EU Economy and Finance’s Post

📣 Commission disburses €50 million in #financial #support to #North #Macedonia! This week, the Commission has disbursed €50 million in loans to North Macedonia, marking the first tranche of a substantial Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) operation. This significant financial support shall strengthen North Macedonia's economy, which has faced challenges from the recent energy crisis, sparked by geopolitical tensions. The funds aim to enhance macroeconomic stability and facilitate critical reforms in alignment with North Macedonia's ongoing IMF program. This assistance is not only a testament to North Macedonia's commitment to reforming public finances and judicial systems but also underscores its steady progress on the European path. Key achievements include the establishment of an independent Fiscal Council, enhancement of public investment management, expansion of the tax base, and measures to formalize the informal economy. The country has also taken significant strides in improving energy efficiency and judicial reform. With a total of €100 million earmarked for this MFA operation, the future release of an additional €50 million will depend on continued adherence to agreed policy conditions. This partnership illustrates a robust commitment to economic stability and reformative progress. #EuropeanUnion #EconomicDevelopment #NorthMacedonia #FinancialAssistance #IMF #Reform #EnergyCrisis #JudicialReform #PublicFinance STEMwise #advocacy https://lnkd.in/eMCcSTy7

The FDI Screening Regulation is undergoing a major reform. On 24 January, the EU Commission published its proposals to step up the screening of M&A transactions in Europe. Amongst the key revisions are that all Members States need to adopt an FDI regime, and direct investors that are ultimately owned by a foreigner must be screened. Join us on 30 January in Brussels where we will be speaking with Damien Levie of the European Commission about these reforms. More to come - watch this space. #FDI https://lnkd.in/exSVyBdD

With the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the European Commission protects the internal market against unfair competition. More specific: against unfair advantages for recipients of foreign subsidies trying to win public contracts in the EU. According to this Regulation, companies are obliged to notify their public procurement tenders in the EU when the estimated value of the contract exceeds €250 million, and when the company was granted at least €4 million in foreign financial contributions from at least 1 third country in the 3 years prior to notification. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eqptjSre #EU #MarketProtection #China #subsidies #grants

You know state aid? That specific, and unique, EU law that allows the EU Commission to control Member states' state aid to companies? Last year saw a small - but significant - tweak to those rules to meet the US multi-billion anti-inflation spending bonanza known as the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act). The tweak means that companies planning to make a (big) investment can play off the US vs the EU by threating to relocate the investment to the US unless it gets similar aid in the EU. The rules have now been applied for the first time and this means that Germany (with the approval stamp of the EU) will get a new battery factory in Heide, in return for a total subsidy of €902 million (of which € 700 million is a direct grant). Money well spent? Wise policy? I do not think this has been discussed enough.

Today at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, our hard work with the pillar 2 of the Ukraine Facility is starting to pay off. This also meant that Ursula von der Leyen could proudly announce that €1.4 billion in new guarantee and grant agreements to support Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction are now ready to be signed with EBRD, IFC - International Finance Corporation, European Investment Bank (EIB), KfW and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. These agreements, comprise of €1 billion of loan guarantees and €400 million of blended finance grants, and will benefit private companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, municipalities and Ukrainian state-owned enterprises. They will notably focus on the repair, rehabilitation and development of energy infrastructure, which has been heavily targeted by Russia in recent months. We are now in the process of preparing the next round of calls for proposals to continue providing much needed stimuli to the Ukrainian economy and the Ukrainian citizens. #StandWithUkraine #UkraineWillPrevail

https://lnkd.in/emCySyjx Today, the Commission adopted five initiatives to strengthen the EU's economic security at a time of growing geopolitical tensions and profound technological shifts. Important changes in the proposal for the revision of EU FDI regulation: - All Member States need to establish FDI screening mechanism: note that 21/27 MS have established the screening mechanism as of October 2023, this requirement is almost evitable; - Sectors and technologies listed in Annex II need to undergo screening, this means a minimum sector requirement amongst EU member states will be established; - if a foreign investor is state-owned or controlled, the screening needs to be notified to the Commission and other Member States, this represents additional scrutiny on SOEs' investments; - FDI is extended to investments carreid out through the EU subsidiaries of non-EU investors: using newly set-up entities in the EU to acquire targets is now within the scope of review. In addition, the other four initiatives include possible changes in export control, outbound investment control, R&D on dual use technology, and international collaborations on research. DALDEWOLF #DALDEWOLFCHINADESK# #FDI#

The EU has just set up the Ukraine Investment Framework, the financial arm and an integral component of the €50 billion Ukraine Facility to incentivise public and private investments for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. #standwithukraine #eubudget

Great news: The #EuropeanCommission, #EIB and #EIF have agreed today to establish a €300 million export credit guarantee facility under the EU flagship investment programme #InvestEU. Thanks to this facility, the #EIF will now be able to use the #InvestEU programme to support European #small_medium_sized_companies exporting goods and services to #Ukraine. #Export #BMWK ECA #EulerHermes https://lnkd.in/epj6N-Zd

In this video https://lnkd.in/g5G9CBn4 , we interview Naren Balakrishnan - who helps people access $4bn in Canadian funding through tax credit programs. Learn from us and watch the video.