Luxembourg, 11/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 11 September, the European Investment Bank (EIB) said that it was prepared to provide financial aid to countries and regional and local authorities to help them house refugees entitled to asylum in the EU.
The mass influx of refugees was described by EIB president Werner Hoyer when he arrived at a meeting of EU economy and finance ministers as the biggest change on the political landscape since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said the meeting had discussed refugees, and the EIB can help member states, regions and cities to help alleviate the very high needs.
In a press release, the EIB says: “Schools, health, housing, training, and skills development, including language learning, would be initiatives for which the EIB could make financing available. The Bank could also provide microcredits to help people get on their feet and accelerate integration”.
Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the economic impact of these migrations was not negative, and he urged Europe to rise to its history and values. On Monday 14 September, EU home affairs ministers will discuss the European Commission's recent proposals for the EU to take in 160,000 refugees by means of an emergency relocation mechanism (see related article).
Greece. The EIB has unveiled an action plan for Greece that includes enhanced loans and guarantees and help in improving projects to ensure they are successful in attracting both EIB and EU funding. The EIB says it is ready to increase its workforce on the ground substantially. Since the onset of the Greek crisis, the EIB has provided finance of over €11 billion to Greece, and its total outstanding exposure to the country stands at some €18 billion, representing nearly 10% of Greek GDP. (Mathieu Bion)