Luxembourg, 09/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank provides (EIB) is providing a EUR 100 million Global Loan to PKO Bank Polski to finance projects of small and medium-scale enterprises and municipalities in Poland. The loan will serve for co-financing of small and medium-sized projects in the areas of environmental protection, energy and energy savings, infrastructure including health care and education facilities infrastructure, industry, services covering especially projects in the area of tourism, as well as projects carried out by SMEs. EIB Global Loans have been developed as a successful tool in providing long-term EIB funds for financing smaller projects implemented by the SME sector or by municipalities under favourable conditions. The present Global Loan is the first one granted to the PKO Bank Polski and will further strengthen the EIB's co-operation with local banks in the New Member States. This will contribute to a better service and an improvement in financing terms for the final beneficiaries, comments the EIB in a press release.