Brussels, 03/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the Ecofin Council in Brussels on Tuesday 2 December (EUROPE 9795), Philippe Maystadt, the president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), indicated: “I have received the green light for increasing capital…to fund new projects”. With the economic crisis as a backdrop, EU finance ministers agreed to increase the EIB's capital by €67 billion so that it can finance projects in a variety of sectors.
The EIB's capital will be increased from €164.8bn to around €232bn, which will effectively enable it to grant a total of €31bn in additional loans in 2009-10, as part of the growth and employment recovery plan devised by the Commission to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis. Its lending exposure stood at around €325bn in 2007, while the total amount of loans signed for rose to €47.8bn and is expected to be close to €48bn in 2008.
Philippe Maystadt is expected to meet leaders from the major car manufacturers on 5 December and indicated that €8bn in additional loans would be allocated to the sector to help meet the new CO2 emissions standards from cars (EUROPE 9795). The EIB also intends to increase lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and loans towards projects for reducing global warming. Around €2.5 million will also be used to speed up the payment of European structural funds to the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe. National governments - or the local authorities - will have to fund up to 35% of projects that receive EU support, while some countries affected by the economic crisis are barely able to meet the commitments they have made. Mr Maystadt promised that the EIB will grant them loans so that they can participate fully in European projects. He also explained that the EIB would make a special effort towards Hungary, which has been particularly affected by the crisis. (O.L./transl.rh)