On 12 May, the working group on Budget met for the first time in Riga since the start of the new CoR mandate 2015-2020. After the election of the President, in the person of Albert Bore, members discussed in the presence of the European Commission and the EIB on how to boost the use of financial instruments. Financial instruments are an important tool in territorial development and have expanded in recent years. The drive for more use of financial instruments is backed by a legislative framework which extends their use to all types of ESIF programmes and thematic objectives. Financial instruments can take the form of equity investments, loans or guarantees, or other risk-sharing instruments and may, where appropriate, be combined with grants.
Mr Truskolaski, EA member in the Working Group highlights the importance of financial instruments. However using financial instruments - adds Mr Truskolaski - remains a complex task which requires a strong administrative capacity. Setting up financial instruments necessitates negotiating contracts with intermediaries and it could take a lot of time. We also have to ensure that accessibility to financial instruments especially for small projects is ensured.
