On 25 March the European Commission adopted a Green Paper that launches a three-month public consultation on ways of fostering the supply of long-term financing and improving and diversifying the system of financial intermediation for long-term investment in Europe. Long-term investment being a spending that enhances the productive capacity of the economy, can include energy, transport and communication infrastructures, industrial and service facilities, climate change and eco-innovation technologies, as well as education and research and development. Europe faces large-scale long-term investment needs, which are crucial to support sustainable growth. To fund long-term investment, governments, businesses and households need access to predictable long term financing.
The financial crisis has affected the ability of the financial sector in Europe to channel savings to long-term investment. According to the Commission, it is essential to understand what can be done to improve the availability of long-term financing, with this Green Paper focusing on how that process operates.