European Investment Bank (EIB) President Werner Hoyer said Thursday that the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF) model, which was put in place to deal with Covid-19, can be replicated to provide a «global and forceful» response to the new U.S. Inflation Reduction Agency (IRA) plan with a package of $369 billion in grants to boost green investment.
He said this during the presentation of the EIB’s annual report after the European Commission released its guidelines on Wednesday to guide the leaders’ debate on possible measures to be taken against U.S. subsidies at their next meeting on February 9 and 10, while the legislative proposal will arrive in time for their meeting on March 21.
One of the solutions proposed by Brussels in the medium term is to provide a structural response to investment needs by proposing a European Sovereign Fund as part of the review of the multiannual financial framework before the summer of 2023, but which still lacks figures pending input from the heads of state and government.
«Political leaders must give a global and forceful response to the IRA and to the other challenges facing the European Union», said Hoyer, who said that, in the absence of a consensus being reached at the next summit and «whichever path is chosen», the EIB will participate in it, because «today more than ever, these enormous challenges can only be faced if financial instruments are mobilized».
The EIB President expressed his conviction that the institution will have a role to play once the leaders reach their conclusions and has placed at their disposal «the expertise and technical experience» that it has acquired over the last two years in particular.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
