EIB Pledges Fresh Funding for Priority Projects in Greece

Priority projects in Greece focusing on energy efficiency, addressing climate change, enhancing the competitiveness of small businesses, accelerating research and innovation, and health, education, culture and urban development initiatives will now have access to fresh European Investment Bank (EIB) support.

The EIB, the EU’s lending entity, approved this week a new 150 million euro loan for priority investments in Greece.

EIB Vice President Andrew McDowell signed the agreement with Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras at the ministry in Athens.

The loan is part of the EIB’s 18.6 billion euro investment program under the Partnership Agreement 2014-2020 which has been supporting small and medium-sized priority schemes across Greece since 2014.

“These investments are needed to reinforce the country’s competitiveness, support businesses so they can create jobs and grow, and to secure Greece’s position in attracting foreign investments,” said Staikouras, who is also EIB governor.

“Without the excellent cooperation between Greece and the EIB, the implementation of the 18.6 billion euro investment program would not have been possible and many projects in the country would not have access to the European Structural and Investment Funds,” added Staikouras.

On his part, McDowell added that the EIB was “pleased to support the nationwide program… that will unlock new funding for the latest group of projects, almost one-fifth of which are climate related”.

More specifically, the new investment program is aimed at rolling out new smart energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy projects across Greece, as well as improving water and waste management.

A main part of the loan is also targeted at helping SMEs develop new markets and improve competitiveness.