EIB Group activity in EU cohesion regions 2022 E-Book

• Herausgeber: European Investment Bank
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 100

Beschreibung

This report analyses the EIB Group's activity in cohesion regions in 2022. This year's edition focuses on the Group's contribution towards innovation for an inclusive, green and digital transition in line with the Innovation, Digital & Human Capital (IDHC) Orientation 2021-2027. The report starts with a review of recent economic trends in cohesion regions and their investments in innovation, followed by a presentation of the EIB Group's activities in these regions in 2022. The Group's support for economic, social and territorial cohesion is presented in relation to policy objectives, activity sectors, countries, contribution to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sector-specific project results. A number of case studies are used to illustrate the Group's activities and impact. The wider macroeconomic impact of the Group in cohesion regions is then discussed through the lens of a recent academic study. Finally, the role of digitalisation and innovation in cohesion regions is presented along with the range of tools deployed by the Group to support these policy objectives in cohesion regions.

Leseprobe

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK GROUP

2022

EIB GROUP ACTIVITIES IN EU COHESION REGIONS

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank Group is the EU bank and the world’s biggest multilateral lender. We finance sustainable investment in small and medium-sized enterprises, innovation, infrastructure, and climate and environment. We have financed Europe’s economic growth for six decades and are at the forefront of EU crisis response, leading the world in climate investment and backing development of the first COVID-19 vaccine. We are committed to triggering €1 trillion in investment in climate and environmental sustainability to combat climate change by the end of this decade. About 10% of all our investment is outside the European Union, where our EIB Global branch supports Europe’s neighbours and global development.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY LILYANA PAVLOVA

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK VICE-PRESIDENT

FOREWORD BY ELISA FERREIRA

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR COHESION AND REFORMS

INTRODUCTION

EIB GROUP ACTIVITY IN COHESION REGIONS IN 2022

KEY FIGURES

EIB COHESION LENDING BY PUBLIC POLICY GOAL

EIB LENDING IN COHESION REGIONS BY COUNTRY

IMPACT OF EIB LENDING IN COHESION REGIONS

CONTRIBUTION TO UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

CLOSING INNOVATION GAPS IN EUROPE’S COHESION REGIONS

GREATER INNOVATION NEEDED FOR STRONGER REGIONAL CONVERGENCE

BOOSTING INNOVATION IN EUROPE’S COHESION REGIONS

SUPPORTING THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF EUROPE’S COHESION REGIONS

SECTOR-SPECIFIC PROJECT RESULTS AND CASE STUDIES

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION

EDUCATION

HEALTH

REGIONAL AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

TRANSPORT

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

NATURAL RESOURCE USE, MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

WATER, WASTEWATER AND SOLID WASTE

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

SME AND MID-CAP FINANCE

EIF ACTIVITY IN COHESION REGIONS IN 2022

EIF DECENTRALISED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS TARGETING COHESION REGIONS

FOREWORD

BY LILYANA PAVLOVA

European Investment Bank Vice-President

The war in Ukraine risks exacerbating the challenges of EU cohesion already being faced by specific social groups and regions. Coming on the heels of the pandemic, the energy crisis triggered by the war has further worsened the financial situation of all households, particularly poorer and older ones. Regional cohesion is likely to suffer from the combined effect of geopolitical uncertainty, the influx of refugees and the energy shock. As a result, all efforts must be made to further strengthen social and regional cohesion. Regions will need to transform in the coming decades to reach the European Union’s climate goals and reduce the digital divide. Without this broad-based transformation, Europe will not be able to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels in the medium term or achieve carbon neutrality in the longer term. Fast transformation requires flexibility, new ideas and investment by public and private stakeholders alike.

To offset the negative impact of the energy crisis on cohesion, governments in poorer regions need to improve their business environments and tackle barriers to investment such as limited access to finance, poor regulation and higher energy costs, as shown in the EIB Investment Report 2022-2023[1]. 30% of small and medium-sized businesses in cohesion regions cite the availability of finance as a major obstacle, compared with 17% of such businesses in more developed regions.

At the same time, innovation is vital in addressing these challenges. According to the 2022 European Innovation Scoreboard, the European Union remains a good place to innovate and is slowly closing the performance gap with its innovative competitors, overtaking Japan and reducing the gap with South Korea and the United States. However, there are still significant gaps between the Member States and these are only widening. We need to take action to address this innovation divide by boosting public and private investment in research and development, creating the right conditions to allow innovation to flourish, and ensuring that innovative solutions benefiting people and the planet find their way to the markets.

With many national budgets already tight, policy support should be precisely targeted, focusing on the groups and regions most affected. As with any economic transformation, corporate investment and innovation are equally necessary for the green and digital transformation. Investment and innovation can only flourish if they are fostered by an appropriate regulatory environment, sufficient public capital and high-quality public services. Governments should enable firms to transform, grow and innovate. Good governance is also critical for improving the business environment, but is an area of weakness in cohesion regions. Municipalities frequently cite access to finance as a constraint, particularly in cohesion regions. EIB Group lending and EU funds can provide ample support to improve the conditions for growth and convergence in cohesion regions by helping to prepare and successfully implement those projects selected for investment.

FOREWORD

BY ELISA FERREIRA

European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms

Cohesion means sticking together, and seldom has it been more important for Europeans to stick together. The aftermath of the COVID crisis. Russian aggression, which has created a triple refugee, energy and cost of living crisis. The twin transition to a green and digital economy, which offers opportunities, but also poses risks for many people and places. And all this against the backdrop of a momentous demographic change, where by 2040 more than half of Europeans will live in a region with a shrinking population.

As Europeans, one of our key values is solidarity. Amid all these crises and changes, we must leave no one behind — and no region feeling forgotten. No matter how rough the seas, we must not let any of the crew go overboard. This is not just political principle, it is also economic efficiency: one of the key findings of the Regional Competitiveness Index, published by the European Commission earlier this year, is that the most successful countries have the smallest territorial imbalances. In other words, territorial cohesion is key, not only for the regions, but also for national success, and for the success of the European Union as a whole.

So I welcome this EIB Group 2022 Cohesion Report. I particularly welcome the Bank’s clear commitment to cohesion. The 2021-2027 targets for increased lending volumes, and the concentration of resources in less developed regions, are a concrete signal of this commitment. I am satisfied to see that the 2022 results were in line with these goals. Proof that, although the targets were ambitious, they were achievable — and that the investments are paying their first dividends for Europe’s regions and people.

It is very encouraging that cohesion regions received approximately half of the EIB’s total EU lending for climate action and environmental sustainability in 2022. It is now important to increase the share of cohesion regions in lending for innovation, digital and human capital, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps. And to increase the focus on the less developed cohesion regions.

This is in line with the work of the 2021-2027 cohesion programmes, which will mobilise investments of €545 billion, of which €378 billion is EU money. These investments are expected to support the creation of 1.3 million jobs and to increase the European Union‘s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.5% on average, and up to 4% in some Member States. They will also help deliver many local public goods, from the classic investments in businesses, skills, infrastructure and local services, to newer investments in the digital economy and e-governance, as well as in renewables, recycling and renovation.

We are particularly conscious of the risk of development traps. Although development gaps have seriously reduced in the last 20 years, in some regions we see the emergence of development traps, where, for structural reasons, a region gets stuck at a certain point on the development path. We are committed to tackling these traps, for example with the Talent Booster Mechanism to support regions at risk of a skills trap, including brain drain. And the Just Transition Fund for regions heavily dependent on carbon-intensive industries, to help them diversify their economies and support workers in obtaining the skills necessary for the new jobs being created.

But we know that Cohesion Policy will need to adapt even more in the future. The discussion has already begun. Since one of our key values in Cohesion Policy is partnership, we are discussing with different levels of government, from the national to the very local level, as well as with economic and social stakeholders, and the public.

You are welcome to join this discussion. And of course, we will continue to work together with our partners in the EIB Group to ensure that every region benefits from the future green and digital economy — and that no person or place is left behind. This is the meaning of cohesion. And this is our joint commitment.

INTRODUCTION

The European Union’s Cohesion Policy aims to ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion between the various EU regions to bring about a convergence in living standards and prosperity. By tackling regional disparities, the policy contributes to the harmonious development of the European Union and reduces the risk of fragmentation. In addition to regional differences in GDP, it seeks to redress other inequalities such as differences in opportunities or varying exposures to the negative impacts of globalisation and climate risks.

Cohesion priority regions for each programming period are defined by the EU Cohesion Policy map and fall into two categories:

1.Less developed regions: GDP per inhabitant less than 75% of the EU average

2.Transition regions: GDP per inhabitant between 75% and 100% of the EU average.

The European Union‘s Cohesion Policy for its 2021-2027 long-term budget devotes special attention to regions where economic development is below the EU average.

Cohesion was one of the original reasons behind the foundation of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 1958 and remains one of its core priorities.

The EIB Group, which includes the European Investment Bank and the SME-focused European Investment Fund (EIF), provides loans and other financial instruments[2] that complement and leverage EU grants to support investments in cohesion regions that target social inequalities by providing employment and educational opportunities, access to public infrastructure and services, and a healthy and sustainable environment. All the EIB Group’s financing for projects in less developed and transition regions count towards its cohesion lending.

The Bank also advises public authorities and project promoters in cohesion regions on how to improve the technical and financial quality of their projects, adopt successful investment strategies, strengthen their institutional capacity and attract funding from the private sector.

This report analyses the EIB Group’s activity in cohesion regions in 2022. It focuses on the Group’s contribution towards innovation for an inclusive, green and digital transition in line with the Innovation, Digital & Human Capital (IDHC) Orientation 2021-2027 [3].

Acknowledging the vital role that innovation plays in the European Union’s cohesion efforts, the 2022 report highlights the Group’s contribution to innovation as a key enabler for the inclusive, green and digital convergence pursued across EU regions. Drawing from research undertaken by the EIB in 2022 across the EU investment ecosystem and EU municipalities alike, the essay section of the report outlines key challenges and gaps hindering regional convergence and illustrates how the EIB Group’s targeted investments in the public and the private sector foster innovation so as to unlock structural bottlenecks and encourage cohesion and growth. The Group’s overall support for economic, social and territorial cohesion is presented in relation to policy objectives, activity sectors, countries, contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and sector-specific project results. Case studies of flagship projects and advisory assignments signed or undertaken during the year are included to illustrate the Group’s impact and provide inspiration on the range of investments and advisory support the Group offers in cohesion regions.

EIB GROUP ACTIVITY IN COHESION REGIONS IN 2022

KEY FIGURES

In October 2021, the European Investment Bank adopted a new Cohesion Orientation[4] setting out how it plans to foster and expand its investment in cohesion regions — defined as the combined set of less developed and transition regions in the European Union — over the current 2021-2027 long-term EU budget. Given the widened geographical scope[5] of the EU Cohesion Policy, the Bank increased its targets for cohesion lending through the following:

a)