Commission’s investment plan gets a boost

European Commission gives greater detail about its €315 billion investment plan.

The European Commission today (13 January) approved the legal conditions for the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which will help finance its €315 billion investment plan.

The EFSI is at the heart of the investment plan, which aims to create jobs and growth across Europe by mobilising private and public money in areas such as infrastructure, education and renewable energy. The main aim of EFSI is to support projects that have a higher risk profile.

Jyrki Katainen, the European commissioner for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, said he hopes that it will lead to investments “taking off in countries and sectors where job creation and growth are most needed”.

The participation of EU member states in the fund is voluntary, but the Commission hopes that the likes of national banks, or even institutions from non-EU countries, will invest as well.

The EFSI will be led by a steering board, which will decide on investment guidelines and allocate funds, and an investment committee which will decide which projects will receive EFSI support. The investment committee will consist of six independent market experts and one director.

The Commission today also announced the creation of a European Investment Advisory Hub, which is aimed at helping identify, prepare and develop projects. The so-called European Investment Project Pipeline has been set up to advise investors of existing and future projects.

These plans are all part of the Commission’s guidance to encourage structural reforms and investments, presented today by Valdis Dombrovskis, the European commissioner for the euro and social dialogue. Dombrovskis discussed a Commission communication that aims at helping member states apply for funds from the EU’s stability and growth pact, which was set up to strengthen the link between reforms and investment in support of jobs and growth.

Additionally, the Commission will monitor the implementation of the fiscal impact of structural reforms taken by the member states. This means that it will check whether the reforms are significant, have positive long-term budgetary effects and are implemented. If necessary, the Commission will take action against those countries that fail to implement the measures.

Council negotiations on the investment plan are expected to start on Monday (19 January). The plan will be presented during a meeting of the EU’s finance ministers on 27 January, after which the Council plans to agree a general approach by April.

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As was agreed at December’s European Council, a report on the plan will need to be presented to the EU’s head of state or government by June at the latest. The plan is for investments to be made from mid-2015.

Portugal nominates Moedas for Commission

Portuguese press speculates that the expected candidate, Maria Luís Albuquerque, was passed over as Jean-Claude Juncker would not guarantee her a weighty portfolio.

Portugal has nominated Carlos Moedas, who has been the country’s main negotiator on its international bailout, to be its member of the next European Commission.

The 44-year-old is currently secretary of state to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. One of his main responsibilities in the government has been negotiating with Portugal’s international creditors, known as the troika, and ensuring implementation of the terms of Portugal’s bailout.

Click here to see the list of nominees

It was believed that Passos Coelho was going to nominate Maria Luís Albuquerque, the finance minister, as Portugal’s commissioner.

There was speculation today in the Portuguese press that he did not do so because Juncker would not guarantee her a weighty portfolio in the Commission.

It was also suggested that nominating Albuquerque would have damaged the government’s image in Portugal. Her predecessor, Vítor Gaspar, left the government and became a director at the International Monetary Fund. Portuguese electors, the argument runs, would have been upset to see a second finance minister leave for an international role after forcing through painful reforms at the national level.

Moedas, who holds an MBA from Harvard University and worked for Goldman Sachs prior to entering politics, is considered a close ally of Passos Coelho (whose European Voice profile you can read here). Passos Coelho is considered a market liberal within the centre-right Partido Social Democrata.

As reported by European Voice, Moedas used a recent trip to Brussels to call on other eurozone member states to fulfil their promises to implement deep structural reforms, citing Portugal as a model.

 

 

Almunia gives support to UK nuclear subsidies

Almunia will suggest that the European Commission should approve a controversial loan guarantee and price commitment on a nuclear power station in the UK.

Joaquĺn Almunia, the European commissioner for competition, will suggest to the European Commission that it should approve a subsidised nuclear power plant in the UK, his spokesman confirmed today (23 September).

It would be the first approval for state aid to nuclear power in this form. The Commission has been conducting an investigation since December into whether a loan guarantee and price commitment for the plant at Hinkley Point, to be built in conjunction with French company EDF Energy, would break state-aid rules.

“We have investigated, we have looked at the arguments put forward by the UK authorities,” said Antoine Colombani, Almunia’s spokesman. “Aspects of the original plans of the UK authorities have changed, and it’s on the basis of these new conditions that vice president Almunia considers he’s in a position today to recommend to the College of Commissioners to take such a decision. When this decision is taken, we’ll be able to explain more details.”

Colombani was responding to media reports yesterday that Almunia had decided to endorse the project. The final approval must be given by an agreement in the 28-member college of commissioners. Such approval cannot be taken for granted, as several commissioners including Günther Oettinger, the European commissioner for energy, have expressed doubts about the subsidies.

The UK government’s contract with EDF guarantees that for 35 years the power generated by the plant will be sold at a price of £92.50/MWh. This is double the current wholesale power price.

This would be the first time a member state guarantees a price over a very long period for a nuclear power plant. The UK government disputes the suggestion of state aid in the ‘contract for difference’, which binds the government to compensate EDF if the market price for energy is lower than the agreed £92.50/MWh – and EDF to compensate the government if the market price rises above the guaranteed price. There was not a competitive tendering process for the project.

Almunia was asked about the media reports during an appearance at the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee today, but he did not give a direct answer about his intentions.

British Green MEP Molly Scott Cato said at the committee meeting that “it would be a scandal if the European Commission decided to turn a blind eye as some kind of naive sop to David Cameron and the Tory-led government, with a view to rallying their support for Europe”.

“This huge implicit subsidy for Hinkley will make it impossible for those who generate electricity in a clean and sustainable way to compete,” she added. “As such, it has potentially massive implications for the EU energy market.”

This would be the first nuclear plant built in the UK since 1995.

Green campaigners today accused Almunia of a U-turn, saying that he originally expressed scepticism that the contract-for-difference would satisfy EU state-aid rules. The commissioner had a meeting with Ed Davey, the British energy minister, last Wednesday.

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Choppy waters but all still on board

MEPs didn’t land any knock-out blows against the first 14 nominees in Juncker’s team, but things may be more volatile for Cañete, Bratušek, Moscovici and Hogan in the coming days.

Halfway through the confirmation hearings at the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker’s team of European Commission nominees appears intact. As European Voice went to press yesterday (1 October), 14 nominees had faced questioning by MEPs and all had emerged apparently safe. But Miguel Arias Cañete (pictured) of Spain, one of the most endangered nominees, was about to take the floor last night.

A sexist comment and his family ties to oil interests continue to plague him, and in recent days new allegations have added fuel to the fire. According to Spanish newspaper El País, Cañete changed his financial declaration in the Parliament on Tuesday (30 September) to list €5,000 per month he earned during the 2011 national elections as his party’s campaign manager.

A centre-left revolt against his nomination would violate the terms of the grand coalition of Socialists and Democrats with Cañete’s European People’s Party, and rumour has it that the EPP would go after Pierre Moscovici, France’s nominee, during his hearing today (2 October) if the S&D went after Cañete on Wednesday night. Moscovici is under fire not because of personal shortfalls but because of his nationality: France has consistently failed to meet the fiscal rules that Moscovici will oversee if confirmed.

Another hearing today, that of Phil Hogan of Ireland, could also turn out to be unexpectedly contentious. Hogan’s lawyers have threatened Nessa Childers, a centre-left Irish MEPs, with legal action about allegations, which he denies, about a housing dispute in his constituency. Childers has written to MEPs on the legal affairs committee describing the move as an attempt to silence her. The episode shows how anything from a nominee’s past can re-emerge to create problems.

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The hearing of Slovenia’s Alenka Bratušek on Monday (6 October) is likely to be tense. Bratušek has been under scrutiny for the way her caretaker government nominated her to be commissioner after being defeated in a general election. An investigation by a government panel was concluded weeks ago, but Bratušek managed to delay publication of its findings by refusing to collect a notification letter from the post office. Yesterday the head of the anti-fraud commission,

Boris Štefanec, condemned her refusal to pick up the letter, accusing her of “hampering the work of institutions of the state with cunning manoeuvring and delays”. He is not allowed to reveal the verdict of the investigation until Bratušek responds to the findings, for which she has another two weeks.

Surprises emerged during the very first pair of hearings, of Malta’s Karmenu Vella and Sweden’s Cecilia Malmström. The objections to Vella were not personal but aimed at Juncker’s decision not to make environment and sustainability part of the top-level portfolios allocated to his vice-presidents (see page 8). Malmström became vulnerable after an email was leaked the day before her hearing suggesting that a member of her team had worked with the United States to alter data-protection proposals from the European Commission.

Centre-left and Green MEPs would only vote to confirm her after she sent a letter addressing those concerns. Hearings will take place today, Monday and Tuesday (7 October), closing with Frans Timmermans, the Dutch nominee whom Juncker wants to install as first vice-president for better regulation, inter-institutional relations, rule of law and charter of fundamental rights.

The Italian fixture list has taken another hit as the spread of the illness continues to wreak havoc with the domestic football scene

Juventus’ Coppa Italia semi-final second leg with AC Milan on Wednesday night has been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in Italy.

The sides are level at 1-1 following the first leg, when Cristiano Ronaldo buried a controversial late penalty to cancel out Ante Rebic’s opener.

A meeting was held with Juventus representatives, the Mayor of Turin Chiara Appendino and prefect Claudio Paolomba.

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Juve’s head of communications, Claudio Albanese, had already made clear: “Juventus respects any decision taken by the authorities, public health is also a priority good for society.”

The virus has caused chaos with the Italian football calendar, with a number of Serie A fixtures postponed in recent weeks.

Juve’s top-of-the-table clash with Inter last weekend was one of five games postponed, having previously been earmarked to be played behind closed doors.

Udinese vs Fiorentina, Milan vs Genoa, Parma vs SPAL and Sassuolo vs Brescia were the four other fixtures postponed that weekend, and reorganised for May 13.

Juve’s game with Inter was reportedly set to be played on Monday, March 9 in order to ease potential fixture congestion later in the season.

Inter were reportedly unhappy with this resolution. President Steven Zhang called Serie A president Paolo Dal Pino “the biggest and darkest clown I have ever seen” over his handling of the fixture chaos.

A government decree has suspended all sporting events in regions affected by the coronavirus until March 8.

That has meant Juve’s game with Bologna will not go ahead. Atalanta vs Lazio, Inter vs Sassuolo, and Hellas Verona vs Napoli are the other games postponed this weekend.

A meeting is due to be held on Wednesday, March 4 with Serie A chiefs and representatives from clubs to decide the course of action over the remainder of the season.

An outbreak of a deadly coronavirus in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 placed large parts of China on lockdown and the rest of the world on high alert.

Despite taking measures in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, it has spread throughout China and across the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and parts of Europe.

Travel restrictions are in effect across China, particularly so in the region most affected, with health officials advising people to avoid travel into or out of seriously affected countries. 

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The Frenchman has missed the majority of the 2019-20 campaign through injury, but now appears to be closing in on a timely comeback

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that Paul Pogba will be welcomed back into first-team training next week after making a full recovery from a serious ankle injury.

Pogba has not played for the Red Devils since coming on as a substitute during a 4-1 home victory over Newcastle on December 26 and underwent surgery on the niggling issue in January.

The World Cup winner has only featured in eight matches across all competitions this season, with his last start coming against Arsenal way back in September.

Questions have been asked over the 26-year-old’s future in recent weeks, as Real Madrid and Juventus continue to be linked with summer moves for a player who has less than 18 months left to run on his current contract at Old Trafford.

It has been suggested that Pogba may have already played his final game for United, but Solskjaer is expecting him back on the pitch just in time for the business end of the campaign to get underway. 

The Norwegian told a press conference on Wednesday: “Paul’s still working with the physios outside. He won’t be training with the first-team until next week, so then let’s see how long that will take. But he’ll need some time to train, to get his… call it football fitness back.”

Solskjaer also confirmed that United will likely be without summer signings Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for an FA Cup fifth-round clash with Derby at Pride Park on Thursday.

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He said: “[Daniel James] he’ll probably miss out on this one as well, Marcus [Rashford] and Paul are still out and I think Aaron might be struggling. He’s got a test today but he struggled in our last game against Everton with his back, so he might be out.”

The Red Devils will be aiming to bounce back from a 1-1 draw away at Everton when they take on the Rams, with David de Gea, should he start against Derby, likely to be under the spotlight following another high-profile mistake.

The Spaniard was guilty of dawdling on the ball before seeing a clearance diverted into his net by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which marked his seventh error leading to a goal in the Premier League since the start of last season.

Some fans and experts have called for No.2 goalkeeper Sergio Romero to be drafted in ahead of De Gea but Solskjaer says the 29-year-old still enjoys his full confidence.

When asked who will start between the sticks against Derby, Solskjaer responded: “It’s not a given of course, and Sergio has done well in the games he’s played definitely, but I have no qualms about playing David in every game, to be fair.

“What he’s done and his performances have been great, the saves, the save just after [his error], was 100 per cent offside for Calvert-Lewin but he wasn’t flagged, so that was a point-saving save for us just afterwards. He made amends.”

Three defeats in four matches – in three different competitions – have left the Reds reeling but they are still overwhelmingly likely to win the title

It never rains but it pours.

And having been soaked at Vicarage Road on Saturday, Liverpool, metaphorically speaking, suffered another downpour at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Their unbeaten Premier League run is over, and so is their FA Cup campaign. There will be no historic treble, no domestic double for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who suddenly look vulnerable having for so long appeared untouchable.

That’s three defeats in four games for the Premier League leaders, as many as they had suffered in their previous 66. Atletico Madrid suffocated them, Watford stunned them and Chelsea punished them. The Reds have shipped eight goals in their last four games, and failed to score themselves in three of them.

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“I know the numbers,” said Klopp, grim-faced on Tuesday night. “They are not that cool.” Later, he would admit that “there aren’t that many competitions for us now.”

Overreaction is dangerous – and given they are about to be crowned English champions, Liverpool should have plenty of credit in the bank in that regard – but there are clear issues across the pitch right now; issues Klopp will need to fix before Atletico Madrid visit Anfield in the Champions League next week. 

He would love a convincing performance at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, for starters. Liverpool’s confidence, clearly, looks to have been dented by recent events. The ‘mentality giants’ have looked jaded and off-colour since their mid-season break. Form has dipped, concentration has wandered. Mistakes are being made and punished, and there has been a worrying lack of cutting edge in the final third. 

“We made massive mistakes,” admitted Klopp, adding that “in the last four games we have conceded too many goals from completely different situations.”

Against Chelsea, those situations were a giveaway from Fabinho on the edge of his own box, followed by a fumble from Adrian which gifted Willian the opener. Chelsea’s second came from a misdirected Virgil van Dijk header five yards inside the Londoners’ half, which allowed Ross Barkley to race upfield and, with no challenge forthcoming, smash Frank Lampard’s side into the quarter finals. 

Unlike at Watford, there was some mitigation for Liverpool this time. Klopp had made changes to his team, seven of them in fact. There were two teenagers, Neco Williams and Curtis Jones, in the starting XI, while Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino and Adam Lallana all g0t rare starts.

But by the same token, there was also Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson, three of Klopp’s first-choice back four. There was Fabinho, his most trusted holding midfield player, and there was Sadio Mane, one of the world’s elite attackers. From the bench, Liverpool summoned James Milner, Roberto Firmino and, belatedly, Mohamed Salah.

The manager had challenged his team to ‘strike back’ after their weekend defeat, and there were times, particularly in the first half, when it appeared they might do so. There was intensity and purpose, and the pace of the game was pleasing.

But when you concede goals, it often costs you. Liverpool’s powers of recovery over the past 18 months have been remarkable, but even the best sides can’t keep going to the well. For the third time in a fortnight, they were unable to muster a response to conceding the first goal of the game.

In fact, it will alarm Klopp how quickly his team’s composure went missing in the second half. As they had at Watford and in Madrid, they struggled to create proper chances. In fact, they failed to register a single shot on target after the break. Mane and Minamino were bright for 45 minutes, anonymous for the rest. Origi’s form is not good at all.

“The performance I am not concerned about,” insisted Klopp. “And I am not worried about momentum.” Rightly, he will back his team to come through their dip in form.  

How could he not? The reason results such as Saturday’s or Tuesday’s are so surprising is because of the standards Liverpool have set for themselves. We go into games expecting them to perform and expecting them to win – whether it’s at home to Southampton or away to Chelsea. High expectation is the price top sides pay.

And if the doubters ever needed reminding how far this team have come, how good this team are, all they need to do is listen to the away end during the dying seconds of Tuesday’s game.

“We’re gonna win the league,” they sang.

And guess what? They’re absolutely spot on.

Crisis? Not here. Not with this team. A blip, yes. A couple of setbacks, for sure. 

But given what they’ve done in the last 18 months, you could say they were due one…

The Brazilian star has cooled off after getting a little too heated in his last outing, according to his manager

Thomas Tuchel is counting on Neymar ahead of a “decisive phase” of the season, believing he has mellowed since criticising Paris Saint-Germain’s use of him prior to the defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

Neymar had hit out at the club for not playing him in any of their previous four matches before the trip to Germany, aiming to limit the risk of injury.

The Brazilian insisted such a decision had nothing to do with him, pointing the finger at the club and their doctors, as he claimed he had felt well enough to play.

Having served a suspension during PSG’s 4-0 thrashing of Dijon on Saturday, Neymar is back in contention to face Lyon in the Coupe de France semi-final on Wednesday.

And Tuchel says he has mellowed since venting his frustration with the club, while the coach is relying on the forward ahead of a potentially critical part of the season, with PSG set to face Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie next week having lost 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park.

“He [Neymar] is calmer now,” Tuchel told reports on Tuesday. “In Bordeaux he had a good match, unfortunately with a red card. It was not good, but it was like that.

“I have a feeling that he is calmer. He’s getting ready for tomorrow’s game, he’s going to play, it’s necessary.

“The most important thing is that he plays, that he is with us in this decisive phase. I am happy to play with him in Lyon.

“I have the feeling that he is really ready, that he is calmer, more confident, and that he has found his rhythm.”

After PSG’s loss to Dortmund last month, Tuchel made a point of singling out Neymar’s performance as he pushed the Brazilian to get back to his best. 

“We have made twice as many matches as Dortmund in recent weeks. We have had injury concerns with key players, they lack the rhythm, the hardness of the competition, as we saw with Neymar,” Tuchel said, via L’Equipe.

“Ney lacked rhythm, competition. Our possession of the ball was not stable enough for this not to be a physical match. There was this physical side to this match, in addition, we made too many mistakes in unnecessary positions.

“We were lacking in timing. We lost a little confidence, and form. I thought it would be a more open game.”

The Kenyan international has departed London for Canada after failing to work his way into Jose Mourinho’s plans

Tottenham midfielder Victor Wanyama has joined the Montreal Impact after falling out of favour at the north London club.

The 28-year-old joins the Impact on a free transfer as a Designated Player on a three-year deal.

Wanyama will link up with the Impact once his medical is completed and international clearance is processed.

He spoke of his excitement at a fresh start alongside the Impact’s famous coach, ex-Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, where he will become the club’s second Designated Player alongside fellow midfielder Saphir Taider.

“I’m really happy to join an exciting club like the Montreal Impact,” Wanyama said.

“MLS continues to grow every season and I’m looking forward to bringing further awareness to this team, city and league across Africa.

“When I spoke to Thierry and he told me he wanted me to join him in Montreal, I didn’t have to think twice. He has always been a player that I’ve admired, and I am really happy to get the opportunity to work with him and to play a part that can ensure that the Montreal Impact have an improved season and hopefully reach the ultimate stages of the competitions in which we compete.

“I think the Saputo family and the management team in Montreal have a great plan in place and I am hoping I can make a great contribution to the success of this project.”

Wanyama joined Tottenham in 2016 – after three seasons at Southampton – and became an important part in Mauricio Pochettino’s midfield.

He made 97 appearances for Spurs across four years, with the majority of his playing time coming in his first season before knee injuries kept him consistently on the sidelines.

Despite Tottenham’s midfield issues, Wanyama had only made four appearances for the club this campaign and wasn’t brought into first-team calculations once Mourinho replaced Pochettino as manager in November last year.

Wanyama’s new side began their MLS campaign with a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution on March 1, while the club also advanced in the Concacaf Champions League by taking down Deportivo Saprissa. 

It remains to be seen whether the Kenya international will be available for their next league match against FC Dallas on Saturday or the club’s CCL clash with Olimpia on March 10.

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