Brussels, 5 July 2022 – The involvement of the national promotional institutions in the InvestEU plan started today with the signing in Brussels of the first Contribution Agreement within the InvestEU Consultancy Hub ("Advisory Hub") between the European Commission and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). CDP is the first national promotional institution and the first institution other than the European Investment Bank (EIB) to directly sign an agreement with the European Commission under one of the three pillars of InvestEU.
The InvestEU programme is made up of three structures: Fund, Advisory Hub and Portal. With an EU budget guarantee of around € 26 billion in support of financing operations, the Fund aims to mobilise over 370 billion in additional investments by 2027 within the EU. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Investment Plan for Europe, according to the InvestEU programme the EIB Group (EIB and EIF) will support investments that will benefit from a 75% guarantee from the European budget, while the remaining 25% will cover investments supported by national promotional institutions, such as CDP, and by international financial institutions active in Europe.
The agreement signed today, which will mobilise resources for € 6.7 million, of which 5 million from the European budget and about 1.7 million from CDP, concerns the advisory activity, a key step in the study of bankable projects in line with the objectives of European policies. CDP will therefore be able to provide i) public authorities as well as public and private promoters with advisory services for the development of strategic infrastructural projects; ii) encourage the attraction of private resources (Market Development); and iii) support the strengthening of administrative and institutional skills for financial management and regulatory aspects (Capacity Building).
The EU Commission and CDP are working jointly to extend the collaboration to other pillars of the InvestEU Plan.
As regards CDP, the Agreement is in line with its 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, which provides for the strengthening of the advisory model to the benefit of the Public Administration and the management of the NRRP, with the aim of adding concrete benefits to the well-being of citizens and businesses, with significant impacts on growth and employment.
EU Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “Signing this agreement today with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the first national promotional bank to become an advisory partner under InvestEU, is an important milestone in the rollout of the programme across the EU. With Cassa Depositi e Prestiti as a local partner, we will provide targeted advisory services to help plan and implement important investments in public and social infrastructure and sustainable development. I am looking forward to seeing many more such agreements with local advisory partners across the EU.”
"The primacy of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in the closing of the first Advisory Agreement at European level is the result of the commitment and skills that, as an institution, we are making available to Italy, to guarantee the country an increasingly sustainable and inclusive development. The work we have started together with the Commission will allow CDP to further grow also in terms of sustainability, an objective that is the basis of its multi-year development plan”, declared CDP Chairman Giovanni Gorno Tempini.
“With InvestEU, in the next few years Europe will resume the journey started with the pioneer Investment Plan for Europe, which for the first time, seven years ago, placed an emphasis on investments and growth. The agreement signed today represents a new stage and a relaunch of the dialogue between CDP and the European Institutions to optimise the synergies between European and Italian resources. We are proud to join the European Commission in promoting a robust and lasting growth of our economic, social and environmental system”, commented the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of CDP”, Dario Scannapieco.
“The signing of the agreement is a recognition of the strategic role of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in the European policies of investments in support of the economic and social development of Italy. At a time when we are engaged in the national mission of the NRRP, it is also very important to ensure that the funds available under the 2021-2027 EU budget are invested. The responsibilities of CDP for the implementation of the InvestEU investment programme are therefore the best guarantee for a sustainable, digital and inclusive growth from a social and territorial point of view”, commented the Italian Undersecretary of State for European Affairs, Enzo Amendola