions. For that purpose, project promoters that request financing shall provide adequate information based on the guidance referred to in paragraph 6. Projects below a certain size specified in the guidance shall be excluded from the proofing. Projects that are inconsistent with the climate objectives shall not be eligible for support under this Regulation. In the event that the implementing partner concludes that no sustainability proofing is to be carried out, it shall provide a justification to the Investment Committee.

6. The Commission shall develop sustainability guidance that, in accordance with Union environmental and social objectives and standards and, taking appropriate account of the principle of ‘do no significant harm’ allows for:

(a)as regards adaptation, ensuring resilience to the potential adverse impacts of climate change through a climate vulnerability and risk assessment, including through relevant adaptation measures, and, as regards mitigation, integrating the cost of greenhouse gas emissions and the positive effects of climate mitigation measures in the cost-benefit analysis;

(b)accounting for the consolidated impact of projects in terms of the principal components of natural capital, namely air, water, land and biodiversity;

(c)estimating the social impact of projects, including on gender equality, on the social inclusion of certain areas or populations and on the economic development of areas and sectors affected by structural challenges such as the need to decarbonise the economy;

(d)identifying projects that are inconsistent with the achievement of climate objectives;

(e)providing implementing partners with guidance for the purpose of the screening provided for under paragraph 5.

7. Implementing partners shall provide the information necessary to allow the tracking of investment that contributes to meeting the Union objectives on climate and environment, on the basis of guidance to be provided by the Commission.

8. Implementing partners shall apply a target of at least 60 % of the investment under the sustainable infrastructure policy window contributing to meeting the Union objectives on climate and environment.

The Commission, together with implementing partners, shall seek to ensure that the part of the EU guarantee used for the sustainable infrastructure policy window is distributed with the aim of achieving a balance between the different areas referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1.

9. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 34 in order to supplement this Regulation by defining the investment guidelines for each of the policy windows. The investment guidelines shall also set out the arrangements for the implementation of the just transition scheme, as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. The investment guidelines shall be prepared in close dialogue with the EIB Group and other potential implementing partners.

10. For strategic financing and investment operations in defence and space sectors and in cybersecurity, the investment guidelines may set out limitations with respect to transfer and licensing of intellectual property rights to critical technologies and technologies instrumental to safeguarding the security of the Union and its Member States while respecting Member State competence within export control.

11. The Commission shall make the information on the application and interpretation of the investment guidelines available to the implementing partners, the Investment Committee and the advisory partners.

Article 9

Compartments

1. The policy windows referred to in Article 8(1) shall consist of an EU compartment and a Member State compartment. Those compartments shall address market failures or suboptimal investment situations as follows:

(a)the EU compartment shall address any of the following situations:

(i)market failures or suboptimal investment situations related to Union policy priorities;

(ii)Union-wide or Member State specific market failures or suboptimal investment situations; or

(iii)market failures or suboptimal investment situations, which require the development of innovative financial solutions and market structures, in particular new or complex market failures or suboptimal investment situations;

(b)the Member State compartment shall address specific market failures or suboptimal investment situations in one or several regions or Member States to deliver the policy objectives of the contributing funds under shared management or of the additional amount provided by a Member State under the third subparagraph of Article 4(1), in particular to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the Union by addressing imbalances between its regions.

2. Where appropriate, the compartments referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used in a complementary manner to support a given financing or investment operation, including by combining support from both compartments.

Article 10

Specific provisions applicable to the Member State compartment

1. Amounts allocated by a Member State on a voluntary basis pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation or amounts provided in cash in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation shall be used for the provisioning for the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment covering financing and investment operations in the Member State concerned or for the possible contribution to the InvestEU Advisory Hub. Those amounts shall be used to contribute to the achievement of the policy objectives specified in the Partnership Agreement referred to in the provisions on the preparation and submission of the Partnership Agreement laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027, in the programmes or in the CAP Strategic Plan which contribute to the InvestEU Programme, in order to implement relevant measures set out in the recovery and resilience plan established under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 or, in other cases, for the purposes laid down in the contribution agreement, depending on the origin of the amount contributed.

2. The establishment of the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment shall be subject to the conclusion of a contribution agreement between a Member State and the Commission.

The fourth subparagraph of this paragraph and paragraph 5 of this Article shall not apply to the additional amount provided by a Member State under the third subparagraph of Article 4(1).

The provisions in this Article relating to amounts allocated pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation are not applicable to a contribution agreement concerning an additional amount by a Member State, referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation.

The Member State and the Commission shall conclude a contribution agreement or an amendment to it within four months following the Commission Decision approving the Partnership Agreement pursuant to the provisions on the approval of the Partnership Agreement laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or the CAP Strategic Plan under the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation or simultaneously to the Commission Decision amending a programme in accordance with the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or a CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with the provisions on the amendment to the CAP Strategic Plan laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation.

Two or more Member States may conclude a joint contribution agreement with the Commission.

By way of derogation from Article 211(1) of the Financial Regulation, the provisioning rate of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment shall be set at 40 % and may be adjusted downwards or upwards in each contribution agreement to take account of the risks attached to the financial products intended to be used.

3. The contribution agreement shall at least contain the following elements:

(a)the overall amount of the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment pertaining to the Member State concerned, its provisioning rate, the amount of the contribution from funds under shared management or provided in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1), the constitution phase of the provisioning and the amount of the resulting contingent liability to be covered by a back-to-back guarantee provided by the Member State concerned;

(b)the Member State strategy, consisting of the financial products and their minimum leverage, the geographical coverage, including regional coverage if necessary, types of projects, the investment period and, where applicable, the categories of final recipients and of eligible intermediaries;

(c)the potential implementing partner or partners proposed in accordance with fourth subparagraph of Article 15(1) and the obligation of the Commission to inform the Member State concerned of the implementing partner or partners selected;

(d)any contribution from funds under shared management or from amounts provided in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) to the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

(e)the obligations to provide annual reports to the Member State, including reporting on the relevant indicators related to the policy objectives covered in the Partnership Agreement, programme, CAP Strategic Plan or in the recovery and resilience plans and referred to in the contribution agreement;

(f)provisions on the remuneration for the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment;

(g)any combination with resources under the EU compartment in accordance with Article 9(2), including in a layered structure to achieve better risk coverage.

4. The contribution agreements shall be implemented by the Commission through guarantee agreements concluded with implementing partners in accordance with Article 17 and advisory agreements concluded with advisory partners in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 25(1).

Where no guarantee agreement has been concluded within nine months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be terminated or prolonged by mutual agreement. Where the amount of a contribution agreement has not been fully committed under one or more guarantee agreements within nine months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, that amount shall be amended accordingly. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by Member States pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation shall be re-used in accordance with those Regulations. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by a Member State under the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation shall be paid back to the Member State.

Where a guarantee agreement has not been duly implemented within the period specified in the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or in the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation, or, in the case of a guarantee agreement related to amounts provided in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation, in the relevant contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be amended. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by Member States pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation shall be re-used in accordance with those Regulations. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by a Member State under the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation shall be paid back to the Member State.

5. The following rules shall apply to the provisioning for the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment established by a contribution agreement:

(a)after the constitution phase referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article, any annual surplus of provisions, calculated by comparing the amount of provisions required by the provisioning rate set in the contribution agreement and the actual amount of provisions, shall be re-used pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 and to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation;

(b)by way of derogation from Article 213(4) of the Financial Regulation, after the constitution phase referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article, the provisioning shall not give rise to annual replenishments during the availability of that part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment;

(c)the Commission shall immediately inform the Member State where the level of provisions for that part of the EU guarantee falls below 20 % of the initial provisioning as a result of calls on that part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment;

(d)if the level of provisions for that part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment reaches 10 % of the initial provisioning, the Member State concerned shall provide up to 5 % of the initial provisioning to the common provisioning fund referred to in Article 212 of the Financial Regulation upon request by the Commission.

6. In relation to amounts referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 4(1), the management of the annual surpluses and replenishments after the constitution phase shall be defined in the contribution agreement.

CHAPTER III - Partnership between the Commission and the EIB Group


Article 11

Scope of the partnership

1. The Commission and the EIB Group shall form a partnership under this Regulation with the objective of supporting the implementation of the InvestEU Programme and fostering consistency, inclusivity, additionality, and efficient deployment. In accordance with this Regulation and as further specified in the agreements referred to in paragraph 3, the EIB Group:

(a)shall implement the portion of the EU guarantee specified in Article 13(4);

(b)shall support the implementation of the EU compartment of the InvestEU Fund, and, where applicable, the Member State compartment, in particular by:

(i)contributing, together with potential implementing partners, to the investment guidelines in accordance with Article 8(9), contributing to the design of the Scoreboard in accordance with Article 22 and contributing to other documents that set out the operational guidance of the InvestEU Fund;

(ii)defining, together with the Commission and potential implementing partners, the risk methodology and risk mapping system that relate to the financing and investment operations of the implementing partners in order to allow such operations to be assessed on a common rating scale;

(iii)at the request of the Commission and in agreement with the potential implementing partner concerned, carrying out an assessment of the systems of that potential implementing partner and providing targeted technical advice on those systems, where and to the extent required by the conclusions of the audit of the pillar assessment in view of the implementation of the financial products envisaged by that potential implementing partner;

(iv)providing a non-binding opinion on the banking-related aspects, in particular on the financial risk and financial terms related to the portion of the EU guarantee to be allocated to the implementing partner, other than to the EIB Group, as defined in the guarantee agreement to be concluded with that implementing partner;

(v)carrying out simulations and projections of the financial risk and remuneration of the aggregate portfolio on the basis of assumptions agreed with the Commission;

(vi)measuring the financial risk of the aggregate portfolio and providing financial reports on the aggregate portfolio; and

(vii)providing restructuring and recovery services as set out in the agreement referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 of this Article to the Commission at the request of the Commission and in agreement with the implementing partner in accordance with point (g) of Article 17(2) where that implementing partner is no longer responsible for pursuing restructuring and recovery activities under the relevant guarantee agreement;

(c)may provide capacity building as referred to in point (h) of Article 25(2) to a national promotional bank or institution and other services, in relation to the implementation of financial products supported by the EU guarantee if requested by that national promotional bank or institution;

(d)shall, in relation to the InvestEU Advisory Hub:

(i)be allocated an amount of up to EUR 300 000 000 for the advisory initiatives referred to in Article 25 and operational tasks referred to in point (ii) of this point out of the financial envelope referred to in Article 4(3);

(ii)advise the Commission and perform operational tasks set out in the agreement referred to in point (c) of paragraph 3, by:

—providing support to the Commission in the design, the establishment and operation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

—providing an assessment of requests for advisory support that the Commission does not consider to fall under existing advisory initiatives, with a view to supporting the allocation decision of the Commission in relation to advisory requests received under the central point of entry defined in point (a) of Article 25(2);

—providing support to national promotional banks and institutions by providing capacity building referred to in point (h) of Article 25(2) in relation to the development of their advisory capabilities to enable them to participate in advisory initiatives, at the request of such banks or institutions;

—at the request of the Commission and of a potential advisory partner, and subject to the agreement of the EIB Group, concluding on behalf of the Commission an agreement with the advisory partner for the delivery of advisory initiatives.

The EIB Group shall ensure that its tasks as referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first subparagraph are conducted entirely independently from its role as an advisory partner.

As appropriate, the Commission shall engage with the implementing partner on the basis of the findings of the opinion of the EIB Group referred to in point (b)(iv) of the first subparagraph. The Commission shall inform the EIB Group of the outcome of its decision-making.

2. The banking-related information transmitted to the EIB Group by the Commission in accordance with points (b)(ii), (b)(iv), (b)(v) and (b)(vi) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be limited to information strictly necessary for the EIB Group to fulfil its obligations under those points. The Commission, in close dialogue with the EIB Group and potential implementing partners, shall define the nature and scope of that banking-related information, taking into account the requirements for the sound financial management of the EU guarantee, the legitimate interests of the implementing partner regarding commercially sensitive information and the needs of the EIB Group in meeting its obligations under those points.

3. The terms of the partnership shall be laid down in agreements, including:

(a)on the granting and implementation of the portion of the EU guarantee specified in Article 13(4):

(i)a guarantee agreement between the Commission and the EIB Group; or

(ii)separate guarantee agreements between the Commission and the EIB and its subsidiaries or other entities established in accordance with Article 28(1) of the EIB Statute, as applicable;

(b)an agreement between the Commission and the EIB Group in relation to points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1;

(c)an agreement between the Commission and the EIB Group in relation to the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

(d)service agreements between the EIB Group and national promotional banks and institutions concerning capacity building and other services provided under point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

4. Without prejudice to Articles 18(3) and 25(4) of this Regulation, the costs incurred by the EIB Group in the performance of tasks referred to in points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be in accordance with the terms of the agreement referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 of this Article and may be covered from the repayments or revenues attributable to the EU guarantee, or from the provisioning, in accordance with Article 211(4) and (5) of the Financial Regulation, or may be charged to the financial envelope referred to in Article 4(3) of this Regulation, upon justification of those costs by the EIB Group, subject to an overall cap of EUR 7 000 000.

5. The costs incurred by the EIB Group for the performance of the operational tasks referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be fully covered by and paid from the amount referred to in point (d)(i) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, upon justification of those costs by the EIB Group, subject to an overall cap of EUR 10 000 000.

Article 12

Conflicts of interest

1. Within the framework of the partnership as referred to in Article 11, the EIB Group shall take all necessary measures and precautions to avoid conflicts of interest with other implementing partners, including by putting in place a dedicated and independent team for the tasks referred to in points (b)(iii) to (vi) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1). That team shall be subject to strict confidentiality rules, which shall continue to apply to members of the team after they have left the team.

2. The EIB Group and other implementing partners shall inform the Commission without delay of any situation that constitutes a conflict of interest or is likely to lead to a conflict of interest. In the event of doubt, the Commission shall determine whether a conflict of interest exists and shall inform the EIB Group of its conclusion. In the event of a conflict of interest, the EIB Group shall take appropriate measures. The EIB Group shall inform the Steering Board of those measures and their results.

3. The EIB Group shall take the necessary precautions to avoid situations in which a conflict of interest could arise in the implementation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub, in particular in relation to its operational tasks in its role of supporting the Commission as referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1). In the event of a conflict of interest, the EIB Group shall take appropriate measures.

CHAPTER IV - EU guarantee


Article 13

EU guarantee

1. The EU guarantee shall be granted as an irrevocable, unconditional and on demand guarantee to the implementing partners in accordance with Article 219(1) of the Financial Regulation and implemented in indirect management in accordance with Title X of that Regulation.

2. The remuneration for the EU guarantee shall be linked to the characteristics and risk profile of the financial products, taking into account the nature of the underlying financing and investment operations and the fulfilment of the policy objectives targeted by the financial products.

Where duly justified by the nature of the policy objectives targeted by the financial product and the need for the financial products to be affordable to the targeted final recipients, the cost of the financing provided to the final recipient may be reduced or the terms of that financing may be improved, by reducing the remuneration for the EU guarantee, or, where necessary, by covering the outstanding administrative costs borne by the implementing partner through the Union budget, in particular:

(a)where stressed financial market conditions would prevent the realisation of a financing or investment operation under market-based pricing; or

(b)where necessary to catalyse financing and investment operations in sectors or areas experiencing a significant market failure or suboptimal investment situation or to facilitate the establishment of investment platforms.

The reduction of the remuneration for the EU guarantee or the coverage of the outstanding administrative costs borne by the implementing partner, referred to in the second subparagraph, may only be done to the extent that it does not significantly impact the provisioning for the EU guarantee.

The reduction of the remuneration for the EU guarantee shall fully benefit final recipients.

3. The condition set out in Article 219(4) of the Financial Regulation shall apply to each implementing partner on a portfolio basis.

4. 75 % of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment as referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(1), amounting to EUR 19 614 232 554, shall be granted to the EIB Group. The EIB Group shall provide an aggregate financial contribution amounting to EUR 4 903 558 139. That contribution shall be provided in a manner and form that facilitates the implementation of the InvestEU Fund and the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 15(2).

5. The remaining 25 % of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment shall be granted to other implementing partners, which shall also provide a financial contribution to be determined in the guarantee agreements.

6. Best efforts shall be made to ensure that, at the end of the investment period, a wide range of sectors and regions are covered and excessive sectoral or geographical concentration is avoided. Those efforts shall include incentives for smaller or less sophisticated national promotional banks and institutions that have a comparative advantage due to their local presence, knowledge and investment competencies. The Commission shall develop a coherent approach to support those efforts.

7. Support under the EU guarantee referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) of this Regulation shall be granted under the conditions set out in Article 3(6) of Regulation (EU) 2020/2094. In other cases, support under the EU guarantee may be granted for financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation for an investment period ending on 31 December 2027.

Contracts between the implementing partner and the final recipient or the financial intermediary or other entity referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1) under the EU guarantee referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) shall be signed at the latest one year after the approval of the relevant financing or investment operation by the implementing partner. In other cases, contracts between the implementing partner and the final recipient or the financial intermediary or other entity referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1) shall be signed by 31 December 2028.

Article 14

Eligible financing and investment operations

1. The InvestEU Fund shall only support financing and investment operations that:

(a)comply with the conditions set out in points (a) to (e) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation, in particular regarding market failures, suboptimal investment situations and additionality as set out in points (a) and (b) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation and in Annex V to this Regulation and, where appropriate, maximising private investment in accordance with point (d) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation;

(b)contribute to the Union policy objectives and fall within the scope of the areas eligible for financing and investment operations under the appropriate policy window in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation;

(c)do not provide financial support to the excluded activities set out in Section B of Annex V to this Regulation; and

(d)are consistent with the investment guidelines.

2. In addition to projects situated in the Union, or in an overseas country or territory linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU, the InvestEU Fund may support the following projects and operations through financing and investment operations:

(a)projects involving entities located or established in one or more Member States that extend to one or more third countries, including acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, countries falling within the scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EEA or the EFTA, to an overseas country or territory as set out in Annex II to the TFEU, or to an associated third country, regardless of whether there is a partner in those third countries or overseas countries or territories;

(b)financing and investment operations in third countries as referred to in Article 5 which have contributed to a specific financial product.

3. The InvestEU Fund may support financing and investment operations that provide finance to final recipients which are legal entities established in any of the following countries or territories:

(a)a Member State or an overseas country or territory linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU;

(b)a third country associated to the InvestEU Programme in accordance with Article 5;

(c)a third country referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2, where applicable;

(d)other third countries, where necessary for the financing of a project in a country or territory referred to in points (a), (b) or (c).

Article 15

Selection of implementing partners other than the EIB Group

1. The Commission shall select implementing partners other than the EIB Group in accordance with Article 154 of the Financial Regulation.

Implementing partners may form a group. An implementing partner may be a member of one or more groups.

For the EU compartment, the eligible counterparties shall have expressed their interest in relation to the portion of the EU guarantee referred to in Article 13(5).

For the Member State compartment, the Member State concerned may propose one or more counterparties as implementing partners from among those counterparties that have expressed their interest. The Member State concerned may also propose the EIB Group as an implementing partner and, at its own expense, may contract the EIB Group to provide the services listed in Article 11.

Where the Member State concerned does not propose an implementing partner, the Commission shall proceed in accordance with the third subparagraph of this paragraph and shall select as implementing partners eligible counterparties that are able to cover the financing and investment operations in the geographical areas concerned.

2. When selecting implementing partners, the Commission shall ensure that the portfolio of financial products under the InvestEU Fund meets the following objectives:

(a)maximising the coverage of the objectives laid down in Article 3;

(b)maximising the impact of the EU guarantee through the own resources committed by the implementing partner;

(c)maximising, where appropriate, private investment;

(d)promoting innovative financial and risk solutions to address market failures and suboptimal investment situations;

(e)achieving geographical diversification via gradual allocation of the EU guarantee, and to allow for the financing of smaller projects;

(f)providing sufficient risk diversification.

3. When selecting the implementing partners, the Commission shall also take into account:

(a)the possible cost and remuneration to the Union budget;

(b)the capacity of the implementing partner to implement thoroughly the requirements of Article 155(2) and (3) of the Financial Regulation related to tax avoidance, tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, terrorism financing and non-cooperative jurisdictions.

4. National promotional banks and institutions may be selected as implementing partners, provided that they fulfil the requirements laid down in this Article.

Article 16

Eligible types of financing

1. The EU guarantee may be used towards risk coverage for the following types of financing provided by the implementing partners:

(a)loans, guarantees, counter-guarantees, capital market instruments, any other form of funding or credit enhancement, including subordinated debt, or equity or quasi-equity investments, provided directly or indirectly through financial intermediaries, funds, investment platforms or other vehicles to be channelled to final recipients;

(b)funding or guarantees by an implementing partner to another financial institution enabling the latter to undertake financing referred to in point (a).

In order to be covered by the EU guarantee, the financing referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be granted, acquired or issued for the benefit of financing and investment operations referred to in Article 14(1), where the financing by the implementing partner was granted in accordance with a financing agreement or transaction signed or entered into by the implementing partner after the signature of the guarantee agreement and that has not expired or been cancelled.

2. Financing and investment operations through funds or other intermediate structures shall be supported by the EU guarantee in accordance with provisions to be laid down in the investment guidelines, even if such structures invest a minority of their invested amounts outside the Union and in third countries referred to Article 14(2) or invest a minority of their invested amounts into assets other than those eligible under this Regulation.

Article 17

Guarantee agreements

1. The Commission shall conclude a guarantee agreement with each implementing partner on the granting of the EU guarantee up to an amount to be determined by the Commission.

In the event that implementing partners form a group, a single guarantee agreement shall be concluded between the Commission and each implementing partner within the group or with one implementing partner on behalf of the group.

2. The guarantee agreement shall contain:

(a)the amount and the terms of the financial contribution which is to be provided by the implementing partner;

(b)the terms of the funding or the guarantees which are to be provided by the implementing partner to another legal entity participating in the implementation, whenever that is the case;

(c)detailed rules on the provision of the EU guarantee in accordance with Article 19, including on the coverage of portfolios of specific types of instruments and the respective events that trigger possible calls on the EU guarantee;

(d)the remuneration for risk-taking that is to be allocated in proportion to the respective share of the risk-taking of the Union and of the implementing partner or as reduced in duly justified cases pursuant to Article 13(2);

(e)the payment conditions;

(f)the commitment of the implementing partner to accept the decisions by the Commission and the Investment Committee as regards the use of the EU guarantee for the benefit of a proposed financing or investment operation, without prejudice to the decision-making of the implementing partner in respect of the proposed financing or investment operation without the EU guarantee;

(g)provisions and procedures relating to the recovery of claims that is to be entrusted to the implementing partner;

(h)financial and operational reporting and monitoring of the financing and investment operations under the EU guarantee;

(i)key performance indicators, in particular as regards the use of the EU guarantee, the fulfilment of the objectives and criteria laid down in Articles 3, 8 and 14, and the mobilisation of private capital;

(j)where applicable, provisions and procedures relating to blending operations;

(k)other relevant provisions in compliance with the requirements of Article 155(2) and Title X of the Financial Regulation;

(l)the existence of adequate mechanisms for addressing the potential concerns of private investors.

3. A guarantee agreement shall also provide that remuneration attributable to the Union from financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation is to be provided after the deduction of payments due upon calls on the EU guarantee.

4. In addition, a guarantee agreement shall provide that any amount due to the implementing partner that relates to the EU guarantee shall be deducted from the overall amount of remuneration, revenues and repayments due by the implementing partner to the Union from financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation. Where that amount is not sufficient to cover the amount due to the implementing partner in accordance with Article 18(3), the outstanding amount shall be drawn from the provisioning for the EU guarantee.

5. Where the guarantee agreement is concluded under the Member State compartment, it may provide for the participation of representatives from the Member State or the regions concerned in the monitoring of the implementation of that guarantee agreement.

Article 18

Requirements for the use of the EU guarantee

1. The granting of the EU guarantee shall be subject to the entry into force of the guarantee agreement with the relevant implementing partner.

2. Financing and investment operations shall be covered by the EU guarantee only where they fulfil the criteria laid down in this Regulation and in the relevant investment guidelines, and where the Investment Committee has concluded that those operations fulfil the requirements for benefiting from the EU guarantee. The implementing partners shall remain responsible for ensuring that the financing and investment operations comply with this Regulation and the relevant investment guidelines.

3. No administrative costs or fees related to the implementation of financing and investment operations under the EU guarantee shall be due to the implementing partner by the Commission unless the nature of the policy objectives targeted by the financial product to be implemented and the affordability for the targeted final recipients or the type of financing provided allow the implementing partner to duly justify to the Commission the need for an exception. The coverage of such costs by the Union budget shall be limited to the amount strictly required to implement the relevant financing and investment operations, and shall be provided only to the extent to which the costs are not covered by revenues received by the implementing partners from the financing and investment operations concerned. The fee arrangements shall be laid down in the guarantee agreement and shall comply with Article 17(4) of this Regulation and with point (g) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation.

4. In addition, the implementing partner may use the EU guarantee to meet the relevant share of any recovery costs in accordance with Article 17(4), unless those costs have been deducted from recovery proceeds.

Article 19

Coverage and terms of the EU guarantee

1. Remuneration for risk-taking shall be allocated between the Union and an implementing partner in proportion to their respective share of the risk-taking with respect to a portfolio of financing and investment operations or, where relevant, with respect to individual financing and investment operations. The remuneration for the EU guarantee may be reduced in duly justified cases referred to in Article 13(2).

The implementing partner shall have appropriate exposure at its own risk to financing and investment operations supported by the EU guarantee, unless exceptionally the policy objectives targeted by the financial product to be implemented are of such nature that the implementing partner could not reasonably contribute its own risk-bearing capacity to it.

2. The EU guarantee shall cover:

(a)for debt products referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1):

(i)the principal and all interest and amounts due to the implementing partner but not received by it in accordance with the terms of the financing operations prior to the event of default;

(ii)restructuring losses;

(iii)losses arising from fluctuations of currencies other than the euro in markets where possibilities for long-term hedging are limited;

(b)for equity or quasi-equity investments referred to in point (a) of Article 16(1): the amounts invested and the associated funding costs and losses arising from fluctuations of currencies other than the euro;

(c)for funding or guarantees by an implementing partner to another financial institution in accordance with point (b) of Article 16(1): the amounts used and their associated funding costs.

For the purposes of point (a)(i) of the first subparagraph, for subordinated debt a deferral, reduction or required exit shall be considered to be an event of default.

3. Where the Union makes a payment to the implementing partner as the result of a call on the EU guarantee, the Union shall be subrogated into the relevant rights of the implementing partner relating to any of its financing or investment operations covered by the EU guarantee, to the extent that those rights continue to exist.

The implementing partner shall pursue the recovery of claims for the subrogated amounts on behalf of the Union and shall reimburse the Union from the amounts recovered.

CHAPTER V - Governance


Article 20

Advisory Board

1. The Commission and the Steering Board established pursuant to Article 21 shall be advised by an advisory board (the ‘Advisory Board’).

2. The Advisory Board shall strive to ensure gender balance and shall comprise:

(a)one representative of each implementing partner;

(b)one representative of each Member State;

(c)one expert appointed by the European Economic and Social Committee;

(d)one expert appointed by the Committee of the Regions.

3. The Advisory Board shall be chaired by a representative of the Commission. The representative of the EIB Group shall be the vice-chair.

The Advisory Board shall meet regularly, at least twice a year, at the request of the Chairperson.

4. The Advisory Board shall:

(a)provide advice to the Commission and the Steering Board on the design of financial products to be deployed under this Regulation;

(b)provide advice to the Commission and the Steering Board about market developments, market conditions, market failures and suboptimal investment situations;

(c)exchange views on market developments and share best practices.

5. The Commission shall nominate the first Advisory Board members representing the implementing partners other than the EIB Group after consultation of potential implementing partners. Their term is limited to one year.

6. Meetings of representatives of the Member States in a separate format shall also be organised at least twice a year and chaired by the Commission.

7. The Advisory Board and the meetings of the representatives of the Member States referred to in paragraph 6 may issue recommendations to the Steering Board for its consideration regarding the implementation and operation of the InvestEU Programme.

8. Detailed minutes of the meetings of the Advisory Board shall be made public as soon as possible after they have been approved by the Advisory Board.

The Commission shall establish the operating rules and procedures for the Advisory Board and shall manage the secretariat of the Advisory Board. All relevant documentation and information shall be made available to the Advisory Board to enable it to exercise its tasks.

9. The national promotional banks and institutions represented on the Advisory Board shall select from among themselves the representatives of the implementing partners other than the EIB Group in the Steering Board established pursuant to Article 21. The national promotional banks and institutions shall aim to achieve a balanced representation in the Steering Board in terms of size and geographical location. The representatives selected shall represent the agreed common position of all implementing partners other than the EIB Group.

Article 21

Steering Board

1. A steering board for the InvestEU Programme (the ‘Steering Board’) shall be established. It shall be composed of four representatives of the Commission, three representatives of the EIB Group and two representatives of the implementing partners other than the EIB Group and one expert appointed as a non-voting member by the European Parliament. The expert appointed as a non-voting member by the European Parliament shall not seek or take instructions from Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, from any Member State government or from any other public or private body and shall act with full independence. That expert shall perform his or her duties impartially and in the interest of the InvestEU Programme.

Members of the Steering Board shall be appointed for a term of four years, renewable once, with the exception of the representatives of the implementing partners other than the EIB Group, who shall be appointed for a term of two years.

2. The Steering Board shall select a Chairperson from among the Commission representatives for a term of four years, renewable once. The Chairperson shall report biannually to the representatives of the Member States on the Advisory Board on the implementation and operation of the InvestEU Programme.

Detailed minutes of Steering Board meetings shall be published as soon as they have been approved by the Steering Board.

3. The Steering Board shall:

(a)provide strategic and operational guidance for the implementing partners, including guidance on the design of financial products and on other operating policies and procedures necessary for the operation of the InvestEU Fund;

(b)adopt the risk methodological framework developed by the Commission in cooperation with the EIB Group and the other implementing partners;

(c)oversee the implementation of the InvestEU Programme;

(d)be consulted, reflecting the views of all its member, on the shortlist of candidates for the Investment Committee before their selection in accordance with Article 24(2);

(e)adopt the rules of procedure of the secretariat to the Investment Committee referred to in Article 24(4).

(f)adopt the rules applicable to the operations with investment platforms.

4. The Steering Board shall use a consensual approach in its discussions, therefore taking the utmost possible account of the positions of all members. If the members cannot converge in their positions, decisions of the Steering Board are taken by qualified majority of its voting members, consisting of at least seven votes.

Article 22

Scoreboard

1. A scoreboard of indicators (the ‘Scoreboard’) shall be established to ensure that the Investment Committee is able to carry out an independent, transparent and harmonised assessment of requests for the use of the EU guarantee for financing and investment operations proposed by implementing partners.

2. Implementing partners shall fill out the Scoreboard for their proposals for financing and investment operations.

3. The Scoreboard shall cover the following elements:

(a)a description of the proposed financing or investment operation;

(b)how the proposed financing or investment operation contributes to EU policy objectives;

(c)a description of additionality;

(d)a description of the market failure or suboptimal investment situation;

(e)the financial and technical contribution by the implementing partner;

(f)the impact of the investment;

(g)the financial profile of the financing or investment operation;

(h)complementary indicators.

4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 34 in order to supplement this Regulation by establishing additional elements of the Scoreboard, including detailed rules for the Scoreboard to be used by the implementing partners.

Article 23

Policy check

1. The Commission shall conduct a check to confirm that the financing and investment operations proposed by the implementing partners other than the EIB comply with Union law and policies.

2. EIB financing and investment operations that fall within the scope of this Regulation shall not be covered by the EU guarantee where the Commission delivers an unfavourable opinion within the framework of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the EIB Statute.

Article 24

Investment Committee

1. A fully independent investment committee shall be established for the InvestEU Fund (the ‘Investment Committee’). The Investment Committee shall:

(a)examine the proposals for financing and investment operations submitted by implementing partners for coverage under the EU guarantee that have passed the policy check referred to in Article 23(1) of this Regulation or that have received a favourable opinion within the framework of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the EIB Statute;

(b)verify the compliance of the proposals referred to in point (a) with this Regulation and the relevant investment guidelines; and

(c)check whether the financing and investment operations that would benefit from the support under the EU guarantee comply with all relevant requirements.

When performing the tasks referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Investment Committee shall give particular attention to the additionality requirements set out in point (b) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation and in Annex V to this Regulation and to the requirement to crowd in private investment set out in point (d) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation.

2. The Investment Committee shall meet in four different configurations, corresponding to the four policy windows referred to in Article 8(1).

Each configuration of the Investment Committee shall be composed of six remunerated external experts. The experts shall be selected and shall be appointed by the Commission, at the recommendation of the Steering Board. The experts shall be appointed for a term of up to four years, renewable once. They shall be remunerated by the Union. The Commission, at the recommendation of the Steering Board, may decide to renew the term of office of an incumbent member of the Investment Committee without following the procedure laid down in this paragraph.

The experts shall have a high level of relevant market experience in project structuring and financing or financing of SMEs or corporates.

The composition of the Investment Committee shall ensure that it has a wide knowledge of the sectors covered by the policy windows referred to in Article 8(1) and a wide knowledge of the geographic markets in the Union, and shall ensure that the Investment Committee as a whole is gender-balanced.

Four members of the Investment Committee shall be permanent members of each of the four configurations of the Investment Committee. At least one of the permanent members shall have expertise in sustainable investment. In addition, each of the four configurations shall have two experts with experience in investment in sectors covered by the corresponding policy window. The Steering Board shall assign the Investment Committee members to the appropriate configuration or configurations. The Investment Committee shall elect a chairperson from among its permanent members.

3. When participating in the activities of the Investment Committee, its members shall perform their duties impartially and in the sole interest of the InvestEU Fund. They shall not seek or take instructions from the implementing partners, the institutions of the Union, the Member States, or any other public or private body.

The curricula vitae and declarations of interest of each member of the Investment Committee shall be made public and kept up to date. Each member of the Investment Committee shall without delay communicate to the Commission and the Steering Board all information needed to confirm the absence of any conflict of interest on an ongoing basis.

The Steering Board may recommend to the Commission that it remove a member from his or her functions if that member does not comply with the requirements laid down in this paragraph or for other duly justified reasons.

4. When acting in accordance with this Article, the Investment Committee shall be assisted by a secretariat. The secretariat shall be independent and answerable to the chairperson of the Investment Committee. The secretariat shall be administratively located in the Commission. The rules of procedure of the secretariat shall ensure the confidentiality of exchanges of information and documents between implementing partners and the respective governing bodies. The EIB Group may submit its proposals for financing and investment operations directly to the Investment Committee and shall notify them to the secretariat.

The documentation to be provided by the implementing partners shall comprise a standardised request form, the Scoreboard referred to in Article 22 and any other document the Investment Committee considers relevant, in particular a description of the character of the market failure or suboptimal investment situation and how it will be alleviated by the financing or investment operation, as well as a reliable assessment of the operation that demonstrates the additionality of the financing or investment operation. The secretariat shall check the completeness of the documentation provided by implementing partners other than the EIB Group. The Investment Committee may seek clarifications from the implementing partner concerned in relation to a proposal for an investment or financing operation, including by requesting the direct presence of a representative of the implementing partner concerned during the discussion of the aforementioned operation. Any project assessment conducted by an implementing partner shall not be binding on the Investment Committee for the purposes of granting a financing or investment operation coverage by the EU guarantee.

The Investment Committee shall use the Scoreboard referred to in Article 22 in its assessment and verification of the proposed financial and investment operations.

5. Conclusions of the Investment Committee shall be adopted by simple majority of all members, provided that such simple majority includes at least one of the non-permanent members of the configuration relating to the policy window under which the proposal is made. In the event of a draw, the chair of the Investment Committee shall have the casting vote.

Conclusions of the Investment Committee approving the coverage of the EU guarantee for a financing or investment operation shall be publicly accessible and shall include the rationale for the approval and information on the operation, in particular its description, the identity of the promoters or financial intermediaries, and the objectives of the operation. The conclusions shall also refer to the global assessment stemming from the Scoreboard.

The relevant Scoreboard shall be made publicly accessible after the signature of the financing or investment operation or sub-project, if applicable.

Information to be made publicly accessible under the second and third subparagraphs shall not contain commercially sensitive information or personal data that are not to be disclosed under the Union data protection rules. Commercially sensitive parts of the conclusions of the Investment Committee shall be forwarded by the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council upon request subject to strict confidentiality requirements.

Twice a year, the Investment Committee shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a list of all conclusions of the Investment Committee in the preceding six months, as well as the published Scoreboards relating thereto. That submission shall include any decisions rejecting the use of the EU guarantee. Those decisions shall be subject to strict confidentiality requirements.

Conclusions of the Investment Committee shall be made available in a timely manner to the implementing partner concerned by the secretariat of the Investment Committee.

The secretariat of the Investment Committee shall record all information related to proposals for financing and investment operations provided to the Investment Committee and the conclusions of the Investment Committee on those proposals in a central repository.

6. Where the Investment Committee is requested to approve the use of the EU guarantee for a financing or investment operation that is a facility, programme or structure which has underlying sub-projects, that approval shall comprise those underlying sub-projects unless the Investment Committee decides to retain the right to approve them separately. The Investment Committee shall not have the right to separately approve sub-projects of a size below EUR 3 000 000.

7. Where it deems it necessary, the Investment Committee may bring to the Commission any operational issue relating to the application or interpretation of the investment guidelines.

CHAPTER VI - InvestEU Advisory Hub


Article 25

InvestEU Advisory Hub

1. The Commission shall establish the InvestEU Advisory Hub. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall provide advisory support for the identification, preparation, development, structuring, procuring and implementation of investment projects, and for enhancing the capacity of project promoters and financial intermediaries to implement financing and investment operations. Such support may cover any stage of the life cycle of a project or financing of a supported entity.

The Commission shall conclude advisory agreements with the EIB Group and other potential advisory partners and task them with the provision of advisory support as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and of the services referred to in paragraph 2. The Commission may also implement advisory initiatives, including through contracting external service providers. The Commission shall establish a central entry point to the InvestEU Advisory Hub and shall allocate requests for advisory support to be dealt under the appropriate advisory initiative. The Commission, the EIB Group and the other advisory partners shall cooperate closely with a view to ensuring efficiency, synergies and effective geographic coverage of support across the Union, while taking due account of existing structures and work.

Advisory initiatives shall be available as a component under each policy window referred to in Article 8(1), covering sectors under that window. In addition, advisory initiatives shall be available under a cross-sectoral component.

2. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall in particular:

(a)provide a central point of entry, managed and hosted by the Commission, for project development assistance under the InvestEU Advisory Hub for public authorities and for project promoters;

(b)disseminate to public authorities and project promoters all available additional information regarding the investment guidelines, including information on their application or on the interpretation provided by the Commission;

(c)where appropriate, assist project promoters in developing their projects so that they fulfil the objectives set out in Articles 3 and 8 and the eligibility criteria set out in Article 14, and facilitate the development of among others important projects of common European interest and aggregators for small-sized projects, including through investment platforms as referred to in point (f) of this paragraph, provided that such assistance does not prejudge the conclusions of the Investment Committee with respect to the coverage of the EU guarantee with respect to such projects;

(d)support actions and leverage local knowledge to facilitate the use of InvestEU Fund support across the Union and contribute actively where possible to the objective of the sectorial and geographical diversification of the InvestEU Fund by supporting implementing partners in originating and developing potential financing and investment operations;

(e)facilitate the establishment of collaborative platforms for peer-to-peer exchanges and the sharing of data, knowhow and best practices to support project pipeline and sector development;

(f)provide proactive advisory support with respect to the establishment of investment platforms, including cross-border and macro-regional investment platforms and investment platforms that bundle small and medium-sized projects in one or more Member States by theme or by region;

(g)support the use of blending with grants or financial instruments funded by the Union budget or by other sources in order to strengthen synergies and complementarities between Union instruments and to maximise the leverage and impact of the InvestEU Programme;

(h)support capacity building actions to develop organisational capacities, skills and processes and to accelerate the investment readiness of organisations in order for public authorities and project promoters to build investment project pipelines, develop financing mechanisms and investment platforms and to manage projects and for financial intermediaries to implement financing and investment operations for the benefit of entities that face difficulties in obtaining access to finance, including through support for developing risk assessment capacity or sector specific knowledge;

(i)providing advisory support for start-ups, especially when they seek to protect their research and innovation investments by obtaining intellectual property titles, such as patents.

3. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall be available to public and private project promoters, including SMEs and start-ups, to public authorities, to national promotional banks and institutions, and to financial and non-financial intermediaries.

4. The Commission shall conclude an advisory agreement with each advisory partner on the implementation of one or more advisory initiatives. The InvestEU Advisory Hub may charge fees for the services referred to in paragraph 2 to cover part of the costs for providing those services, except for services provided to public project promoters or non-profit institutions, which shall be free of charge where justified. Fees charged to SMEs for those services referred to in paragraph 2 shall be capped at one third of the cost of providing those services.

5. In order to carry out the activities referred to in paragraph 1 and to facilitate the provision of advisory support, the InvestEU Advisory Hub shall build upon the expertise of the Commission, the EIB Group and the other advisory partners.

6. Each advisory initiative shall incorporate a cost-sharing mechanism between the Commission and the advisory partner, except where the Commission agrees to cover all costs of the advisory initiative in a duly justified case where the specificities of the advisory initiative so require and the coherent and equitable treatment of advisory partners concerned is ensured.

7. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall have local presence where necessary. Local presence shall be established in particular in Member States or regions that face difficulties in developing projects under the InvestEU Fund. The InvestEU Advisory Hub shall assist in the transfer of knowledge to the regional and local level with a view to building up regional and local capacity and expertise to be able to provide advisory support referred to in paragraph 1, including support to implement and accommodate small-sized projects.

8. In order to provide the advisory support referred in paragraph 1 and to facilitate the provision of that advisory support at local level, the InvestEU Advisory Hub shall cooperate where possible with and take advantage of the expertise of national promotional banks and institutions. Where appropriate, cooperation agreements with national promotional banks and institutions shall be concluded under the InvestEU Advisory Hub, with at least one national promotional bank or institution per Member State.

9. The implementing partners shall, as appropriate, propose to project promoters applying for financing, including in particular small-sized projects, that they request the InvestEU Advisory Hub support for their projects, where appropriate, in order to enhance the preparation of their projects and to allow for the assessment of the possibility of bundling projects.

Where relevant, the implementing partners and advisory partners shall also inform the project promoters of the possibility of listing their projects on the InvestEU Portal referred to in Article 26.

CHAPTER VII - InvestEU Portal


Article 26

InvestEU Portal

1. The Commission shall establish the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Portal shall be an easily accessible and user-friendly project database that provides relevant information for each project.

2. The InvestEU Portal shall provide a channel for project promoters to make projects for which they are seeking finance visible to investors. The inclusion of projects in the InvestEU Portal shall be without prejudice to decisions on the final projects selected for support under this Regulation or under any other Union instrument, or to decisions for public funding. Only projects that are compatible with Union law and policies shall be listed on the InvestEU Portal.

3. The Commission shall transmit projects that are compatible with Union law and policies to the relevant implementing partners. Where appropriate and where an advisory initiative exists, the Commission shall also transmit such projects to the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

4. Implementing partners shall examine projects falling within their geographic and activity scope.

CHAPTER VIII - Accountability, monitoring and reporting, evaluation and control


Article 27

Accountability

1. At the request of the European Parliament or of the Council, the Chairperson of the Steering Board shall report on the performance of the InvestEU Fund to the requesting institution, including by participating in a hearing before the European Parliament.

2. The Chairperson of the Steering Board shall reply orally or in writing to questions addressed to the InvestEU Fund by the European Parliament or by the Council within five weeks of their receipt.

Article 28

Monitoring and reporting

1. Indicators to report on the progress of the InvestEU Programme towards the achievement of the general and specific objectives laid down in Article 3 are set out in Annex III.

2. The performance reporting system shall ensure that data for monitoring the implementation and the results of the InvestEU Programme are collected efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner, and that those data allow for adequate risk and guarantee portfolio monitoring. To that end, proportionate reporting requirements shall be imposed on the implementing partners, the advisory partners and other recipients of Union funds, as appropriate.

3. The Commission shall report on the implementation of the InvestEU Programme in accordance with Articles 241 and 250 of the Financial Regulation. In accordance with Article 41(5) of the Financial Regulation, the annual report shall provide information on the level of implementation of the Programme with respect to its objectives and performance indicators. For that purpose, each implementing partner shall provide on an annual basis the information necessary to allow the Commission to comply with its reporting obligations, including information on the operation of the EU guarantee.

4. Every six months, each implementing partner shall submit a report to the Commission on the financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation, broken down by EU compartment and Member State compartment, as appropriate. Each implementing partner shall also submit information on the Member State compartment to the Member State whose compartment it implements. The report shall include an assessment of compliance with the requirements on the use of the EU guarantee and with the key performance indicators laid down in Annex III to this Regulation. The report shall also include operational, statistical, financial and accounting data on each financing or investment operation and an estimation of expected cash flows, at the level of compartment, policy window and the InvestEU Fund. Once a year, the report from the EIB Group and, where appropriate, from other implementing partners, shall also include information on barriers to investment encountered when carrying out financing and investment operations covered by this Regulation. The reports shall contain the information the implementing partners have to provide under point (a) of Article 155(1) of the Financial Regulation.

5. To ensure the effective assessment of the progress of the InvestEU Programme towards the achievement of its objectives, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 34, to amend Annex III with regard to the indicators where considered necessary as well as to supplement this Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework.

Article 29

Evaluation

1. Evaluations of the InvestEU Programme shall be carried out so that they feed into the decision-making process in a timely manner.

2. By 30 September 2024, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council an independent interim evaluation report on the InvestEU Programme, in particular on the use of the EU guarantee, on the fulfilment of the EIB Group’s obligations under points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1), on the allocation of the EU guarantee provided for in Article 13(4) and (5), on the implementation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub, on the budgetary allocation provided for in point (d)(i) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1), and on Article 8(8). The evaluation shall in particular demonstrate how the inclusion of the implementing partners and advisory partners in the implementation of the InvestEU Programme has contributed to the reaching of InvestEU Programme targets as well as EU policy goals, especially with regard to added value and the geographical and sectoral balance of the supported financing and investment operations. The evaluation shall also assess the application of sustainability proofing pursuant to Article 8(5) and the focus on SMEs reached under the SME policy window referred to in point (c) of Article 8(1).

3. At the end of the implementation of the InvestEU Programme, but no later than 31 December 2031, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council an independent final evaluation report on the InvestEU Programme, in particular on the use of the EU guarantee.

4. The Commission shall communicate the conclusions of the evaluations, accompanied by its observations, to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions.

5. The implementing partners and advisory partners shall contribute to and provide the Commission with the information necessary to perform the evaluations referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.

6. In accordance with Article 211(1) of the Financial Regulation, every three years the Commission shall include in the annual report referred to in Article 250 of the Financial Regulation a review of the adequacy of the provisioning rate laid down in Article 4(1) of this Regulation with respect to the actual risk profile of the financing and investment operations covered by the EU guarantee. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 34 of this Regulation in order to amend this Regulation by adjusting the provisioning rate laid down in Article 4(1) of this Regulation by up to 15 % on the basis of that review.

Article 30

Audits

Audits of the use of the Union funding carried out by persons or entities, including by persons or entities other than those mandated by Union institutions or bodies, shall form the basis of the overall assurance pursuant to Article 127 of the Financial Regulation.

Article 31

Protection of the financial interests of the Union

Where a third country participates in the InvestEU Programme by means of a decision adopted pursuant to an international agreement or on the basis of any other legal instrument, the third country shall grant the necessary rights and access required for the authorising officer responsible, OLAF and the Court of Auditors to comprehensively exercise their respective competences. In the case of OLAF, such rights shall include the right to carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, as provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013.

CHAPTER IX - Transparency and visibility


Article 32

Information, communication and publicity

1. Implementing partners and advisory partners shall acknowledge the origin and ensure the visibility of the Union funding, in particular when promoting the actions and their results, by providing coherent, effective and proportionate targeted information to multiple audiences, including the media and the public.

The application of the requirements under the first subparagraph to projects in defence and space sectors and in cybersecurity shall be subject to respect for any confidentiality or secrecy obligations.

2. The implementing partners and advisory partners shall inform the final recipients, including SMEs, of the existence of support under the InvestEU Programme, or oblige other financial intermediaries to inform such final recipients of that support, by making that information clearly visible in the relevant agreement providing support under the InvestEU Programme, particularly in the case of SMEs, in order to increase public awareness and improve visibility.

3. The Commission shall implement information and communication actions relating to the InvestEU Programme, to actions taken pursuant to the InvestEU Programme and to the results obtained. Financial resources allocated to the InvestEU Programme shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, insofar as those priorities are related to the objectives referred to in Article 3.

CHAPTER X - Participation of the European Union in the capital increase of the European Investment Fund


Article 33

Participation in a capital increase of the EIF

In addition to its shareholding in the EIF at 3 December 2020, the Union shall subscribe for up to 853 shares in the EIF, each of a nominal value of EUR 1 000 000, so that its relative share in the capital remains at a level equivalent to that on 3 December 2020. The subscription of the shares and the payment of up to EUR 375 000 000 for the paid-in part of the shares and for the share premium shall be carried out in accordance with terms and conditions that shall be approved by the General Meeting of the EIF and before 31 December 2021. The resulting subscribed but not paid-in part of the shares acquired under this Article shall not exceed EUR 682 400 000.

CHAPTER XI - Transitional and final provisions


Article 34

Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. Where delegated acts concern activities to be carried out by or involving the EIB Group and other implementing partners, the Commission shall consult with the EIB Group and other potential implementing partners before preparing those delegated acts.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 8(9), 22(4), 28(5) and 29(6) shall be conferred on the Commission until 31 December 2028. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before that date. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 8(9), 22(4), 28(5) and 29(6) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 8(9), 22(4), 28(5) and 29(6) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 35

Transitional provisions

1. By way of derogation from the first and fourth subparagraphs of Article 209(3) of the Financial Regulation, any revenues, repayments and recoveries from financial instruments established by programmes referred to in Annex IV to this Regulation may be used for the provisioning of the EU guarantee under this Regulation, taking into account the relevant provisions concerning the budget laid down in the Public Sector Loan Facility Regulation for 2021-2027.

2. By way of derogation from point (a) of Article 213(4) of the Financial Regulation, any surplus of provisions for the EU guarantee established by Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 may be used for the provisioning of the EU guarantee under this Regulation, taking into account the relevant provisions concerning the budget laid down in the Public Sector Loan Facility Regulation for 2021-2027.

3. The amount of EUR 6 074 000 000 in current prices referred to in point (c) of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 shall be used:

(a)for the provisioning of the EU guarantee under this Regulation with an amount of EUR 5 930 000 000 in current prices, in addition to the resources mentioned in the first subparagraph of Article 211(4) of the Financial Regulation;

(b)for the implementation of the measures provided in Chapters VI and VII of this Regulation and the measures referred to in the second sentence of Article 1(3) of Regulation (EU) 2020/2094, subject to Article 3(4) and (8) of that Regulation, with an amount of EUR 142 500 000 in current prices.

That amount shall constitute an external assigned revenue in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.

4. By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of Article 16(1) of this Regulation, financing and investment operations signed or entered into by an implementing partner during the period from 1 January 2021 until the signature of their respective guarantee agreements may be covered by the EU guarantee provided that those operations are indicated in the guarantee agreement, pass the policy check referred to in Article 23(1) of this Regulation or receive a favourable opinion within the framework of the procedure provided for in Article 19 of the EIB Statute and are in both cases approved by the Investment Committee in accordance with Article 24 of this Regulation.

Article 36

Amendment of Regulation (EU) 2015/1017

The following article is inserted in Regulation (EU) 2015/1017:

‘Article 11a

Combination of EFSI portfolio with other portfolios

By way of derogation from Article 11(6) of this Regulation and the second subparagraph of Article 10(2) of this Regulation, the EU guarantee may cover losses referred to in Article 11(6) of this Regulation in relation to the entire portfolio of financing and investment operations supported by the financial products referred to in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1).

Article 37

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.