ABSTRACT
The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) was established by an EU regulation in 2015 to be a major trigger for the creation of employment. With an investment potential into the economy of up to €315bn until 2018, then extended by up to €500bn until 2020, it is a major initiative to trigger growth within the EU’s economy outside the formal EU budget. Of this amount, €26bn is guaranteed by the EU budget, meaning that any default will be met by public funds up to that amount. This reassures other lenders, thus making the necessary investment more likely, but exposes the public purse to risk. This chapter evaluates the accountability of the political decisions taken to put the EFSI into effect, and the accountability of the EFSI’s governance. Accountability is needed given the implications for the EU and for its budget, which totals around €160bn annually, in the event of a default of the EFSI, as well as the political rather than financial risks of such a large parallel fund that could replace the investment role of the EU budget itself, or that could crowd out more conventional private sector investment.
