1. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to enhance the use of financial instruments (FI) in t
he next programming period (2014-2020); stresses that at a time of heavy fiscal constraint and reduced lending capacity on the
part of the private sector, the increased use of innovative FI can foster public-
private partnerships, achieve a multiplier effect with the EU budget, open up alternative sources of finance, guarantee an important financing stream for strategic regional investments, support long
...[+++]-term, sustainable investments and raise EU growth potential; believes that, if used for appropriate projects, FI could, as a complement to grants, evolve to become an important aspect of the EU’s regional growth strategies towards achieving the EU’s objectives of smart and sustainable economic growth; states that FI are appropriate if, as a result of the support provided, a project generates income and profits, so that credit and loans can be paid back;