European Commission - Press release

Investment Plan for Europe: Spain will contribute 1.5 billion to Investment
Fund projects
Brussels, 27 February 2015
Today Spain announced that it will contribute 1.5 billion to projects benefiting from finance by the
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) which is the core element of the Investment Plan for
Europe. The contribution comes via Spain's National Promotional Bank, the Instituto de Crdito Oficial
(ICO).
European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth,
Investment and Competitiveness welcomed the news: "I am very pleased to be in Spain to receive
this excellent news from the Spanish government. We are one step closer to reaching the target 315
billion total investment from public and private partners, and I encourage other Member States to
follow Spain and Germany's lead. This is a great day not only for Spanish businesses, but for
businesses across Europe."
The announcement comes just days after the European Investment Bank (EIB) gave the green light for
pre-financing for small- and medium- sized companies (SMEs), as well as some infrastructure projects,
before the summer.
Background
National Promotional Banks such as ICO in Spain and KfW in Germany have a crucial role to play in
getting Europe investing again. They have the expertise to carry out the Investment Plan, and they
ensure the most efficient use of public resources. Germany announced in February that it will
contribute 8 billion to the Investment Plan through their National Promotional Bank, KfW.
The economic crisis brought about a sharp reduction of investment in Spain. In 2014, Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and private consumption were respectively 5% and 9% below their peaks in 2007,
whereas investment was still 36% below (in constant prices).
However, investment did start to grow again in Spain in 2014 (by 3.2%). It is expected to accelerate
during 2015 and 2016 and become a key contributor to GDP growth.

IP/15/4477
Press contacts
Annika BREIDTHARDT (+ 32 2 295 61 53)
Siobhan BRIGHT (+32 2 295 73 61)
General public inquiries:
Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email