Policy Brief - Three Target Sectors for a European Investment Strategy

The overall analysis of investment gaps in the euro zone¹ has confirmed the requirement for a European macroeconomic revival effort that involves investment, public or private, undertaken very quickly, even though this diagnosis varies depending on the country.

The drivers of a European investment strategy² are fiscal, regulatory and financial and are based on the selection of projects for the future.

This third Note d’analyse addresses the topic of investment potential in three key sectors: transport, energy and the digital sector, for which the amount of additional investment could reach €120 billion per year and thus, over three years, be higher than the forecasts in the Juncker plan. This maximalist amount mainly corresponds to the implementation of an ambitious energy-climate policy.

Given current budgetary constraints, carefully selecting the desired investments, for which their social utility must be validated, is imperative: socioeconomic evaluation is the appropriate approach, particularly for taking into account the environmental externalities that now justify significant investments in the ecological transition.

Investment potential (in billions of euros per year)

Summary: Three Target Sectors for a European Investment Strategy

• Infrastructure, the preferred investment target
• Identifying the potential for additional investment
• How to select investments

Authors: Lionel Janin et Pierre Douillard, Sustainable Development Department

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¹ “Has there been an investment gap in France and Europe since 2007?”, English version, La Note d’analyse n°16, September 2014, www.strategie.gouv.fr.

² “The levers of a European investment strategy”, English version, La Note d’analyse n°17, November 2014, www.strategie.gouv.fr.