Jyrki Katainen, the European Commission’s vice-president for jobs, growth and competitiveness, has told MEPs they should not be surprised if the European Fund for Strategic Investment makes some losses.
“We must be prepared for losses,” Katainen told the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets and Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on 15 December. He said that the possibility that a return on investments is not achieved was “part of the reality of risk finance”, and told MEPs they shouldn’t be disappointed if such losses did occur.
He also answered questions from several MEPs about Efsi being a more expensive source of finance in certain member states and for certain projects than the other financing options available. He said that in general for Efsi, this is not a problem because its purpose is to provide funding only where it isn’t otherwise available. However, he said that discussions were ongoing around the pricing of investment platforms that Efsi is co-funding with national promotional banks, as here the pricing of loans “can be a big issue”.
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