Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2398020 1 Analysis of Infrastructure Financing via Debt Funds in the European Union Marcel Gawlitta † and Jacob Kleinow ‡ Abstract: This article analyses the basic financial market conditions in the European Union (EU) which enable the emergence of debt funds. Using this foundation, the article explains how and why infrastructure debt funds, specifically, are evolving in the EU. To this end, infrastructure is introduced as an asset class. The article's main body is comprised of a market overview as well as an analysis of optimal contractual design of infrastructure debt funds in the EU. However, in spite of the great euphoria asso- ciated with their introduction, debt funds will have to face regulatory challenges that could quick-ly lead to disillusionment among their supporters. A recently-adopted EU law, the Alternative Invest-ment Funds Managers Directive (AIFMD), is the ba- sis for consistent EU-wide regulation of infra-structure debt funds. Thus, finally, debt funds are examined briefly within the regulatory framework of European financial markets. An outlook for the future and the proposal of additional research opportuni- ties mark the end of this article. Keywords: infrastructure planning; European Union (EU), debt fund, AIFMD, regu- lation JEL: N24; H54; H57