• H2020
• Industrial Leadership
• SMEs

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €4.7bn worth of new loans for 25 projects across Europe and around the world.

They include nine projects earmarked for financing under the EFSI initiative.

Among those projects expected to receive EIB loans in Europe are the replacement of a coal-fired district heating plant in Germany, new roads to alleviate congestion in the Netherlands and southern France, and the relocation of a key container port in Cork, Ireland.

The EIB also approved support for the expansion of modernised milk production activities in Normandy, France, and reinforcement of the transmission network serving the north of Scotland.

Two new loans were also agreed for banks financing SMEs in Egypt and Lebanon in line with the EIB’s commitment to support economic activity and improve access to finance for entrepreneurs across the Mediterranean.

“Europe faces enormous challenges. The EU Bank is stepping up and proving its critical value in addressing today’s imperatives and crises. EIB lending backed by the EU budget under the Investment Plan for Europe is now accelerating, enabling the EIB to support the projects that need it most, catalysing and accelerating private investment,” said EIB president Werner Hoyer.

“And the bank is putting investment to work in the countries neighbouring Syria, a region whose growth and prosperity are an urgent priority for Europe. Without the prospect of a decent future, people in those countries will continue to see migration to Europe as their only hope. As the largest international public bank, the EIB has a central role to play in addressing the root causes of the refugee crisis, starting by targeting projects in the countries that currently shoulder the heaviest burden.”