Measures taken by Public Banks to address the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic

EAPB comments on the amendment of the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak

EAPB very much welcomes the Commission proposal to amend the Temporary State aid Framework. It is very important to quickly and flexibly integrate new urgent funding needs arising in Member States to allow them and their respective national and regional promotional banks (NPBs) to throw their full weight behind funding for the necessary measures to overcome the current health crisis and the economic crisis resulting from it.

Mobilizing for European SMEs: EAPB policy recommendations for addressing the Covid-19 Crisis

The Covid-19 Crisis has just hit the entire European economy with an unprecedented intensity. This crisis is very different from the one we witnessed ten years ago. Its extraordinary speed caused by the unexpected supply and demand shocks requires accordingly quick policy measures. In the spirit of the current situation, national and regional promotional banks across all Europe have promptly introduced necessary measures to help their respective markets. The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) publishes this paper to outline its policy recommendations for action on EU level:

EAPB comments on the proposal for a Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak

The European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) very much welcomes the Commission proposal to facilitate State aid regulation in the context of the COVID 19 crisis. However, we note that the Temporary Framework requires the development of new support programmes, which would have to be notified (see points. 18, 32, 35 and following of the regulation proposal). In our view, this will cost too much time, which we do not have. Companies today require
help quickly and unbureaucratically. Setting up new programmes would mean product development, development of model loan agreements, adaptation of processes and IT etc.), which would lose precious time.

EAPB remarks and recommendations concerning the preparation of the InvestEU Programme in the context of the recently introduced Sustainable Europe Investment Plan

The InvestEU Programme is supposed to be launched on 1 January 2021. Much work has been done in order to prepare its successful implementation. Nevertheless, the prospective implementing partners and financial intermediaries gathered in the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) would like to raise several outstanding issues concerning the InvestEU Programme and its connection to the European Green Deal Investment Plan (EGDIP) / Sustainable Europe Investment Plan (henceforth SEIP), announced this January by the European Commission. The Sustainable Europe Investment Plan is the investment pillar of the European Green Deal, which aims to secure a net climate-neutrality of the European Union by 2050.