The EIB boosts its support for cities and regions to tackle climate change and foster social inclusion. During the last 5 years (2014-2018), the EU bank dedicated EUR 104 billion to urban lending including health, housing, urban transport or water and wastewater management.
Ahead of the European Week of Cities and Regions in Brussels, the EU Bank announced new support for projects across Europe:
- PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 350 million) loan to the City of Warsaw co-finance the extension of the second line of the City’s metro
- EUR 355 million scheme to protect Athens, Thessaloniki and the Peloponnese from floods and climate change
- EUR 90 million for the financing of six high schools and professional schools in Guadeloupe
- EUR 115 million loan to the public transport provider of Rotterdam and the Metropole-region Rotterdam-The Hague to acquire new electric and diesel-hybrid buses, install charging infrastructure and renew tram and metro tracks around the city.
- EIB and HBOR partnership to enable easier access to energy efficiency loans to Croatian businesses and municipalities
- SEK 3 billion (EUR 300 million) for the construction of affordable and energy efficient housing in five cities in Sweden
- EUR 200 million financing to support clean urban transport in Spain, in cities such as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Barcelona, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca
“City and Regions – Vazil Hudak, EIB Vice-President responsible for finanzino economic and social cohesion commented – have been a partner of choice for the EU Bank for more than 60 years. As they face new challenges such as growing urbanization and climate change, the EIB is fully committed to support investments that make our cities and regions thrive. By 2025, the EIB aims to allocate at least 50% of its financing activities for projects that support climate action and environmental sustainability and a significant share of this will be implemented in cities.”
Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions, said: “The CoR and the EIB Group share the objective of delivering economic growth and job creation across the EU’s Regions and Cities. Continuing our successful cooperation, and reaffirming the good working relations between the CoR and the EIB Group, the 2019 renewed Action Plan will contribute to support high-quality projects that benefit citizens and businesses alike and leaves no region behind.”
At the European Week of Regions and Cities, the EIB will organize a number of sessions to present its toolkit for municipalities and regional governments. This includes framework loans (flexible loans that cover several small projects), investment loans, equity investments or advisory services such as URBIS, a new dedicated urban investment advisory platform. The EIB has also developed an unique expertise to help cities and regions establish financial instruments with EU grants from structural funds.
To reduce regional economic imbalances and raise living standards across the EU, the EIB dedicates at least 30% of all new operations in the EU and pre-Accession countries to cohesion projects. During the last 5 years (2014-2018), the EIB has provided EUR 88 billion to projects in EU cohesion regions. For 2018, this amounted to EUR 14.25 billion.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 