European Union readies €300mn ECA pilot

(Global Trade Review, London, 17 January 2024) The European Union is advancing plans to launch its inaugural risk-sharing instrument for the export credit sector, with a pilot initiative aimed at boosting SME exports to war-torn Ukraine. The European Commission is developing the scheme alongside the EU’s SME financing arm, the European Investment Fund (EIF), which is expected to guarantee export credit deals involving Ukrainian buyers. It will be the first EU-level risk-sharing instrument provided to the export credit sector, the European Commission says, and highlights how Brussels is increasingly seeking to wield the might of export credit agencies (ECAs) from its 27-member states to advance policy goals, such as green energy, overseas investment and competing with China and the US. Austria’s ECA OeKB, Finnvera, the European Investment Fund, Atradius DSB, Denmark's EIFO and Poland’s ECA Kuke are studying participation.