Spain will provide, through the Official Credit Institute (ICO), some 1.5 billion euros for the co-financing of projects of the European Strategic Investment Fund (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Juncker Plan.
The European Union Investment Plan, known as the Juncker Plan, aims to mobilize 315,000 million euros of additional investment in three years thanks to strong leverage. It seeks to compensate for the sharp fall in investments during the crisis and underpin the recovery.
The European Strategic Investment Fund will be created to finance the Plan, which will be endowed with 21,000 million euros. The Fund will have the participation of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) and will be managed by the EIB itself. The FEIE seeks to finance projects that, due to their characteristics, have not been able to be financed by the EIB but are of great interest because of their ability to carry over to the European economy.
An independent Investment Committee of the FEIE will select the projects based on criteria of viability and economic attractiveness. The priorities are the financing of SMEs and strategic projects in key sectors such as transport, R&D, and energy.
The ICO will participate in the Juncker plan through the co-financing of projects of Spanish interest previously selected by the FEIE. He will also contribute his extensive technical experience and knowledge in the field.