Magdalena Mosionek-Schweda

The aim of this article is to evaluate the Project Bond Initiative, which is one of the main elements of the Connecting Europe Facility for financing priority infrastructure projects in transport, energy and ICT. In 2012–2016, the pilot phase of the initiative was conducted, qualifying eight projects to receive support. The essence of this initiative is to divide the debt bonds issued in connection with the financing of the project into a senior tranche and a subordinated tranche, and then for the European Investment Bank to grant financial support or a guarantee to the subordinated tranche. This guarantee is to improve the credit quality of the senior debt to the level expected by institutional investors, thereby facilitating the raising of funds for infrastructure investments through the bond market. The results of the pilot phase confirm that the Project Bond Initiative may be an effective tool to stimulate investment in infrastructure and commitment of long-term investors to such projects, however, it has weaknesses to be considered before its full implementation. The article is based on literature studies, examination of the EU legislation and case studies of projects supported under the pilot phase of the initiative.

The SME sector has been attracting attention of Polish and European public authorities for many years. In 2013 Polish government implemented the guarantees and sureties programmes designated particularly for the SMEs. The primary goal of these programmes is to improve the access to external financial sources for entrepreneurs, especially those who belong to the SMEs sector. The purpose of this article is to present those recent activities and, furthermore, to provide their preliminary assessment. The article is based on literature studies as well as on the analysis of the primary documents and operational framework of the selected programmes.

The aim of this article is to present the principles of the Norwegian pension scheme, which is being reorganized since 1 January 2011 with regard to the acquisition and determination of pension rights and the possibility of combining work with pension in the light of demographic challenges. The phenomenon of an aging population (which is the result of, i.a., rising longevity and declining fertility rate) and the migration processes have become a serious threat to public pension systems of most countries. For this reason, they decided to implement radical reforms in the retirement security of citizens. Among these countries was also Norway, despite the fact that its liberal immigration policy, very high fertility rate and, primarily, the funds collected in the state pension fund seem to protect its pension system, as well as public finances, against the collapse. The choice of the subject was influenced by the growing popularity of Norway as a destination for employment and by the considerable complexity of the Norwegian pension scheme, especially in the ongoing transition period in which the old and new regulations operate simultaneously. This paper is based on the materials collected in the branches of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) in Stavanger, statistical data and analyses compiled by Statistics Norway (SSB), as well as the information published by NAV and the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

As a result of the current economic crisis, the indicators of the deficit and public debt in most European Union countries have exacerbated significantly. In fact, in the years 2007 – 2010 none of the 27 EU countries registered a credit balance. In 2011, a budget surplus was reported by three states only. At the same time, many countries, especially of the Euro-zone, began to struggle with the deficit at approximately, or exceeding, 10% of GDP. The indicators of public debt are similarly alarming for the EU countries, especially the so-called PIIGS, i.e. Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain. In 2011, these indicators have deteriorated significantly in comparison to the previous years. The aim of this article is to present and analyse basic economic indicators of EU Member States.