Brussels, 03/08/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 31 July, the European Investment Bank (EIB) granted €675 million to co-finance public scientific and university based research and two loans totalling EUR 250 million to support indirectly smaller projects of public and private small and medium sized companies in Poland.
In an EIB press release, the latter explained that the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, public scientific institutes, public universities and colleges will be beneficiaries of the €675 million loan focused on the support of the public science system in Poland in 2009 and 2010. EIB funds will finance: tangible capital investments in basic research infrastructure and equipment for public scientific institutes and public universities located all over the country; intangible investments of the Polish State in the research, development and innovation implemented by scientists and academic workers. This includes the proportion of the salary costs of these scientists and academic workers being active in the area of research, development and innovation (RDI). The EIB is financing the Polish RDI since 2004 and it has supported this sector with totally €3.13 billion. The Bank provides a EUR 150 million credit line to PKO Bank to finance smaller projects, implemented both by private and public companies, related to the environmental protection, energy savings, infrastructure, including health and education, industry and services or tourism. A credit line of €100 million is being granted to BRE Bank S.A.. It will finance smaller and medium-sized projects in the areas of industry and services in Poland, and potentially in other EU Member States. Both loans, to PKO and BRE Banks, represent EIB intermediated loans of a new generation when the Bank is simplifying its procedures and broadening the scope of its financing by also covering intangible types of investment. (A.B./trans/rh)