Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017

CHAPTER I General provisions

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes the InvestEU Fund, which shall provide for an EU guarantee and an InvestEU financial instrument to support financing and investment operations carried out by the implementing partners that contribute to objectives of the Union’s internal policies.

This Regulation also establishes an advisory support mechanism to provide support for the development of investable projects and access to financing and to provide related capacity building assistance (the ‘InvestEU Advisory Hub’). It further establishes a database granting visibility to projects for which project promoters seek financing and which provides investors with information about investment opportunities (the ‘InvestEU Portal’).

This Regulation establishes the objectives of the InvestEU Programme, its budget and the amount of the EU guarantee for the period 2021 to 2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

• (1) ‘InvestEU Programme’ means the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, the InvestEU Portal and blending operations, collectively;

• (2) ‘EU guarantee’ means an overall irrevocable, unconditional and on demand budgetary guarantee provided by the Union budget under which the budgetary guarantees in accordance with Article 219(1) of the Financial Regulation take effect through the entry into force of individual guarantee agreements with implementing partners;

• (3) ‘policy window’ means a targeted area for support by the EU guarantee or the InvestEU financial instrument as laid down in Article 8(1);

• (4) ‘compartment’ means a part of the support provided under the InvestEU Fund defined in terms of the origin of the resources backing it;

• (5) ‘blending operation’ means, under the EU compartment, an operation supported by the Union budget that combines non-repayable forms of support, repayable forms of support, or both, from the Union budget with repayable forms of support from development or other public finance institutions, or from commercial finance institutions and investors; for the purposes of this definition, Union programmes financed from sources other than the Union budget, such as the EU ETS Innovation Fund, may be assimilated to Union programmes financed by the Union budget;

• (6) ‘EIB Group’ means the EIB, its subsidiaries and other entities established in accordance with Article 28(1) of Protocol No 5 on the Statute of the European Investment Bank annexed to the TEU and the TFEU (the EIB Statute);

• (7) ‘financial contribution’ means a contribution from an implementing partner in the form of own risk-taking capacity that is provided on a pari passu basis with the EU guarantee or in another form that allows an efficient implementation of the InvestEU Programme while ensuring appropriate alignment of interest;

• (8) ‘contribution agreement’ means a legal instrument whereby the Commission and one or more Member States specify the conditions for the implementation of the contribution under the Member State compartment, as laid down in Articles 10 and 10a;

• (9) ‘financial product’ means a financial mechanism or arrangement under the terms of which the implementing partner provides direct or intermediated financing to final recipients using any of the types of financing referred to in Article 16;

• (10) ‘financing and investment operations’ or ‘financing or investment operations’ means operations to provide finance directly or indirectly to final recipients through financial products carried out by:
• (a) in the context of the EU guarantee, an implementing partner in its own name, provided by the implementing partner in accordance with its internal rules, policies and procedures and accounted for in the implementing partner’s financial statements or, where applicable, disclosed in the notes to those financial statements;
• (b) in the context of the InvestEU financial instrument, an implementing partner in its own name or in its own name but on behalf of the Commission, as applicable;

• (11) ‘funds under shared management’ means funds that provide for the possibility of allocating a portion of those funds to the provisioning for a budgetary guarantee or to a financial instrument under the Member State compartment of the InvestEU Fund, namely the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0001]), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0002]) (the ‘ESF+ Regulation for 2021-2027’), the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0003]) and the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) established by Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0004]) (the ‘CAP Strategic Plans Regulation’);

• (12) ‘guarantee agreement’ means a legal instrument whereby the Commission and an implementing partner specify the conditions for proposing financing and investment operations in order for them to be granted the benefit of the EU guarantee or of the InvestEU financial instrument, for providing the EU guarantee or support through the InvestEU financial instrument for those operations and for implementing them in accordance with this Regulation;

• (13) ‘implementing partner’ means an eligible counterpart such as a financial institution or other financial intermediary with whom the Commission has concluded a guarantee agreement;

• (14) ‘important project of common European interest’ means a project that fulfils all the criteria laid down in the Commission Communication on Criteria for the analysis of the compatibility with the internal market of State aid to promote the execution of important projects of common European interest or any subsequent revision of that Communication;

• (15) ‘advisory agreement’ means a legal instrument whereby the Commission and the advisory partner specify the conditions for the implementation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

• (16) ‘advisory initiative’ means technical assistance and advisory services that support investment, including capacity building activities, provided by advisory partners, by external service providers contracted by the Commission, or by executive agencies;

• (17) ‘advisory partner’ means an eligible counterpart such as a financial institution or other entity with whom the Commission has concluded an advisory agreement for the purpose of implementing one or more advisory initiatives, other than advisory initiatives implemented through external service providers contracted by the Commission or through executive agencies;

• (18) ‘investment platform’ means a special purpose vehicle, managed account, contract-based co-financing or risk-sharing arrangement or an arrangement established by any other means by which entities channel a financial contribution in order to finance a number of investment projects, and which may include:
• (a) a national or sub-national platform that groups together several investment projects on the territory of a given Member State;
• (b) a cross-border, multi-country, regional or macro-regional platform that groups together partners from several Member States, regions or third countries interested in investment projects in a given geographic area;
• (c) a thematic platform that groups together investment projects in a given sector;

• (19) ‘microfinance’ means microfinance as defined in the relevant provisions of the ESF+ Regulation for 2021-2027;

• (20) ‘national promotional bank or institution’ means a legal entity that carries out financial activities on a professional basis which has been given mandate by a Member State or a Member State’s entity at central, regional or local level to carry out development or promotional activities;

• (21) ‘small and medium-sized enterprise’ or ‘SME’ means (a) an enterprise which, according to its last annual or consolidated accounts, employs an average number of employees during the financial year of less than 250 and has an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million; or (b) in the case of financial products where the applicable State aid rules require the use of the SME definition in Annex I to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC ([^E0005]), a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of that Annex;

• (22) ‘small mid-cap company’ means an entity that is not an SME and that employs up to 499 employees;

• (23) ‘social enterprise’ means a social enterprise as defined in the relevant provisions of the ESF+ Regulation for 2021-2027;

• (24) ‘InvestEU financial instrument’ means a financial instrument as defined in Article 2, point (30), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0006]) that is to be implemented under the Member State compartment of the InvestEU Fund.

Article 3

Objectives of the InvestEU Programme

• (a) the competitiveness of the Union, including research, innovation and digitisation;

• (b) growth and employment in the Union economy, the sustainability of the Union economy and its environmental and climate dimension contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement and to the creation of high-quality jobs;

• (c) the social resilience, inclusiveness and innovativeness of the Union;

• (d) the promotion of scientific and technological advances, of culture, education and training;

• (e) the integration of Union capital markets and the strengthening of the internal market, including solutions to address the fragmentation of Union capital markets, diversify sources of financing for Union enterprises and promote sustainable finance;

• (f) the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion; or

• (g) the sustainable and inclusive recovery of the Union economy after the COVID-19 crisis, including by providing capital support for SMEs that were negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis and were not already in difficulty in State aid terms at the end of 2019, upholding and strengthening existing strategic value chains of tangible or intangible assets, developing new ones, and maintaining and reinforcing activities of strategic importance to the Union, including important projects of common European interest, in relation to critical infrastructure, whether physical or virtual, transformative technologies, game-changing innovations and inputs to businesses and consumers and supporting a sustainable transition; or

• (h) supporting investments contributing to the objectives of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0007]).

• (a) supporting financing and investment operations related to sustainable infrastructure in the areas referred to in point (a) of Article 8(1);

• (b) supporting financing and investment operations related to research, innovation and digitisation, including support for the scaling up of innovative companies and the rolling out of technologies to market, in the areas referred to in point (b) of Article 8(1);

• (c) increasing the access to and the availability of finance for SMEs and for small mid-cap companies and to enhance the global competitiveness of such SMEs;

• (d) increasing access to and the availability of microfinance and finance for social enterprises, to support financing and investment operations related to social investment, competences and skills, and to develop and consolidate social investment markets, in the areas referred to in point (d) of Article 8(1).

Article 4

Budget and amount of the EU guarantee

An additional amount of the EU guarantee may be provided for the purposes of the Member State compartment referred to in Article 9(1), point (b), of this Regulation, subject to the allocation by Member States, pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0008]) (the ‘Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027’) and Article 81 of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation, of the corresponding amounts.

An additional amount of the EU guarantee may also be provided in the form of cash or guarantee by Member States for the purposes of the Member State compartment. The amount provided in cash shall constitute an external assigned revenue in accordance with the second sentence of Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.

The contributions from third countries referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation shall also increase the EU guarantee referred to in the first subparagraph, providing a provisioning in cash in full in accordance with Article 218(2) of the Financial Regulation.

An amount of EUR 14 227 310 073 in current prices of the amount referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, of this Article shall be allocated for the objectives referred to in Article 3(2).

The amounts referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall only be available as of the date referred to in Article 3(3) of Regulation (EU) 2020/2094.

The indicative distribution of the EU guarantee for the purposes of the EU compartment is set out in Annex I to this Regulation. Where appropriate, the Commission may depart from the amounts referred to in Annex I by up to 15 % for each objective referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 3(2). The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of any such departure.

Article 5

Third countries associated to the InvestEU Fund

The EU compartment of the InvestEU Fund referred to in point (a) of Article 9(1) of this Regulation and each of the policy windows referred to in Article 8(1) of this Regulation may receive contributions from the following third countries for the purpose of participation in certain financial products pursuant to Article 218(2) of the Financial Regulation:

• (a) members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which are members of the EEA, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

• (b) acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries;

• (c) European Neighbourhood Policy countries, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and Association Council decisions or in similar agreements and in accordance with the specific conditions laid down in agreements between the Union and those countries;

• (d) other third countries, in accordance with the conditions laid down in a specific agreement covering the participation of the third country to any Union programme, provided that the agreement:
• (i) ensures a fair balance as regards the contributions and benefits of the third country participating in the Union programmes;
• (ii) lays down the conditions of participation in the programmes, including the calculation of financial contributions to individual programmes, and their administrative costs;
• (iii) does not confer on the third country any decision-making power in respect of the Union programme;
• (iv) guarantees the rights of the Union to ensure sound financial management and to protect its financial interests. The contributions referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first paragraph of this Article shall constitute assigned revenues in accordance with Article 21(5) of the Financial Regulation.

Article 6

Implementation and forms of Union funding

• (a) be consistent with the policy objectives and comply with the eligibility criteria set out in the rules of the Union programme under which the support is decided;

• (b) comply with this Regulation.

The reporting relating to such blending operations shall also cover their consistency with the policy objectives and eligibility criteria set out in the rules of the Union programme under which the support is decided as well as their compliance with this Regulation.

Article 7

Combinations

Notwithstanding the objectives of the financial instruments referred to in paragraph 1, the provisions made to cover the financial liabilities arising from financial instruments referred to in paragraph 1 may be used to cover losses in relation to the entire portfolio of financing and investment operations supported by the financial products referred to in paragraph 1.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, when support from the financial instruments is combined in a financial product in a subordinated position to the EU guarantee under this Regulation and/or EU guarantee established by Regulation (EU) 2015/1017, the losses, revenues and repayments from financial products as referred to in paragraph 1, as well as potential recoveries, may also be attributed on a non pro rata basis between the financial instruments and the EU guarantee under this Regulation and/or EU guarantee established by Regulation (EU) 2015/1017.

The conditions of the use of the released guarantees referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, to cover financing and investment operations eligible under this Regulation, and where relevant, the transfer of corresponding assets from fiduciary accounts to the common provisioning fund referred to in Article 215 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, shall be set out in the guarantee agreement referred to in Article 17 of this Regulation.

The terms and conditions of the financial products referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article and of the portfolios concerned, including the respective pro rata shares of losses, revenues, repayments and recoveries or the respective non pro rata shares in accordance with paragraph 3, second subparagraph, of this Article, shall be set out in the guarantee agreement referred to in Article 17.

CHAPTER II InvestEU Fund

Article 8

Policy windows

• (a) a sustainable infrastructure policy window which comprises sustainable investment in the areas of transport, including multimodal transport, road safety, including in accordance with the Union objective of eliminating fatal road accidents and serious injuries by 2050, the renewal and maintenance of rail and road infrastructure, energy, in particular renewable energy, energy efficiency in accordance with the 2030 energy framework, buildings renovation projects focused on energy savings and the integration of buildings into a connected energy, storage, digital and transport systems, improving interconnection levels, digital connectivity and access, including in rural areas, supply and processing of raw materials, space, oceans, water, including inland waterways, waste management in accordance with the waste hierarchy and the circular economy, nature and other environment infrastructure, cultural heritage, tourism, equipment, mobile assets and the deployment of innovative technologies that contribute to the environmental or climate resilience or social sustainability objectives of the Union and that meet the environmental or social sustainability standards of the Union;

• (b) a research, innovation and digitisation policy window which comprises research, product development and innovation activities, the transfer of technologies and research results to the market to support market enablers and cooperation between enterprises, the demonstration and deployment of innovative solutions and support for the scaling up of innovative companies, as well as digitisation of Union industry;

• (c) an SME policy window which comprises access to and the availability of finance primarily for SMEs, including for innovative SMEs and SMEs operating in the cultural and creative sectors, as well as for small mid-cap companies;

• (d) a social investment and skills policy window, which comprises microfinance, social enterprise finance, social economy and measures to promote gender equality, skills, education, training and related services, social infrastructure, including health and educational infrastructure and social and student housing, social innovation, health and long-term care, inclusion and accessibility, cultural and creative activities with a social goal, and the integration of vulnerable people, including third country nationals.

In the case of strategic investments in defence and space sectors and in cybersecurity, as well as in specific types of projects with actual and direct security implications in critical sectors, the investment guidelines adopted in accordance with paragraph 9 of this Article (the ‘investment guidelines’) shall set out limitations with respect to final recipients controlled by a third country or third country entities and final recipients having their executive management outside the Union with a view to protecting the security of the Union and its Member States. Those limitations shall be set out in line with the principles concerning eligible entities set out in the relevant provisions of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Defence Fund and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1092 and in the relevant provisions of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013, (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU.

The investment guidelines shall set out any necessary requirements relating to the control and executive management of final recipients for other areas, and to the control of intermediaries, in the light of any applicable public order or security considerations. Taking account of those requirements, the Steering Board shall set out any necessary additional requirements.

• (a) as regards adaptation, ensuring resilience to the potential adverse impacts of climate change through a climate vulnerability and risk assessment, including through relevant adaptation measures, and, as regards mitigation, integrating the cost of greenhouse gas emissions and the positive effects of climate mitigation measures in the cost-benefit analysis;

• (b) accounting for the consolidated impact of projects in terms of the principal components of natural capital, namely air, water, land and biodiversity;

• (c) estimating the social impact of projects, including on gender equality, on the social inclusion of certain areas or populations and on the economic development of areas and sectors affected by structural challenges such as the need to decarbonise the economy;

• (d) identifying projects that are inconsistent with the achievement of climate objectives;

• (e) providing implementing partners with guidance for the purpose of the screening provided for under paragraph 5.

The Commission, together with implementing partners, shall seek to ensure that the part of the EU guarantee under the EU compartment used for the sustainable infrastructure policy window is distributed with the aim of achieving a balance between the different areas referred to in paragraph 1, point (a).

Article 9

Compartments

• (a) the EU compartment shall address any of the following situations:
• (i) market failures or suboptimal investment situations related to Union policy priorities;
• (ii) Union-wide or Member State specific market failures or suboptimal investment situations; or
• (iii) market failures or suboptimal investment situations, which require the development of innovative financial solutions and market structures, in particular new or complex market failures or suboptimal investment situations;

• (b) the Member State compartment shall address specific market failures or suboptimal investment situations in one or several regions or Member States to deliver the policy objectives of the contributing funds under shared management or of the additional amount provided by a Member State under Article 4(1), third subparagraph, or under Article 10a(1), second subparagraph, in particular to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the Union by addressing imbalances between its regions.

Article 10

Specific provisions applicable to the EU Guarantee implemented under the Member State compartment

The fourth subparagraph of this paragraph and paragraph 5 of this Article shall not apply to the additional amount provided by a Member State under the third subparagraph of Article 4(1).

The provisions in this Article relating to amounts allocated pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation are not applicable to a contribution agreement concerning an additional amount by a Member State, referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation.

The Member State and the Commission shall conclude a contribution agreement or an amendment to it following the Commission decision approving the Partnership Agreement pursuant to Article 12 of the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or the CAP Strategic Plan pursuant to Article 118 of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation or simultaneously to the Commission decision amending a programme in accordance with Article 24 of the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or a CAP Strategic Plan in accordance with Article 119 of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation.

Two or more Member States may conclude a joint contribution agreement with the Commission.

By way of derogation from Article 211(1) of the Financial Regulation, the provisioning rate of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment shall be set at 40 % and may be adjusted downwards or upwards in each contribution agreement to take account of the risks attached to the financial products intended to be used.

• (a) the overall amount of the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment pertaining to the Member State concerned, its provisioning rate, the amount of the contribution from funds under shared management or provided in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1), the constitution phase of the provisioning and the amount of the resulting contingent liability to be covered by a back-to-back guarantee provided by the Member State concerned;

• (b) the Member State strategy, consisting of the type of financing, the target leverage, the geographical coverage, including regional coverage if necessary, types of projects, the investment period and, where applicable, the categories of final recipients and of eligible intermediaries;

• (c) the potential implementing partner or partners proposed in accordance with fourth subparagraph of Article 15(1) and the obligation of the Commission to inform the Member State concerned of the implementing partner or partners selected;

• (d) any contribution from funds under shared management or from amounts provided in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) to the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

• (e) the obligations to provide annual reports to the Member State, including reporting on the relevant indicators related to the policy objectives covered in the Partnership Agreement, programme, CAP Strategic Plan or in the recovery and resilience plans and referred to in the contribution agreement;

• (f) provisions on the remuneration for the part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment;

• (g) any combination with resources under the EU compartment in accordance with Article 9(2), including in a layered structure to achieve better risk coverage.

Where no guarantee agreement has been concluded within 12 months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be terminated or prolonged by mutual agreement. Where the amount of a contribution agreement has not been fully committed under one or more guarantee agreements within 12 months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, that amount shall be amended accordingly. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by Member States pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0009]) or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation shall be re-used in accordance with those respective Regulations. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by a Member State under Article 4(1), third subparagraph, of this Regulation shall be paid back to the Member State.

Where a guarantee agreement has not been duly implemented within the period specified in the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or in the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation, or, in the case of a guarantee agreement related to amounts provided in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation, in the relevant contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be amended. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by Member States pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation shall be re-used in accordance with those Regulations. The unused amount of provisioning attributable to amounts allocated by a Member State under the third subparagraph of Article 4(1) of this Regulation shall be paid back to the Member State.

• (a) after the constitution phase referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article, any annual surplus of provisions, calculated by comparing the amount of provisions required by the provisioning rate set in the contribution agreement and the actual amount of provisions, shall be re-used pursuant to the provisions on the use of the ERDF, the ESF+, the Cohesion Fund and the EMFAF delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 and to the provisions on the use of the EAFRD delivered through the InvestEU Programme laid down in the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation;

• (b) by way of derogation from Article 213(4) of the Financial Regulation, after the constitution phase referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article, the provisioning shall not give rise to annual replenishments during the availability of that part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment;

• (c) the Commission shall immediately inform the Member State where the level of provisions for that part of the EU guarantee falls below 20 % of the initial provisioning as a result of calls on that part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment;

• (d) if the level of provisions for that part of the EU guarantee under the Member State compartment reaches 10 % of the initial provisioning, the Member State concerned shall provide up to 5 % of the initial provisioning to the common provisioning fund referred to in Article 212 of the Financial Regulation upon request by the Commission.

Article 10a

Specific provisions applicable to the InvestEU financial instrument implemented under the Member State compartment

Member States may also provide additional amounts for the purposes of the InvestEU financial instrument. Such amounts shall constitute an external assigned revenue in accordance with the second sentence of Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Amounts allocated by a Member State on a voluntary basis pursuant to the first and second subparagraph shall be used for supporting financing and investment operations in the Member State concerned. Those amounts shall be used to contribute to the achievement of the policy objectives specified in the Partnership Agreement referred to in Article 11(1), point (a), of the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027, in the programmes or in the CAP Strategic Plan which contribute to the InvestEU Programme, in order to implement relevant measures set out in the recovery and resilience plan established under Regulation (EU) 2021/241 or, in other cases, for the purposes laid down in the contribution agreement, depending on the origin of the amount contributed.

Two or more Member States may conclude a joint contribution agreement with the Commission.

Where no guarantee agreement has been concluded within 12 months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be terminated or prolonged by mutual agreement. Where the amount of a contribution agreement has not been fully committed under one or more guarantee agreements within 12 months from the conclusion of the contribution agreement, that amount shall be amended accordingly. The unused amount of a contribution from funds under shared management delivered through the InvestEU Programme shall be re-used in accordance with the Regulation establishing the fund concerned. The unused amount of a contribution by a Member State under paragraph 1, second subparagraph, of this Article shall be paid back to the Member State.

Where a guarantee agreement has not been duly implemented within the period specified in Article 14(6) of the Common Provisions Regulation for 2021-2027 or Article 81(6) of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation, or, in the case of a guarantee agreement related to amounts provided in accordance with paragraph 1, second subparagraph, of this Article, in the relevant contribution agreement, the contribution agreement shall be amended. The unused amounts allocated by Member States pursuant to the provisions on the use of the funds under shared management delivered through the InvestEU Programme shall be re-used in accordance with the Regulation establishing the fund concerned. The unused amount of an InvestEU financial instrument attributable to the contribution by a Member State under paragraph 1, second subparagraph, of this Article shall be paid back to the Member State.

Resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to the InvestEU financial instrument pursuant to the provisions on the use of the funds under shared management delivered through the InvestEU Programme shall be re-used in accordance with the Regulation establishing the fund concerned. The resources generated by or attributable to the amounts contributed to the InvestEU financial instrument under paragraph 1, second subparagraph, of this Article shall be paid back to the Member State.

CHAPTER III Partnership between the Commission and the EIB Group

Article 11

Scope of the partnership

• (a) shall implement the portion of the EU guarantee specified in Article 13(4);

• (b) shall support the implementation of the EU compartment of the InvestEU Fund, and, where applicable, the Member State compartment, in particular by:
• (i) contributing, together with potential implementing partners, to the investment guidelines in accordance with Article 8(9), contributing to the design of the Scoreboard in accordance with Article 22 and contributing to other documents that set out the operational guidance of the InvestEU Fund;
• (ii) defining, together with the Commission and potential implementing partners, the risk methodology and risk mapping system that relate to the financing and investment operations of the implementing partners in order to allow such operations to be assessed on a common rating scale;
• (iii) at the request of the Commission and in agreement with the potential implementing partner concerned, carrying out an assessment of the systems of that potential implementing partner and providing targeted technical advice on those systems, where and to the extent required by the conclusions of the audit of the pillar assessment in view of the implementation of the financial products envisaged by that potential implementing partner;
• (iv) providing a non-binding opinion on the banking-related aspects, in particular on the financial risk and financial terms related to the portion of the EU guarantee to be allocated to the implementing partner, other than to the EIB Group, as defined in the guarantee agreement to be concluded with that implementing partner;
• (v) carrying out simulations and projections of the financial risk and remuneration of the aggregate portfolio on the basis of assumptions agreed with the Commission;
• (vi) measuring the financial risk of the aggregate portfolio and providing financial reports on the aggregate portfolio; and
• (vii) providing restructuring and recovery services as set out in the agreement referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 of this Article to the Commission at the request of the Commission and in agreement with the implementing partner in accordance with point (g) of Article 17(2) where that implementing partner is no longer responsible for pursuing restructuring and recovery activities under the relevant guarantee agreement;

• (c) may provide capacity building as referred to in point (h) of Article 25(2) to a national promotional bank or institution and other services, in relation to the implementation of financial products supported by the EU guarantee if requested by that national promotional bank or institution;

• (d) shall, in relation to the InvestEU Advisory Hub:
• (i) be allocated an amount of up to EUR 330 000 000 from the financial envelope referred to in Article 4(3) for the advisory initiatives referred to in Article 25 and the operational tasks referred to in point (ii) of this point;
• (ii) advise the Commission and perform operational tasks set out in the agreement referred to in point (c) of paragraph 3, by:
• — providing support to the Commission in the design, the establishment and operation of the InvestEU Advisory Hub;
• — providing an assessment of requests for advisory support that the Commission does not consider to fall under existing advisory initiatives, with a view to supporting the allocation decision of the Commission in relation to advisory requests received under the central point of entry defined in point (a) of Article 25(2);
• — providing support to national promotional banks and institutions by providing capacity building referred to in point (h) of Article 25(2) in relation to the development of their advisory capabilities to enable them to participate in advisory initiatives, at the request of such banks or institutions;
• — at the request of the Commission and of a potential advisory partner, and subject to the agreement of the EIB Group, concluding on behalf of the Commission an agreement with the advisory partner for the delivery of advisory initiatives.

The EIB Group shall ensure that its tasks as referred to in point (d)(ii) of the first subparagraph are conducted entirely independently from its role as an advisory partner.

As appropriate, the Commission shall engage with the implementing partner on the basis of the findings of the opinion of the EIB Group referred to in point (b)(iv) of the first subparagraph. The Commission shall inform the EIB Group of the outcome of its decision-making.

• (a) on the granting and implementation of the portion of the EU guarantee specified in Article 13(4):
• (i) a guarantee agreement between the Commission and the EIB Group; or
• (ii) separate guarantee agreements between the Commission and the EIB and its subsidiaries or other entities established in accordance with Article 28(1) of the EIB Statute, as applicable;

• (b) an agreement between the Commission and the EIB Group in relation to points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1;

• (c) an agreement between the Commission and the EIB Group in relation to the InvestEU Advisory Hub;

• (d) service agreements between the EIB Group and national promotional banks and institutions concerning capacity building and other services provided under point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

Article 12

Conflicts of interest

CHAPTER IV EU guarantee and InvestEU financial instrument

Article 13

EU guarantee

Where duly justified by the nature of the policy objectives targeted by the financial product and the need for the financial products to be affordable to the targeted final recipients, the cost of the financing provided to the final recipient may be reduced or the terms of that financing may be improved, by reducing the remuneration for the EU guarantee, or, where necessary, by covering the outstanding administrative costs borne by the implementing partner through the Union budget, in particular:

• (a) where stressed financial market conditions would prevent the realisation of a financing or investment operation under market-based pricing; or

• (b) where necessary to catalyse financing and investment operations in sectors or areas experiencing a significant market failure or suboptimal investment situation or to facilitate the establishment of investment platforms.

The reduction of the remuneration for the EU guarantee or the coverage of the outstanding administrative costs borne by the implementing partner, referred to in the second subparagraph, may only be done to the extent that it does not significantly impact the provisioning for the EU guarantee.

The reduction of the remuneration for the EU guarantee shall fully benefit final recipients.

Contracts between the implementing partner and the final recipient or the financial intermediary or other entity referred to in Article 16(1), point (a), under the EU guarantee referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) shall be signed at the latest by 31 August 2026. In other cases, contracts between the implementing partner and the final recipient or the financial intermediary or other entity referred to Article 16(1), point (a), shall be signed by 31 December 2028.

Article 14

Eligible financing and investment operations

• (a) comply with the conditions set out in points (a) to (e) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation, in particular regarding market failures, suboptimal investment situations and additionality as set out in points (a) and (b) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation and in Annex V to this Regulation and, where appropriate, maximising private investment in accordance with point (d) of Article 209(2) of the Financial Regulation;

• (b) contribute to the Union policy objectives and fall within the scope of the areas eligible for financing and investment operations under the appropriate policy window in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation;

• (c) do not provide financial support to the excluded activities set out in Section B of Annex V to this Regulation; and

• (d) are consistent with the investment guidelines.

• (a) projects involving entities located or established in one or more Member States that extend to one or more third countries, including acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, countries falling within the scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EEA or the EFTA, to an overseas country or territory as set out in Annex II to the TFEU, or to an associated third country, regardless of whether there is a partner in those third countries or overseas countries or territories;

• (b) financing and investment operations in third countries as referred to in Article 5 which have contributed to a specific financial product.

• (a) a Member State or an overseas country or territory linked to a Member State as set out in Annex II to the TFEU;

• (b) a third country associated to the InvestEU Programme in accordance with Article 5;

• (c) a third country referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2, where applicable;

• (d) other third countries, where necessary for the financing of a project in a country or territory referred to in points (a), (b) or (c).

Article 15

Selection of implementing partners other than the EIB Group

Implementing partners may form a group. An implementing partner may be a member of one or more groups.

For the EU compartment, the eligible counterparties shall have expressed their interest in relation to the portion of the EU guarantee referred to in Article 13(5).

For the Member State compartment, the Member State concerned may propose one or more counterparties as implementing partners from among those counterparties that have expressed their interest. The Member State concerned may also propose the EIB Group as an implementing partner and, at its own expense, may contract the EIB Group to provide the services listed in Article 11.

Where the Member State concerned does not propose an implementing partner, the Commission shall proceed in accordance with the third subparagraph of this paragraph and shall select as implementing partners eligible counterparties that are able to cover the financing and investment operations in the geographical areas concerned.

• (a) maximising the coverage of the objectives laid down in Article 3;

• (b) maximising the impact of the EU guarantee through the own resources committed by the implementing partner;

• (c) maximising, where appropriate, private investment;

• (d) promoting innovative financial and risk solutions to address market failures and suboptimal investment situations;

• (e) achieving geographical diversification via gradual allocation of the EU guarantee, and to allow for the financing of smaller projects;

• (f) providing sufficient risk diversification.

• (a) the possible cost and remuneration to the Union budget;

• (b) the capacity of the implementing partner to implement thoroughly the requirements of Article 155(2) and (3) of the Financial Regulation related to tax avoidance, tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, terrorism financing and non-cooperative jurisdictions.

Article 16

Eligible types of financing

• (a) loans, guarantees, counter-guarantees, capital market instruments, any other form of funding or credit enhancement, including subordinated debt, or equity or quasi-equity investments, provided directly or indirectly through financial intermediaries, funds, investment platforms or other vehicles to be channelled to final recipients;

• (b) funding or guarantees by an implementing partner to another financial institution enabling the latter to undertake financing referred to in point (a).

The InvestEU financial instrument may be used to provide funding to the implementing partners for the types of financing referred to in the first subparagraph, point (a), provided by the implementing partners.