European Commission Daily News 26th April
Commission welcomes the political agreement on the proposal for a Public Sector Loan Facility of the Just Transition Mechanism
The Commission welcomes today’s political agreement by the European Parliament and the Council on the Commission’s proposal for a new Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF). With this, all the proposals of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) have been agreed, and are pending the final approval by the European Parliament and the Council. The Facility specifically targets public entities, creating preferential lending conditions for projects that do not generate sufficient revenue to be financially viable. It consists of a combination of grants (€1.5 billion) from the EU budget and loans (€10 billion) provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The grant support will be added to the EIB loan and reduce the financial burden for beneficiaries and increase the attractiveness of the investments concerned. Advisory support will be provided to beneficiaries through the advisory hub set up under InvestEU. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “This Facility is an important tool to help our regions and communities meet the challenges stemming from climate transition. It will complete our tool kit for supporting those living in just transition regions to develop new skills and create new businesses and jobs. It is very important that we could do so today, only a few days after the agreement on a climate law. By easing the costs of the transition, we will help the EU as a whole to meet the 2050 climate neutrality goals. I look forward to the Regulation’s final adoption so that additional funding can start flowing for a cohesive transition and a fresh start for the affected regions and people.” In delivering the European Green Deal, the Facility will help to address the socio-economic challenges of the transition to climate neutrality in the most affected territories as identified in the Territorial Just Transition Plans. It will complement the two other pillars of the Just Transition Mechanism, namely the Just Transition Fund and a dedicated just transition scheme under InvestEU. Overall, the Facility is expected to mobilise between €25 and €30 billion of public investments over the next 7 years. Following the technical finalisation of the text reflecting the political agreement, the European Parliament and the Council will have to endorse the text to allow the Regulation to enter into force. A detailed press release is available here.
The European Commission holds today its EU Trade Policy Day 2021
Today, the Commission’s Directorate General for Trade is organising the EU Trade Policy Day 2021, a day-long series of virtual events to discuss the new Trade Strategy to promote an open, sustainable and assertive trade policy for the EU, following its launch in February. Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis opened the conference this morning, together with World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, where the two discussed global trade challenges and the EU’s role in helping to find global responses. You can find the recoding of the session here. Today’s event brings together a wide range of officials and experts, including Members of the European Parliament, high-level officials from the EU institutions, and representatives from think tanks, the private sector and NGOs. The event will continue this afternoon and you can follow it live here. You can also participate and ask questions by tagging @trade_EU and using the hashtag #tradeday21 on Twitter. The full programme and list of participants are available here.
Read the European Commission Daily News in full here.
