(13 December 2018) – Halfway through the 2014-2020 EU budget period, the amount of European Structural and Investment Funds channelled through financial instruments already exceeds the amount invested via such instruments in the 2007-2013 period.

New data published today show that by the end of 2017, the amount of EU funds invested via financial instruments reached nearly €18.8 billion, an increase of over €5 billion compared to the previous year.
The largest share of funding (56%) has been assigned to support for small and medium companies, followed by investments in the shift towards a low-carbon economy, mainly in energy efficiency (16%), and in research, development and innovation (16%).