Brussels, 18/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 14 March in Brussels, EU Agriculture Ministers had a discussion with the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Pim Van Ballekom, on the specificities of the agricultural sector in the context of investment assistance. Three instruments could help the agricultural sector, explained Pim Van Ballekom: a platform financed by Directorate General Agriculture could help guide and provide technical opinions on available financial instruments (a methodology based on past experience would soon be published); financial instrument management activities set up as part of rural development; EIB loans for complementing rural development funding.
On 16 March, the European Commission announced the launch of the first financial instrument for the 2014-20 programming period that seeks to facilitate loans and credit arrangements in rural areas in Estonia. Commissioner Phil Hogan inaugurated a new fund of €100 million on the 11 March in Ireland. This will provide flexible loans at competitive prices to milk producers, with reimbursements based on milk price developments. The Commissioner said that he saw this instrument as a valuable tool for managing income volatility. He added that he considered it as an important pilot project in the development of novel financial instruments that can help agricultural families throughout Europe. The EIB Vice President said that he was prepared to provide support for this mechanism. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)