EIB raising funding for poorer EU regions
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has decided to significantly increase its cohesion funds toward the poorer regions of the European Union.
Its governing board on Wednesday approved the orientation document on cohesion for the period 2021-27 that sets the lender a new target of distributing 45% of cohesion funds to areas most in need by 2025, up from 30% previously, regarding public and private sector projects.
This is of particular concern to Greece as this country has many regions that qualify for the funds given that their gross domestic product per capita lags the EU average.
The EIB will further channel 23% of its annual loans within the bloc to the least developed regions – i.e. those with per capita GDP below 75% of the EU average.
The EIB will also fund medium-sized enterprises (in EU terms – i.e. those employing between 250 and 3,000 people) in the least developed regions using applied technologies for the first time, when their projects produce tangible economic or environmental benefits on a local level.
The bank will further facilitate access to credit for mid-caps in the cohesion regions by directly issuing loans, and will proceed to an intermediary assessment of the cohesion orientation document in 2023.
