The European Investment Bank has approved €9.2 billion in new financing, including €4.3 billion aimed at supporting companies across nine EU countries.
Almost half of the overall package is set to strengthen businesses in Europe, with the €4.3 billion to be channelled through local banks in Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain, the EIB announced in a statement on Thursday.
The funding is expected to primarily support small and medium-sized enterprises, commonly known as SMEs.
The EIB said the business support would focus on firms operating in the security and defence, space, energy and agriculture sectors.
The board also approved financing for electricity networks in Germany and Greece, solar energy projects in Italy, and district-heating infrastructure in Lithuania.
District heating typically supplies heat to multiple buildings from a central source via a network of pipes.
Additional approvals include financing for a rail link between Croatia and Hungary, and for hospitals in France and Poland.
Projects beyond the EU
Outside the EU, the EIB said it had approved financing for electricity grids in Brazil, as well as solar energy and battery storage in Egypt.
Battery storage is used to store electricity, for example from solar power, for use later.
The package also includes support for women smallholder farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, and financing for medical equipment in Kosovo.
“EIB Group financing and guarantees support innovative European businesses to grow and expand in critical areas including energy autonomy, space and security and defence,” EIB Group President Nadia Calviño stated.
