Inhalt
“EU funds and PPP projects - How to finance infrastructure investments”
Berlin, 29th & 30th May 2008
How to improve the financing of public investments is a crucial question of public servants from all Member states. The participants of the international seminar “EU funds and PPP projects” get all necessary information on combining finance tools as EU grants and public private partnerships.
Public Private Partnerships have demonstrated many advantages for the public and the private partners: they allow to overcome budget shortages and to contribute to the efficiency of the implementation. Besides that they are thought to encourage and involve local private sectors influencing regional economies. Many European countries use this financial structure in public investments successfully.
On the other hand, the European Commission exerts a great pressure on the Member states in what concerns the absorption of the large budget of Structural Funds, in particular the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund. Hence the eligible countries usually choose between the PPP constructions and the EU funding. In the majority of Member States EU funds dominate in sectors like transport and municipalities.
Meanwhile the European Commission encourages a wider use of PPP’s and points out the possibilities of co-financing by EU funds in order to enforce such arrangements. These mixed structures prove to be a great deal in the infrastructure investments. Private investors provide additional capital and alternative management as well as implementation skills. However, the EU and national governments often lack specific regulations on combining EU funding with PPP projects.
Such structures involve rigorous appraisal of financial and operational risks and have to be carried out exactly as specified to ensure reimbursement from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Brussels</st1:city></st1:place>. The programming periods are limited in time while the realisation of infrastructure project takes many years.
Therefore the Member states need more input on the potential and standard terms and conditions of their use.
European experts on EU funds implementation and PPP explain the European regulations and show common difficulties by mixed financing of public investments.
The seminar addresses public servants on national and regional levels in charge of public investments, EU fund management as well as national and regional economic development.