Seminar ‘EAFRD financial instruments in the 2014 - 2020 programming period – opportunities for French managing authorities’, Paris, 7 June 2017

The workshop ’EAFRD financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period – opportunities for French managing authorities’ was organised on 7 July in Paris as part of the fi-compass targeted coaching on financial instruments for managing authorities under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

The full day workshop aimed at raising awareness on how financial instruments can help to deliver the objectives of the EAFRD and has been attended by the managing authorities of Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) of several French regions and by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

During the workshop, participants had the opportunity to learn about the different support opportunities offered by DG AGRI and fi-compass to EAFRD managing authorities interested in taking-up financial instruments under their Rural Development Programmes, and to delve into the technicalities of EAFRD financial instruments in the current programming period. To facilitate an effective exchange with the audience, expert presentations were followed by question and answer rounds moderated by Bruno Robino, Head of fi-compass Unit, Advisory Services, European Investment Bank (EIB).

The workshop was officially opened by Barbara Luecke, Head of Unit “Belgium, France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands”, European Commission, Directorate-General Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and Christophe Blanc, French Ministry for Agriculture and Food. Successively, Nivelin Noev, DG AGRI, shared with participants the status of implementation in relation to financial instruments for agriculture and explained the main features of the targeted coaching programme on financial instruments for EAFRD managing authorities. Bruno Robino, EIB, provided participants additional insights into fi-compass advisory services available for EAFRD managing authorities.

Alfio Lo Castro, European Investment Fund (EIF), provided subsequently an overview of the new initiative for a platform combining EAFRD and European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

During the afternoon, Aubin Bonnet, EIF, explained the audience in a practical presentation the overview of the different types of financial instruments and products. This was complemented by first-hand presentations about the Occitanie region case study of the Agri-guarantee within the FOSTER Fund of Funds scheme. Cindy Schultz and Stéphane Molinier, Direction de l'Agriculture, de l'Agro-alimentaire et de la Forêt (Occitanie EAFRD managing authority), shared practical insights into set-up and implementation of the financial instrument from the perspective of the managing authority. Nicolas Mestres, Banque Populaire du Sud, described the challenges and the point of view of the financial intermediary in charge of the Fund implementation.