Mid-term evaluation of the public sector loan facility

The Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF) is a financial instrument of the European Union that was introduced as part of the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM). The JTM is part of the European Green Deal and aims to ensure that the transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050 is socially just and equitable.

The European Commission commissioned Prognos and t33 srl to carry out an interim evaluation of the PSLF.

Evaluation shows: The Public Sector Loan Facility promotes a just transition of EU regions

The PSLF was specifically designed to promote public investment in regions that are particularly hard hit by the social and economic impact of the transition. The aim is to help these regions diversify their economic base and create new jobs while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. 

The PSLF is expected to unlock billions of euros of public investment in a wide range of sectors, including

• renewable energies,
• environmentally friendly and sustainable mobility,
• efficient district heating networks,
• social housing and
• economic diversification.

Our interim evaluation of the PSLF shows:

• The instrument supports the EU goals for a just transition.
• However, some administrative and structural hurdles need to be overcome in order to increase its impact and acceptance.
• Some member states – e.g. France, Sweden and the Czech Republic – have successfully utilised the blended financial instrument for public infrastructure projects. One of the reasons for this is that the instrument is particularly well promoted and supported in these Member States.
• In other EU Member States, utilisation falls short of expectations. The reasons for this are often the limited technical and financial capacity of cities and municipalities when applying to the European Commission and EIB, as well as the existing range of grants.

Effectiveness of the PSLF

Prognos and t33 srl were commissioned with the interim evaluation of the PSLF. The aim was to assess the current status of the implementation of the PSLF as well as its effectiveness, efficiency, coherence with other policy areas, relevance and EU added value.

These findings will now be used to adapt and improve the instrument where necessary.

Our approach

Together with the Italian consultancy t33 srl, Prognos evaluated the PSLF on the basis of:

• an analysis of programme documents, the ‘Territorial Just Transition Plans’ (TJTP) and academic literature;
• an online survey and interviews with PSLF stakeholders, such as national, regional and local authorities of EU Member States involved in the design and implementation of the PSLF, beneficiaries, experts (e.g. from research and academia, associations and NGOs), the European Commission and the European Investment Bank;
• case studies on the implementation of the PSLF in France, Greece, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the Czech Republic.

The evaluation study also analysed advisory services that Member States used on request. These services raised awareness of the PSLF, helped to build a project pipeline or ensured the complementarity of the PSLF with other funding and financing opportunities.

Links and downloads

To the final report (EU website)

To the case studies (EU website)

Further information on the PSLF (EU Commission website)

Project team: Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer, Vincent Vogelsang, Markus Zock

Last update: 15.04.2025