The President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Philippe Maystadt welcomed the call made to support SMEs in Eastern Partnership countries at the Eastern Partnership Launch Summit in Prague. As Mr. Maystadt highlighted such support is vital for sustainable economic development and EIB's lending activities will improve SMEs’ access to long-term finance, which is particularly important in this time of financial crisis.

The EIB already finances projects in the Eastern Partnership countries on the basis of an EU Council mandate with a regional ceiling of EUR 3.7 billion (also covering operations in Russia) for the period 2007-2013. Financing is available for projects of significant interest to the EU in transport, energy, telecommunications and environmental infrastructure.

Now the EIB has been invited together with the EBRD and other IFIs operating in the region, to start providing loans also to the SME sector in the Eastern Partnership countries.

EIB loans for SMEs would enable it to support investment for any amount ranging from very small projects to investments costing up to EUR 25 million. The EIB supports SME projects indirectly via partner financing institutions operating in the individual countries. These financial institutions are responsible for evaluating each loan application submitted by an SME.

The EIB currently finances large investment projects in the region in close cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), on the basis of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the EIB, EBRD and European Commission in December 2006. For some projects, co-financing by the EIB and EBRD is complemented by other IFIs, such as the Nordic Investment Bank and the World Bank.