The Three Seas Initiative Funding Methods
When considering the funding for projects undertaken by the Three Seas Initiative, one can think of several options. The first option is funding from national budgets of member states. In the international perspective, European funds are another option; among them, the Cohesion Fund is especially worth mentioning, as it supports such projects as the construction of trans-European transport network and development of environmentally ethical transport and energy generation methods. The 3SI countries have already received over 35 billion EUR from that source. The Cohesion Fund has allocated almost 14 billion EUR for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme in the Three Seas Region. The CEF is directly aimed at developing the network of interconnections in transport, energy and digital services. Another EU instrument is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Although its main objective is to level out disproportions among various regions, it is also used for purposes focusing on integration of Central and Eastern Europe. Regional projects that are being carried out in the 3SI countries will potentially result in profits at the international level. In the key areas, financial aid from the ERDF amounted to almost 28 billion EUR. Let us also mention EFSI, the European Fund for Strategic Investments. It was launched by the European Investment Bank and its support for transport, energy and digital projects of the 3SI countries is close to 3 billion EUR.
Another major instrument is the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund. Its originator and co-founder was Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) that also acts as the Fund’s main investor. Established in May 2019 on the initiative of Poland (BGK) and Romania (Exim Bank), the Three Seas Fund supplements the financial aid offered by financial instruments of the European Union, as described above, and as a market initiative it is supposed to diversify investment opportunities. Its main objective is to generate profits for investors: development banks from the Three Seas Initiative countries (core sponsors), international financial institutions such as EBI or EBOR, as well as private investors. The function of the Fund’s investment adviser, responsible also for fundraising and project management, is performed by Amber Infrastructure. During the Tallinn summit in October 2020, the SCI member states declared increased involvement in the Three Seas Investment Fund. Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego increased its contribution by 250 million EUR. In total, the shareholders’ financial involvement in the Fund exceeded 800 million EUR.
This is what Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, President of BGK and Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the Three Seas Fund, said about increased involvement in the Fund during the Tallinn summit of the 3SI countries: "The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the economic situation of all countries and forced us to undertake non-standard actions. It will take many years to overcome the crisis and long-term investment projects in infrastructure seem a good way to stimulate economies. The Three Seas Fund gets involved in investment projects on commercial terms. Increasing the Fund’s resources will make it possible to carry out a greater number of projects that are going to bring long-term benefits for the entire region; hence our decision to increase our involvement by 250 million EUR".
Source: https://media.bgk.pl/
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