Foreign investment screening framework
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached in November a political agreement on an EU framework for screening foreign direct investment. The package agreed will ensure that the EU and its Member States are equipped to protect their essential interests while remaining one of the most open investment regimes in the world.
The European Investment Bank Group, comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF), provided close to EUR 1.9bn of new loans, guarantees and equity investment in Romania in 2017. More than EUR 1.3bn in loans came from the EIB and EUR 551m from the EIF in the form of guarantees and equity investments in small businesses to sustain their growth. The EIB Group’s support for Romania therefore represents some 1.04% of the country’s GDP, placing Romania fifth among EU Member States in this respect, and above the EU average of 0.46%. The group concluded four operations under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is part of the Investment Plan for Europe.
