Luxembourg, 12/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - The EIB granted an overall loan (credit line) of EUR 30 million to Hansapank (Estonia) for the financing of small and medium-sized projects mainly implemented by SMEs and local authorities and relating to industry, tourism and other services, environmental protection, energy economies and also health, education and infrastructures in other sectors. Hansapank and its subsidiaries in Latvia and Lithuania will be able to use the funds thus made available for supporting projects in the region for a total investment cost of between EUR 40,000 and EUR 25 million. This new overall loan is a major stage in the EIB's strategy aimed at considerably increasing its support to SMEs and small scale infrastructure in candidate countries of Central Europe. It brings to EUR 190 million the total financing that the EIB has granted in the form of global loans for the Baltic States - nearly half of this amount being forwarded by Hansapank.