The second EU fi-compass conference on EAFRD financial instruments for agriculture and rural development in 2014-2020, took place in Brussels, on November 25, 2016.
Fi-compass (financial instruments) is a platform jointly provided by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), launched in 2014, that provides advisory services on financial instruments (loans, guarantees and equity) under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and on microfinance under the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation.
Opening the conference, Commissioner Phil Hogan, responsible for Agriculture & Rural Development, stated: “The new EAFRD – EFSI (European Fund for Strategic Investments) Initiative, which I launched today with the European Investment Fund and the EIB (fi-compass), is a great new opportunity that offers excellent possibilities for attracting private capital. I am ready to throw my full support behind all Member States willing to open the financial world to their farmers and rural businesses, and I call on them to quickly get their financial instruments on the market”. Commissioner Phil Hogan highlighted the capacity of financial instruments to help farmers and agri-businesses innovate, grow, and create jobs, which are pillars of the Investment Plan for Europe. Find out more about the new EARFD – EFSI initiative here.
For more information:
- Programme, press release and presentations of the conference here
- Fi-compass website
- Fi-compass factsheet “The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development”
- Fi-compass manual “Methodological handbook for implementing an ex-ante assessment of agriculture financial instruments under the EAFRD”
