30/07/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 29 July, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) announced loans of 1.255 billion and 300 million euros respectively for the development of more than 9,000 school buildings in Italy. These agreements, signed between the participating institutions and the Minister of Education, Universities and Research, Marco Bussetti, represent a total of 1.555 billion euros and will allow the Italian government to achieve significant savings on interest payments. These funds will be deployed by the Cassa depositi e prestiti (CDP) according to the priority framework set out in the Ministry of Education's 2018-2020 National School Construction Plan. This will support Italian local authorities that have their own school buildings in restructuring operations, such as compliance with safety, seismic and energy efficiency standards, as well as the construction of new buildings. (MM)