The InvestEU Fund supports private and public investments in four policy areas which represent important priorities for the Union and bring high EU added value: sustainable infrastructure; research, innovation and digitisation; small and medium-sized businesses; and social investment and skills. The €26.2 billion EU budget guarantee is divided between the four InvestEU policy windows as follows:
- Transport, in particular clean and sustainable transport modes, multimodal transport, road safety, renewal and maintenance of rail and road infrastructure
- Energy, in particular renewable energy, energy efficiency and building renovation projects focused on energy savings and the integration of buildings into a connected energy source, storage, digital and transport system, improving energy infrastructure interconnection levels
- Digital connectivity and access including in rural areas
- Supply and processing of raw materials, space, oceans, water, including inland waterways, waste management in line with the waste hierarchy and the circular economy
- Nature and other environment infrastructure
- Cultural heritage, tourism
- Equipment, mobile assets and deployment of innovative technologies that contribute to the environmental climate resilience or social sustainability objectives of the EU, and meet the environmental or social sustainability standards of the EU
- Research, product development and innovation activities
- Transfer of technologies and research results to the market, supporting market enablers and cooperation between enterprises
- Demonstration and deployment of innovative solutions and support to scaling up of innovative companies as well as digitisation of EU industry
- Access to and availability of finance primarily for SMEs, including innovative ones and those operating in the cultural and creative sectors, as well as for small mid-cap companies
- Supporting businesses with difficulties of access to finance: start-ups, younger and smaller companies. Such companies are perceived as higher risk for regular commercial lenders.
- Microfinance
- Social enterprise finance and social economy
- Measures to promote gender equality skills, education, training and related services
- Social infrastructure (including health and educational infrastructure and social and student housing)
- Social innovation, including social impact, impact investing and social outcome contracting
- Health and long-term care
- Inclusion and accessibility
- Cultural and creative activities with a social goal
- Integration of vulnerable people, including third country nationals
All four areas may cover strategic investments including Important Projects of Common European Interest to support final recipients whose activities are of strategic importance to the EU, in particular in view of the green and digital transitions, of enhanced resilience and of strengthening strategic value chains.
These policy areas can generate investments under 2 compartments.
- An EU compartment, with a main focus on EU policy priorities and investments with EU value added.
- A Member State compartment, with a main focus on specific national priorities. EU countries have the possibility to contribute a part of their shared management funds to the InvestEU Fund, when setting up a “Member State compartment”. At the beginning of the programming period the Member States can choose to contribute up to 2% of their shared management fund allocation via their Partnership Agreements. If the Member States do not make use of this possibility, as of 1.01.2023 they can still contribute to InvestEU up to 3% of their shared management fund allocation via programme modification. With this voluntary contribution, EU countries can benefit from the EU guarantee's high credit rating, giving national and regional investments more firepower, while cutting red tape.
Under the Member State compartment, loans, guarantees or equity investments can be offered as a complement to other public and private investments.
Technical guidance on sustainability proofing for the InvestEU Fund