European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen holds a joint news conference at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 22, 2015. | Photo by EPA EU takes on Asia, BRIC infrastructure banks Commission launches plan to boost infrastructure investment.

The European Commission on Wednesday launched a financial counter-strike against efforts outside the EU to fuel investment in infrastructure and critical networks.

The Commission will avoid creating a direct rival to new institutions focused on emerging economies, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and BRICS Development Bank. Instead, the EU wants to boost European national development banks to ensure new risk capital does not drain to the south.

European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said “a properly structured network of national development banks can play a clear role” in increasing infrastructure investment, and would be a “complement to the European Investment Bank.”

The goal, in Commission-speak, is to address “market failures” of low investment in areas such as climate change, innovation and human capital development.

The European Commission’s most recent economic forecast showed weak investment has hobbled the region’s economic recovery. While gross domestic production and private consumption last year reached roughly the same levels as 2007, total investment was still off by 15 percent.

“There is only one goal — increase the number of jobs in Europe,” said Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen.

Katainen has tried to drum up matching pledges from national governments to boost the EU-wide “Juncker Investment Plan,” which aims to pump €315 billion into risky and long-term investments, using a formula of 20 percent public seed money and guarantees and 80 percent private capital.

European national governments have been keen to contribute. Nine have pledged €42.6 billion so far, twice the amount of capital contribution of the various EU institutions. The countries which have committed are Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Britain.

The first EU projects will include the expansion of the airport in Dubrovnik, Croatia and the construction of 14 healthcare centers across Ireland.

Moscovici stressed that no national government was being told to set up a development bank. The Commission is “proposing principles, not a specific model,” he said.