EIB announces €10.2bn of project funding following floods

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Huge plans set to boost economic resilience, science, education, health, energy, transport and housing.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €10.2bn for projects that strengthen economic resilience amid the pandemic, accelerate the green energy transition, expand sustainable transport and improve health, education, social housing and urban development.

Werner Hoyer, president of the EIB, explained: “The Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over, and economic consequences continue to be felt around the world. At the same time, the flood catastrophe in central Europe is a stark reminder that climate change adaptation is an increasingly urgent challenge for Europe too.”

Support for recovery and innovation
The new plans include €3.8bn dedicated to strengthening pandemic recovery and corporate investment. This will see new local financing schemes support investment by businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with help from local banking partners.

The EIB will also provide direct financing to scale up corporate innovation in artificial intelligence, digital security, semi-conductors and medical devices, as well as more energy efficient paper and ceramic production.

Energy investment
€2.4bn will be spent on renewable energy and clean energy networks. This will finance new projects to scale up wind energy across Austria, increase solar power generation in Spain and improve district heating in France and Lithuania.

Projects will also include the upgrade of energy networks in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and between North Macedonia and Greece – which is seen as essential to replacing fossil fuel use and acceleration the green transition.

Social infrastructure plans
€2bn will be spent on education, health, social housing and urban development, with researchers and students at Stockholm University and the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, as well as the Polish Academy of Sciences and Poland’s National Science Centre, benefiting from new laboratories and teaching facilities.

In healthcare, the EIB has confirmed support for hospital investment in the Italian city of Genoa, Finnish town of Vaasa and in Cluj in Romania. It will also support pharmacies and medical services in underserved regions of France.

At the same time, Germany and Latin America will benefit from better homes following EIB backing for social and affordable housing in the Bavarian city of Erlangen and support for energy-efficient homes across Colombia and Peru.

A green light has also been given for investment to improve municipal services and urban development in the Latvian city of Jurmala and across the Polish regions of Silesia and Lower Silesia, alongside a new initiative to upgrade public sports facilities across France.

Sustainable Transport
€796m has been announced to support an upgrade to trams in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and German city of Magdeburg, as well as zero-emission buses and a new cycling network in the Austrian city of Graz and improved access to the Croatian port of Rijeka. The Plovdiv to Burgas railway, a key trans-European rail route, and motorway links in northern Italy, will also benefit from investment.