Sittings · Document
DRAFT OPINION (2024/2116(INI)) 2025-04-09
On facilitating the financing of investments and reforms to boost European competitiveness and creating a Capital Markets Union (Draghi Report)
Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Karlo Ressler
AMENDMENTS
The Committee on Budgets submits the following to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, as the committee responsible :
Amendment 1
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the InvestEU interim evaluation of 30 September 2024 (SWD(2024)0229), |
Or. en
Amendment 2
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the proposal for a Council regulation establishing the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) through the reinforcement of European defence industry Instrument (COM(2025)0122), |
Or. en
Amendment 3
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2015/1017, (EU) 2021/523, (EU) 2021/695 and (EU) 2021/1153 as regards increasing the efficiency of the EU guarantee under Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and simplifying reporting requirements (COM(2025)0084), |
Or. en
Amendment 4
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Aa. whereas the size of the annual EU budget is under EUR 200 billion including investments in several policy areas, leaving limited flexibility for the European Competitiveness Deal; |
Or. en
Amendment 5
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ab. whereas, according to the Draghi report, EU support for public and private investment is constrained by the size of the budget, its lack of focus and a risk appetite that is too low, and EU spending suffers from fragmentation, complexity and a lack of flexibility; |
Or. en
Amendment 6
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ac. whereas the EU budget should have competitiveness as a central focus, promote commonly agreed strategic priorities and fund European public goods, thereby contributing to higher productivity; whereas stronger coordination between the EU and Member State budgets is necessary to avoid fragmentation in the single market and to boost the overall impact of public investments; |
Or. en
Amendment 7
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ad. whereas InvestEU follows a market-based and demand-driven approach and allows risks to be shared with the private sector in the achievement of EU policy goals; whereas, as highlighted in the Draghi report, there is a need to focus on higher risk activities; |
Or. en
Amendment 8
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ae. whereas InvestEU’s open architecture – whereby the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Council of Europe Development Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank, and national promotional banks and institutions (NPBIs) act as implementing partners – helps to ensure alignment between EU and national priorities; |
Or. en
Amendment 9
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1. Calls for a general mobilisation of all financial resources and available instruments to strengthen EU security and industrial and technological sovereignty, sustain the green transition, create quality jobs and contribute to upward social convergence, in a context of geopolitical instability and international tensions; | 1. Calls for a general mobilisation of all available financial resources and instruments to strengthen EU security and industrial and technological sovereignty, sustain the green transition and address the skills gap and brain drain, in a context of geopolitical instability and international tensions; |
Or. en
Amendment 10
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 2. Welcomes the renewed debate on the need to restore EU productivity, boosted by the Draghi and Letta reports; | 2. Welcomes the renewed debate on the need to restore EU competitiveness and growth, boosted by the Draghi and Letta reports; |
Or. en
Amendment 11
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 3. Recognises these reports as a wake-up call for European and national decision-makers, as well as a starting point for action to foster both private and public investments; | 3. Recognises these reports as a wake-up call for European and national decision-makers, as well as a starting point for action to foster both private and public investments and to increase the EU’s support for public-private partnerships; highlights that public investment is essential as a catalyst for private investment in sectors where the market alone cannot drive the required investment; considers that financial instruments and budgetary guarantees are an effective use of resources to achieve critical EU policy goals; |
Or. en
Amendment 12
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 4. Regrets the fact that many EU-based entrepreneurs feel the need to relocate to gain easier access to finance and resources; deplores that they turn to venture capital providers outside the EU and scale up in foreign markets; | 4. Regrets the fact that many EU-based entrepreneurs relocate to gain easier access to finance and resources; deplores the lack of venture capital providers inside the EU, which are essential for companies to scale up in European markets; calls for immediate action to improve this situation; |
Or. en
Amendment 13
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 5. Emphasises that public resources should be focused on ensuring the sustainability and accessibility of public services and infrastructure while catalysing private investment in innovative and clean industries under well-defined conditions; | 5. Emphasises that public resources should be focused on European public goods and added value while catalysing private investment in innovative and clean industries under well-defined conditions; |
Or. en
Amendment 14
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 9. Notes that streamlining administrative procedures can improve the EU’s attractiveness as an investment destination; considers that the aligning of Member States’ legislative frameworks should be part of the simplification agenda to ease cross-border activities; calls on the Commission to rely more on regulations rather than directives, thus limiting national discretion that could lead to fragmentation; | 9. Notes that streamlining administrative procedures can improve the EU’s attractiveness as an investment destination and calls for reduced bureaucracy for beneficiaries, particularly SMEs; calls, furthermore, for the genuine simplification of EU programmes, where there are overlapping objectives, diverging eligibility criteria and varying rules governing horizontal provisions, which should be uniform across programmes; considers that the aligning of Member States’ legislative frameworks should be part of the simplification agenda to ease cross-border activities; calls on the Commission to rely more on regulations rather than directives, thus limiting national discretion that could lead to fragmentation; |
Or. en
Amendment 15
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14a. Emphasises that flexibility in EU investment instruments should not undermine predictability and long-term planning; calls for a balance that supports strategic foresight while allowing rapid mobilisation in response to emerging challenges; |
Or. en
Amendment 16
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 15. Believes that the urgency of measures on defence and decarbonisation means that substantial public support will be required to mobilise private investment; | 15. Believes that the urgency of measures on defence and decarbonisation means that substantial public support will be required to mobilise private investment; welcomes, therefore, the proposal on the Omnibus package for InvestEU, which is expected to mobilise around EUR 50 billion in additional investment; |
Or. en
Amendment 17
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 17. Recalls that safe assets have been issued at EU level by European issuers such as the European Investment Bank, the European Financial Stability Facility, the European Stability Mechanism and, since 1976, the European Economic Community and then the EU itself5; recalls that the NextGenerationEU recovery fund is the largest stimulus package ever funded by the EU to support economic recovery and the green and digital transitions; | 17. Recalls that the NextGenerationEU recovery fund is the largest stimulus package ever funded by the EU to support economic recovery and the green and digital transitions; stresses that introducing new own resources is necessary to prevent future generations from bearing the burden for the repayment of this debt; recalls its support for the amended Commission proposal on the system of own resources; is deeply concerned by the complete absence of progress on the system of own resources in the Council; calls on the Council to adopt this proposal as a matter of urgency; |
| _________________ | |
| 5 European Stability Mechanism Chief Financial Officer, ‘Developing European safe assets’, Intereconomics, December 2023, https://www.esm.europa.eu/articles-and-op-eds/developing-european-safe-assets-article-intereconomics. |
Or. en
Amendment 18
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 18. Shares the assessment that issuing a common safe asset to be used as a strong benchmark would significantly facilitate the achievement of the CMU and address the investment needs identified in the Draghi report; recommends that the Commission assess the features of safe assets issued at EU level and publish a report to inform the future design of an EU safe asset; | deleted |
Or. en
Amendment 19
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 19. Believes that heightened defence needs due to geopolitical tensions require immediate mobilisation of financial support; welcomes the Commission’s upcoming proposal for a new financial instrument of up to EUR 150 billion to boost EU defence capabilities as part of the ReArm Europe plan; calls on the Commission and the Member States to also set up a dedicated instrument under the European Stability Mechanism; | 19. Believes that heightened defence needs due to geopolitical tensions require immediate mobilisation of financial support; takes note of the Commission’s proposal entitled ‘SAFE’ for a new financial instrument of up to EUR 150 billion in back-to-back loans to boost EU defence capabilities as part of the ReArm Europe plan; |
Or. en
Amendment 20
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 20. Encourages the European Investment Bank Group to adapt its lending policy to provide greater support to higher risk investments, mostly in innovative companies and projects fostering the green transition; | 20. Encourages the European Investment Bank Group to adapt its lending policy to provide greater support to higher risk investments, mostly in innovative companies and projects fostering the green transition; welcomes the decision of the EIB Group to further boost investment in security and defence by further expanding eligibilities for security and defence investments and by doubling investments in critical raw materials; welcomes, further, the EUR 8.9 billion of new financing for port and rail projects, education, energy and grid upgrades, water and business investment; emphasises the importance of maintaining the open architecture approach of InvestEU in the next MFF in order to take full advantage of the benefits provided by the participation of IFIs and NPBIs; |
Or. en
Amendment 21
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 20a. Stresses the need to increase the leverage of the EU budget so that it can mobilise private investment at scale; strongly supports a focus on higher risk activities and urges the Commission to evaluate how to better support equity investments; reiterates that well-designed budgetary guarantees and financial instruments, when based on market needs, are a highly efficient use of limited EU budgetary resources to de-risk investment and crowd in private capital; |
Or. en
Amendment 22
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 20b. Urges the Commission to ensure that risk-sharing instruments are simple for implementing partners, financial intermediaries and final beneficiaries, with a particular emphasis on SMEs, while ensuring an appropriate level of accountability and sound financial management; invites the Commission, in this connection, to assess the impact of State aid rules on the margin of manoeuvre of NPBIs in risk-sharing instruments; |
Or. en
Amendment 23
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 20c. Recognises the importance of advisory services, such as the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and visibility measures, such as the InvestEU Portal, in the success of any budgetary guarantee or financial instrument; takes note of the finding of the interim evaluation that the InvestEU Portal has yet to demonstrate significant EU added value; urges the Commission to continue reviewing the operation of the Advisory Hub and the Portal and the STEP Platform with a view to learning the necessary lessons; emphasises that the necessary human and financial resources should be available for such advisory and promotional measures; |
Or. en
Amendment 24
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 20d. Stresses the need to simplify administrative procedures across all EU financial instruments in order to reduce entry barriers for SMEs and start-ups; calls on the Commission to ensure that programmes such as InvestEU or future platforms are user-friendly, cost-effective and easily navigable by smaller actors and end beneficiaries; |
Or. en