Brussels, 19/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has launched a €60 million participation in the European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE). EFSE is a Luxemburg investment fund set up to support private sector development in the countries of the Western Balkans. To this end, EFSE extends credit lines to banks and micro finance organisations of the region. EFSE was established in December 2005 as the result of a joint effort by sovereign donors, national and international financial institutions and the European Commission. With a current overall size of more than €200 million, EFSE's main feature is its capacity to attract funding from private institutional investors, thereby multiplying public funding available for micro enterprises and households to reach a size of €500 million within the next 5 years.