Brussels, 29/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic (and maybe Hungary) are expected to receive a loan of € 1 billion from the European Investment Bank (EIB) quite rapidly to deal with the damage caused by the recent floods. The EIB Management Committee will meet on 19 September officially to approve the decision. The € 1 billion loan, for which funds could be released by the end of September (with Germany expected to get the lion's share), should cover large projects (transport and energy infrastructure) and SME projects. The loans could have a repayment duration of up to 30 years, be matched with the most advantageous conditions and, on an exceptional basis, cover up to 100% of costs of individual projects (usually limited to 50%). According to a source close to the EIB, the Bank intends to do even more and could decide in the coming months to issue additional loans to these countries in the amount of 3 to 4 billion euros over the two years 2003 and 2004.