Financial Instruments delivering ESI Funds, London, 18 February 2016

Financial instruments delivering ESI Funds were discussed at a seminar on 18 February in London, United Kingdom (UK). The seminar was part of the national seminars that have been taking place in almost all EU Member States since autumn 2015.

Approximately 100 people attended the seminar in London, including representatives from managing authorities, audit authorities, financial intermediaries and consultants from the UK and other European countries.

Roger Evans, the Deputy Mayor of London, gave the opening speech. He talked about the opportunity to learn from projects involving financial instruments in the UK as well as in other EU member states and opened the floor for a fruitful event. Following the opening speech, four case study presentations covered the implementation of financial instruments in the UK. More specifically England’s JEREMIE experience in 2007-2013, as well as the progress in the setup and design of financial instruments in 2014-2020, was presented from the managing authority perspective, while the JESSICA experience was given from the fund managers’ point of view. Participants had the opportunity to learn more about SME support through financial instruments in the UK, as well as the ex-ante assessment process and the experience of financial instruments in Northern Ireland, Scotland.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy presented the key novelties and official guidance concerning ESIF financial instruments and the opportunities offered by the 2014-2020 framework. During this session, the opportunities for implementing financial instruments under the EMFF were also presented by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. This was complemented by a presentation from the European Investment Bank about fi-compass advisory support.