Brussels, 27/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 26 May, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the leading multilateral financial investor in the Mediterranean, announced that, in the wake of the Arab Spring, it had decided to step up its “rapid, concerted and effective action in support of the democratic, economic and social transition in the Mediterranean” by allocating additional resources of up to €6 billion (US$ 7.6 billion) by 2013. EIB President Philippe Maystadt describes this action in these terms: “We listened very carefully to the aspirations expressed by the people during the Arab Spring and we are more than ever convinced of the importance of our mission: in order to put down lasting roots in society, democracy must be based on economic and social growth and development policies that are able to provide the younger generation with new prospects for the future”.
Thus, in the immediate aftermath of the Arab spring, the EIB launched in Tunisia, in agreement with the country's new authorities, a series of projects in support of employment, small and medium-sized enterprises and the development of microcredit, the modernisation of transport infrastructure and the expansion of energy generation and distribution. Accordingly, €300 million (US$380million) of the €600 million (US$ 760 million) worth of new EIB loans announced for 2011 has already been approved to meet the needs of the people of Tunisia. The funds will be deployed from July 2011 onwards.
In Egypt, the Bank and the authorities have also identified priority projects in key areas such as help for businesses and the self-employed, infrastructure development, transport, energy and water. Given the outlook and the present and future challenges raised by the Arab Spring, the EIB has decided to concentrate its action up to 2013 in three priority areas: - supporting job-creating projects, the number one priority for these countries faced with high unemployment; - developing an entrepreneurial culture by supporting SMEs and encouraging research, development and innovation; - and fostering economic and social integration with the aim of achieving balanced development that targets more specifically isolated regions lacking infrastructure and communications links.
The EIB will propose holding a regional conference on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in Tunis by the end of the year to the ministers of the Mediterranean and EU countries gathered together at the annual FEMIP meeting in Brussels on 12 July. (O.L./transl.jl)