PSLF-LOAN SCHEMES

Yes, any legal entity (public or private with limitations) established in the EU can submit a proposal for a project located in another region, but all proposals must relate to activities benefitting a territory covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan.

The coordinator of the application can be a different legal entity (e.g. a local/regional authority) from the entity who has requested/signed the loan (e.g. central government, Finance Ministry) as long as the legal entity that is linked to the loan is part of the consortium who submits the application.

State aid rules are fully applicable to projects submitted to the PSLF call for proposals. Please find more information about the notion of state aid here: competition-policy.ec.europa.eu.

No. Applicants can only apply in respect of an adopted Territorial Just Transition Plan.

A loan request may be submitted to the EIB at any time. However, it is advisable that the grant applicant enter in contact with the EIB well in advance to the Grant Application (or the relevant cut-off date) given the direct relationship between the loan amount and the grant amount. The EIB will need to pre-appraise the project, mostly from a technical perspective, before being in the position to formulate an indicative estimate of the project cost and the relevant loan amount. Only when the project will have passed the EIB pre-appraisal screening, it is advisable for the potential Grant Applicant to undergo the Application process. This is even more important in the case of Framework Loans. The risk for the Grant Applicant is that, due to the scope or the amount of the project presented in the application, the EIB may not be in the position to confirm such information and hence the Grant application is halted or, in the worst case, rejected.

The application must benefit a territory covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan and must be consistent with this Plan and the sectors and thematic areas it sets out. As indicated in section 2 of the public sector loan facility call for proposals, projects related to a wide range of sustainable investments may be funded. The Facility could support, among others, investments in renewable energy and green and sustainable mobility, including mobile assets and the promotion of green hydrogen.

The part of the project which is located in and/or is benefitting the territory covered by the approved Territorial Just Transition Plan is eligible for a grant. It can be separated from the national project and be submitted under PSLF. The rest of the project is not eligible.

No, loan schemes in the meaning of the PSLF Regulation (also called framework loans) can only be provided by the EIB directly. Project promoters who have received an intermediated loan may only apply for a PSLF grant under the topic stand-alone projects. A stand-alone project can comprise more than one sub-project.

In case of independent technical studies concerning the preliminary phases of the project, these are normally eligible as part of the global project costs according to the EIB’s project costs calculation methodologies. They have to be clearly identifiable in connection with the specific project to be financed, and will be retained in line with the EIB eligibilities (on top of the project’s alignment to the relevant TJTP).

In addition, advisory support is available to the project promoters in developing and implementing projects (to be) supported by the PSLF. This support is available through the InvestEU Advisory Hub and is provided by the EIB Advisory Services. The advisory support can be accessed throughout the project cycle, from strategic planning, technical studies to financial structuring.

The project must be in compliance with the “no double funding” principle set out in the Financial Regulation. There is a strict prohibition of double funding from the EU budget, i.e. any given project may be awarded only ONE grant from the EU budget. Under NO circumstances may the same costs be financed twice from the EU budget, however different parts of the project may receive EU funding from different budget lines. In case of operations composed of identifiable separate projects, these projects can be supported by different Union programmes, in accordance with the applicable eligibility rules.

According to Article 9.2 of Regulation 2021/1229 on the public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism “projects receiving Union support under the Facility may also receive advisory and technical assistance support from other Union programmes for their preparation, development and implementation”. Complementary funding from Non-EU sources may also be allowed. More details may be found in point 13 of the call documentPDF.

Advisory support under this facility is accessible through the InvestEU Advisory Hub as a central entry point for advisory support to investment projects, including under the public sector loan facility. Advisory support under the InvestEU Advisory Hub is jointly financed by the Commission and the EIB and provided by the EIB Advisory Services.

Advisory assistance can be requested at any stage of a project lifecycle, from the early preparation prior to the submission of the proposal to development and implementation of eligible projects. Additionally, support can be obtained in building up the applicants’ operational and administrative capacity to implement the proposed projects.

When requesting support from the InvestEU Advisory Hub, applicants are invited to specify that the request is made in connection with the public sector loan facility.

Other relevant technical assistance schemes:

• Technical assistance for a green energy transition (TARGET)
• Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions (JASPERS)
• Technical Support Instrument (TSI)
• European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA)

In order to be eligible, projects must not generate sufficient streams of revenues to cover their investment costs. The grant will be awarded in order to bridge the funding gap and help the projects become bankable. The EIB checks that risks are within a bearable threshold for this type of projects according to its rules, policies and procedures. In other words, there should be resources and revenues to repay the loan during or after the implementation but not "sufficient" to launch the project without the grant support.

Yes, details can be found in section 7 of the call documentPDF. Applicants with insufficient operational capacity may explain the measures proposed to obtain it by the time the project implementation starts.

Applicants may also contact the InvestEU Advisory Hub that can provide support in developing their projects, including building up their capacity to implement them.

No, financial intermediaries do not need to provide any information concerning their own assessment of applicants’ loan requests. The EIB shall carry out its own evaluation of the proposals (previously selected for a grant by the Commission) in accordance with its own rules, policies and procedures.

As per the recommendation in the guidance notice of the excel ‘Financial information file’ the recommended benchmark Discount Rate (DR) is 4%. Nevertheless, you may wish to use a different rate to reflect:

• either an applicable national benchmark accepted in your Member State,
• or the interest rate applicable to the financing provided by the lender.

In both cases, you must provide a justification as to the level of the DR in the Simplified Business Plan (see section on "Investment Costs").

It is also possible to use a Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) provided that you give information about the parameters underpinning its calculation or evidencing that it stems from the standard of the intervention sector.

You should also pay attention to ensure alignment of the discount rate with the use of nominal or real values in the spreadsheet. It is recommended to use real (constant) values. However, should current (nominal) values have been used, the inflation rate considered should be specified in the 'Comments' box at the bottom of the Input Sheet(s).

There is no prioritisation. It is on a first-come-first-served basis and there is available budget for the months to come. Advisory support is available for developing project proposals and their implementation, including for capacity building. For the public sector beneficiaries the service is free of charge.

Yes. Proposals can only be funded within the limit of the budget available under the relevant national share.

The respective maximum national shares for each Member State are set out in accordance with Annex I of the JTF Regulation in the form of percentages of the total available resources.

Applicants can find information about each national share and the relevant level of consumption on CINEA’s website.

All public or private entities with a public mandate can apply directly for support under the Public Sector Loan Facility. However, PSLF may only support projects that are covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) and that are located in or benefit just transition territories.

The national shares are defined in Annex 1 of the Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The first-come-first-served principle applies for the consumption of the shares. The national shares distribution is set to expire after the end of 2025. As of 2026 the remaining funds will be allocated on a competitive basis.

Yes, existing MBIL contracts can be mobilised for PSLF via simple amendment of the EIB agreement with the intermediary.

Yes. There are no limitations on how many projects one beneficiary can submit if the rules set out in the call documentPDF (point 13) are respected.

PSLF is a financing not linked to costs. The lump sum grant agreement model is applied for selected projects therefore payments are made based on the final results achieved as defined in the signed Grant Agreement and not on actual costs incurred.

Applicants need to respect the maximum funding rates specified in the call document (15% or 25%) and the funding rate of the simplified business plan needs to be consistent with the funding rate requested in the application form.

Beneficiaries must isolate the costs related to the project for which they are applying for the grant and correctly indicate the amount of loan and grant requested, own resources and other resources if applicable. However, they can take into account all costs of the overall project for the financial analysis (i.e. the simplified business plan and the financial information file). The project applying for the grant has to be the same as the project applying for the loan.

No. The drawdown of debt and grant are not to be encoded as revenues in the calculator (annex 2 of the application).

To justify the viability of the project and the significance of the grant, applicants are required to provide the project’s investment costs during the preparation / implementation phase as well as the expected operating expenses and revenues (including cost savings if any) during the operation phase (post-implementation).

Operating expenses should be included in the expenses table of the calculator and in the simplified business plan if they are necessary for achieving the proposed PSLF project’s objectives defined in the proposal. They must be directly connected to the project/investment for which the PSLF grant is requested. For instance, if the project aims at the energy efficiency upgrade of a public school building, the salaries of the teachers are not directly connected to the energy efficiency objective of the project.

Detailed instructions on the different categories of investment expenses, operating expenses (calculated within the first 12 months of operation) and revenues are available in the Simplified Business Plan template:

simplified-business-plan_jtm_en.docxWord

Applicants can find information about each national share on CINEA's website. The consumption of the national shares is regularly updated. Applicants are recommended to check the level of consumption before submitting their application.

Yes, please refer to point 6 of the call documentPDF for the eligible project budget.

As described in point 10 of the call documentPDF, the grant will be a lump sum grant. This means that it will reimburse a fixed amount not linked to costs incurred. The amount will be a fixed percentage of the loan component granted by the EIB/financial intermediary (finance partner) - 15%, increased to 25% if the project is located in a less developed region.

The applicants will be invited to request a grant amount using the correct fixed percentage depending on the location of the project and indicate the size of the loan (to be) requested from the EIB (or one of its financial intermediaries).

Please note that the proposals submitted for EU funding in respect of a framework loan should already be under negotiation with the EIB. If, at the time of application, the budget available under a national share is insufficient to award a grant amounting to 15% or 25% of the corresponding loan amount allocated by the finance partner, the applicants may request and the granting authority may award a grant at a lower financing rate.

Smaller applicants and smaller projects can benefit from the grant and loan via (coordinated) framework loans and intermediated financing, which were enabled, among other reasons, for this purpose.

The financial intermediary.

There are no documents requiring official signatures in the PSLF application phase. The application is filled online and submitted through the dedicated portal (with an ECAS password). The annexes do not require any signature from legal representatives nor Ministry.

No, the PIC number received at registration is sufficient to submit an application. The validation of a PIC for an organisation is only triggered when the proposal has been selected for funding. More information may be found webgate.ec.europa.eu.

Considering the application for a loan, detailed information about the EIB’s requirements may be found on EIB’s websitePDF.

Considering the application for a grant, the mitigation measures of the project’s environmental impacts need to be described under point 1.4 of the Application Form, for example through using green procurement, environmental management systems etc. Furthermore, a Decarbonisation plan must be submitted, if available as described in section 5 (p10) of the Call document for the call "Public Sector Loan Facility"PDF

Yes, projects which have started prior to the submission of the application to the Facility can be supported provided they are not completed by the date of signature of the grant agreement. With particular reference to the EIB appraisal activity of the loan component, projects may still be considered bankable if project implementation is not substantially completed. Project costs that have already been incurred are taken into account in the assessment of the entire project and may be included in the overall project cost. However, the EIB will verify that the requested loan will not replace any long-term financing already contracted between the project promoter and other banks/intermediaries to finance the same project. The amount of the EIB loan shall not exceed the cost foreseen to complete the residual portion of the project, unless justified for economic reasons or reasons relating to EU policies pursued by the EIB.

Yes, a simplified business plan narrative template together with a calculator sheet are available in the eGrants submission tool.

Yes. There is no limitation of how many projects may be submitted by one beneficiary. A public entity may submit several projects as standalone projects or as part of projects combined under a framework loan as long as the projects are consistent with an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan.

A project is considered completed when all the activities foreseen under each work package defined in the Grant Agreement (GA) have been fully implemented by the end date stipulated in the GA. If infrastructure construction works are involved, the works will have to be completed and delivered (e.g. certificate of completion of works and technical compliance is delivered by the relevant competent authority). The coordinator/beneficiary submits a final periodic report (REPA) upon completion of all Work Packages within 60 days after the end of the reporting period set in the Grant Agreement.

The amount of the combined support depends on the financing solution potentially available as well as on the territory where the potential project is located. The EIB loan (or the Intermediated financing covered by a EIB loan) can cover normally up to 50% of the project cost and the PSLF grant covers 15% to 25% of the loan. However, as an extraordinary supporting measure, the EIB Board of Directors have already agreed that financing for a PSLF project located in Less Developed Regions and Transition Regions can go beyond 50% of the project investment cost, while respecting rules on limits on combined EU and EIB support (maximum 90% of the project costs).

The definition may be found under 'Specific cases' on page 12: "Private bodies entrusted with a public service mission — Private bodies which have been entrusted by a public authority, by legislation or contract, to carry out services of general interest (i.e. services that the Member State considers as being of general interest and therefore subject to a specific public service obligation)".

Deliverables are project outputs which are submitted to show project progress (any format) and achievement of the technical work. Examples of deliverables for works projects include: constructed infrastructure, equipment installed. Means of verification can be acceptance note, test protocol, certificate of completion, handover certificate, etc.

Milestones are control points in the project that help to monitor the progress of the project. Milestones must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-related and must have clearly identified means of verification. Examples of milestones include publication of a tender, signature of contract, start of design/preparatory works/works, end of design/preparatory works/works, etc.

Where available, at the last stages of loan appraisal, applicants should provide the figure for the greenhouse gas emission savings provided by the EIB in the Environmental and Social data sheet (European Investment Bank Environmental and Social Standards (eib.org)).

The time horizon of the simplified business plan (reference period) should be based on the project's economic life.

In the simplified business plan, the applicants will have to explain how the reference period for the project was established, highlighting if this period reflects existing voluntary guidance, such as the Economic Appraisal Vademecum 2021-2027 (and if applicable, providing a justification for departing from this guidance, for example based on the regulatory or contractual background of the investment) and the assumptions used for the project operating costs over the reference period (e.g. inflation rate).

An EIB loan can be requested by public sector entities to support individual projects or sets of projects (see EIB loans for the public sector), to be combined with an EU grant under the facility. Public sector entities can also approach EIB financial intermediaries. EIB loans under the facility will follow EIB rules, policies and procedures.

The EIB will usually cover up to 50% of the total project costs. As a supporting measure, the EIB may increase its financing for a PSLF project in Less Developed Regions and Transition Regions beyond 50% of the project investment cost, while respecting rules on limits on combined EU and EIB support.

In order to unlock and implement JTM resources, EU Member States must prepare strategic Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), which will be part of their cohesion policy programmes.

The TJTPs will include an outline and timeline for the transition process until 2030 and 2050, and identify the eligible territories expected to be most negatively impacted by this transition. They should set out the social, economic, and environmental challenges stemming from the phasing out of fossil fuel-related activities or decarbonisation of greenhouse gas-intensive processes or products.

Moreover, they should outline the intended use of the public sector loan facility.

More information can be found on the Just Transition Platform website.

The EIB financing under PSLF is approved under the Bank’s lending policies and Climate Bank Roadmap. In order to benefit from the Grant Component, any project’s location and scope shall be consistent with an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) and with the PSLF Regulation.

The EIB may decide to continue with the appraisal and approval of a project even in the case the grant approval process is not successful.

No. Applicants wishing to apply for more than one topic must submit a separate proposal under each topic.

The PSLF is a blending instrument providing the framework to combine a loan from a finance partner (EIB) or one of its financial intermediaries and an EU grant from the European Commission.

The proposals submitted under a fully consumed national envelope will be considered non-eligible. If the amount of the grants requested by the selected proposals is higher than the remaining amount of the envelope, the selected proposals will be ranked. Funding will be allocated following the ranking order until the national envelope is fully consumed. The remaining proposals in the ranking may be put in a reserve list in case funding becomes available during the grant agreement preparation process (for instance if a selected proposal is withdrawn or substantially reduced). The reserve list is valid until the grant agreement preparation of the concerned cut-off date is closed.

There are neither calls nor submission deadlines for the EIB loan. You can approach the EIB any time. You may find more information here: eib.org.

However, each grant request has to be linked to a loan request, to be submitted before the end of the evaluation process by the European Commission.

Please refer to section "Budget categories and cost eligibility rules" on page 20 of the call for proposal.

The Do No Significant Harm principle and other horizontal principles set out in the PSLF Regulation are included in the eligibility conditions. Each applicant will have to declare that it complies with these conditions. This will also be assessed by the EIB in accordance with its own rules, policies and procedures.

Financial intermediaries having or entering an agreement with the EIB can provide financing (via multi-beneficiary intermediated loans or via intermediated framework loans) to project promoters, which will apply separately for the PSLF grant. NPBIs can also provide financing via coordinated framework loans (i.e. "financial support for third parties") by which they can apply for the EC grant on behalf of various project promoters which will benefit from the framework loan grant (and loan).

The grant will enable each applicant to bridge the funding gap for a project. It will amount to 15 or 25% of the loan, and the loan will cover 50% (or more, in projects in less developed and transition regions, up to 90% of combined EU and EIB support, subject to EIB Board approval) of the project investment costs.

For intermediated loans, the applicant needs to approach a financial intermediary active in the region where the envisaged PSLF project shall be located and holding an agreement with the EIB. The applicant needs to secure financing from the intermediary (i.e. letter of signed loan) before grant application.

The managing authorities may be involved in the preparation of the Territorial Just Transition Plans.

More information about Territorial Just Transition Plans is available on the Just Transition Platform website.

The map on the Just Transition platform website tracks the adoption of the Territorial just transition plans (TJTP). Once a TJTP is adopted, the relevant regions are added to the map and become green.

The Just Transition Platform website keeps track of the adoption of the Territorial Just Transition Plans.

Information about the Territorial Just Transition Plans is also published by the Member States on the relevant websites.

You have to name the project acronym after: Year-Cut-Off number-Country-Topic-Project. If you reach the character limitation, you can use the abbreviation “SP” for JTM-2022-2025-PSLF-STANDALONE-PROJECTS and “LS” for JTM-2022-2025-PSLF-LOAN-SCHEMES.

For the purposes of the PSLF, the EIB considers that a loan request has been received if:

Either the EIB’s governing bodies have already approved a loan for the same project as the one included in the grant proposal from the same applicant;

Or the EIB has decided to proceed with the appraisal of the same project as the one included in the grant proposal submitted by the applicant. The applicant would be made aware of this as, in such cases, the relevant EIB loan officer would inform the applicant that the project has passed the Bank’s pre-appraisal phase and is therefore proceeding to the Bank’s appraisal phase.

More information about the EIB’s project cycle can be found urldefense.com.

The Public Sector Loan Facility is a new instrument and there are no examples of funded projects yet. However, CINEA has recently launched a public dashboard that can be accessed through the link cinea.ec.europa.eu with examples of funded projects under other programs. Information about projects supported by the PSLF will be available on the dashboard shortly after these projects receive support under the Facility.

You can consult success stories and examples of projects (from other programs) on CINEA’s website as well: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/featured-projects_en

Similarly, you may find the project database of DG REGIO here: ec.europa.eu

Further information about EU funded projects may be found on the Funding and Tenders Portal.

The structure of the loan and the repayment schedule will be agreed on the basis of the outcome of the EIB’s financial and technical due diligence and will be included in the loan agreement.

Section 9 of the call documentPDF defines the two award criteria to be assessed by the evaluators: 1. Relevance and impact and 2. Quality. The call document also includes bonus points.

Proposals that pass the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold too will be considered for funding (within the limits of the available budget for their country). Other proposals will be rejected.

No, the reimbursement of the loan cannot be encoded as an operating expense of the project in the calculator (annex 2 of the application).

The grant agreement preparation must be concluded by the corresponding deadlines set out in point 4 of the call documentPDF.

In order to prepare the Grant Agreement, the financial intermediary has to confirm that the financing of the loan is authorized. There is no specific requirement or template on the format of the document. The document should indicate that the financial intermediary has authorized the loan, specifying the name of the project, the legal entity of the applicant, the amount of the loan and the period of implementation of the project.