Brussels, 10/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - 2008 was an excellent year for the FEMIP (Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership), says the European Investment Bank (EIB), which manages this instrument for cooperation with the Mediterranean. In its annual report for 2008, issued on the sidelines of the meeting of Euro-Mediterranean economy and finance ministers on 7 July, the FEMIP, despite the financial crisis that spread throughout the year just past, maintained a high level of commitment to the Mediterranean, with funding of €1.3 billion for development in a region where macro-economic results remained strong in 2008.
The FEMIP provided loans and capital investment to support the development of the private sector, either directly or indirectly. In 2008, 65% of its funding went to support investment in the energy sector, 19% to transport and other infrastructure investment, 7% to industry, 5% to capital investment and 4% to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Tunisia was the country that received most in FEMIP loans in 2008 (24%), followed by Morocco and Egypt (22% each), Syria (21%) and finally Lebanon, Jordan and Israel (3-4% each). Intervention in Algeria remains low: over the period from 2002 to 2008, the FEMIP invested only €318 million (with €230 million for transport, €75 million for industry and €13 million in risk capital). Between 2002 and 2008, the FEMIP funded 125 projects totalling €8.5 billion in the Mediterranean.
In 2008, the FEMIP continued to diversify its intervention instruments and to strengthen its partnership with the European Commission and the other financial backers operating in the Mediterranean countries. “In order to benefit fully from its natural, human and economic wealth, the region must continue, more than ever, to modernise,” says EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive in the foreword to the annual report. He continues: “extending road, sea and rail networks, so that people and goods can move around more efficiently, supplying energy to meet the growing needs of households and industries, improving the management of water resources and access to drinking water”. The EIB, he says, has also contributed to the evaluation work under the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise carried out by the European Commission, which is intended to support policies to help small businesses, and with that in mind, in March 2009, organised a conference in Rabat on the needs of SMEs. “Starting up a business has become easier, although additional efforts are needed to enhance contract enforcement and facilitate access to credit. Several countries in the region have made big strides to strengthen their banking sectors, but more needs to be done to deepen the financial system at large,” the report says.
The FEMIP, the major investor in the region, has been charged with coordinating and supporting the implementation of three of the UfM six priority initiatives. These are the maritime and land highways, the Mediterranean Solar Plan and cleaning up pollution in the Mediterranean. The EIB fully supports the initiative: the UfM “gave fresh impetus to Euro-Mediterranean relations and underscored the European and Mediterranean states' readiness to commit to a partnership based on improved pooling of responsibilities, centred on specific projects,” the report says. (F.B./transl.rt)