Il-Ministru għall-Finanzi l-Prof. Edward Scicluna enfasizza l-importanza ta’ strumenti finanzjarji fl-Unjoni Ewropea li huma kapaċi biex ifasslu interventi speċifiċi u mfassla biex jiffaċilitaw il-finanzjament u jippromwovu l-investiment fi ħdan l-irkupru ta’ Unjoni Ewropea.

“Skont stima waħda, l-investiment nieqes tal-Ewropa bejn l-2008 u l-2012, se jiswa lill-kontinent 540 biljun ewro fi prospetti mitlufa sal-2020,” qal il-Prof. Scicluna, waqt li enfasizza l-effett tal-kriżi finanzjarja li kellha fuq l-investiment Ewropew.

 

 

Il-Prof. Scicluna kien qiegħed jitkellem waqt sessjoni plenarja tal-Ġimgħa Parlamentari Ewropea fi Brussell nhar it-Tlieta 21 ta’ Jannar tal-2014. Is-suġġett tal-indirizz tiegħu huwa l-promozzjoni tat-tkabbir u l-impjiegi fl-Ewropa permezz tal-finanzjament tal-ekonomija reali. Huwa kien mistieden mill-President tal-Parlament Ewropew is-Sur Martin Schultz, fil-kapaċità tiegħu bħala President tal-Bord tal-Gvernaturi tal-Bank Ewropew tal-Investiment (BEI).
Waqt li tkellem dwar l-irwol tal-BEI fi ħdan l-Unjoni Ewropea li għadha qed tirkupra minn kriżi finanzjarja, il-Prof. Scicluna qal li bl-għajnuna ta l-BEI l-UE tkun tista’ tneħħi l-ostakoli għar-riallokazzjoni tar-riżorsi – mhux biss għall-aktar pajjiżi milquta mill-kriżijiet, iżda wkoll madwar l-Ewropa.

 

Huwa qal ukoll li l-kriżi kellha effett partikolarment intens fuq l-intrapriżi żgħar u ta’ daqs medju (SMEs), b’mod partikolari f’dawk il-pajjiżi li kienu l-aktar milquta mill-kriżi.

 

Huwa spjega li l-grupp tal-BEI jaħdem biex ittaffi l-ostakli finanzjarji b’modi differenti, bħal self immirati permezz ta’ intermedjarji finanzjarji jintuża bħala mod biex jgħaddu l-vantaġġi ta’ finanzjament tal-BEI. Fl-istess ħin, is-sussidjarja tal-BEI, il-Fond tal-Investiment Ewropew, iffirmaw garanziji għal żewġ biljun ewro.

 

“Il-Fond Ewropew għall-Investiment (FEI) ittestja b’mod pilota l-istrument ta’ garanzija JEREMIE f’Malta b’riżultati eċċellenti, tant li l-Gvern Malti ġdid, permezz tal-FEI, ħareġ it-tieni espressjoni ta’ interess għall-estensjoni tal-garanzija JEREMIE f’Awissu tal-2013 biex jassistu mitt SME oħra fix-xhur li ġejjin.”

 

Huwa irrimarka li se jkun meħtieġ approċċ flessibbli, u esprima l-fiduċja li l-BEI se tappoġġja s-Sħubija tagħha permezz ta’ żieda fil-kapaċità finanzjarja, kapaċità li żżid ir-riskju, orjentazzjoni miżjuda tar-riżultat u strateġija tal-operazzjonijiet tal-BEI, u s-settur u l-esperjenza bankarja tal-persunal tal-bank.

 

“L-irwol tal-BEI se jkompli jippromwovi l-konverġenza billi toffri rati ta’ attrazzjoni lill-Istati Membri li bħalissa qed jiffaċċjawl- ispejjeż ta’ finanzjament għoli,” qal il-Prof. Scicluna.

 

Europe’s missing investment between 2008 and 2012 to cost Europe €540 Billion in lost returns by 2020

 

Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna underlined the importance of financial instruments within the European Union that are able to devise specific and tailored interventions to ease financing and promote investment within recovering a European Union.

“According to one estimate, Europe’s missing investment between 2008 and 2012, will cost the continent 540 billion Euros in lost returns by 2020,” Prof. Scicluna said, underlining the effect of the financial crisis had on European investment.

Prof. Scicluna was speaking during a plenary session of the European Parliamentary Week in Brussels on Tuesday 21st January 2014. The subject of his address is the promotion of growth and jobs in Europe through the financing of the real economy. He was invited by the President of the European Parliament Mr Martin Schultz, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Investments Bank (EIB).

Speaking about the role of the EIB within a European Union that is still recovering from a financial crisis, Prof. Scicluna said that with the help of the EIB the EU would be able to remove obstacles to the reallocation of resources – not only for the most crisis-hit countries, but also across Europe.

He also noted that the crisis had a particularly intense effect on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular within those countries that were most affected by the crisis.

He explained that the EIB group works to ease financial bottlenecks in different ways, such as targeted lending through financial intermediaries is used as a way to pass on funding advantages of the EIB. At the same time, the EIB’s subsidiary, the European Investment Fund, has signed guarantees for another EUR 2 billion.

“The European Investment Fund (EIF) had pilot tested the JEREMIE guarantee instrument in Malta with excellent results, so much so that the new Maltese Government, through to the EIF, issued a second expression of interest for a JEREMIE guarantee extension in August 2013 to assist a further 100 SMEs in the coming months.”

He remarked that a flexible approach will be needed, and expressed confidence that the EIB will support its Membership through increased financial capacity, increased risk bearing capacity, increased result and strategy orientation of EIB operations, and the sector and banking experience of the bank’s staff.

“The EIB’s role will continue to promote convergence by offering attracting rates to Member States that currently face high financing costs,” Prof. Scicluna said.

 

     

– Wednesday,22nd January, 2013