On Thursday, 16 April, the Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) met in extraordinary session and approved the creation of a pan-European guarantee fund for European companies in accordance with European finance ministers’ recent agreement (see EUROPE 12456/2).
With guarantees provided by Member States to the tune of €25 billion, the fund will be able to provide European businesses, including SMEs, direct support through emergency liquidity assistance for an estimated total amount of €200 billion.
The fund, whose creation does not require any new procedures, will become active as soon as Member States representing 60% of EIB capital have made the necessary commitments. Third parties will also be able to participate, such as the European Commission via the EU budget.
“The EU Finance Ministers asked us to act without delay, and that is what we are doing”, declared EIB President Werner Hoyer in a statement. According to him, the post-pandemic economic recovery will have to meet the technological innovation and climate goals that the European Union has set itself.
At the beginning of April, the European Commission released €1 billion from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) to enable the European Investment Fund (EIF), which is part of the EIB group, to issue dedicated guarantees for at least 100,000 SMEs for an estimated total of €8 billion in financing (see EUROPE 12462/3).
Through the InnovFin Infectious Disease Finance Facility, the EIB also provides financial support for projects aimed at stopping the coronavirus. Thanks to this facility, the EU is helping the German laboratory CureVac, once coveted by the United States, find a vaccine with €80 million in funding (see EUROPE 12447/1).
See:https://bit.ly/3erkbm4 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)