Brussels, 25/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - In Paris on Monday 25 May, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Crédit Coopératif signed an agreement opening a €150 million credit line to support investments made by Crédit Coopératif small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers. Independent firms with fewer than 250 employees will thus be able to take out loans with the Crédit Coopératif at favourable EIB rates offering a 0.20% reduction on the applicable interest rate for projects of less than €25 million. This credit line forms part of the EIB's current exceptional support plan for European SMEs to help them through the financial and economic crisis. The plan, called for by the EU Council of Finance Ministers in September 2008, will see the EIB, working through commercial banks, granting €30 billion in loans for SMEs by 2011, with at least half of that sum being allocated in 2008-2009. The EIB is well on its way to achieving these objectives since, in 2008, it granted €8.1 billion in credit lines for SMEs, €1.5 billion of which was granted to French companies, and it hopes to extend cover to the whole of the EU in 2009. (O.L./transl.rt)