During its first meeting for 2019 held on January 25, the Administrative Council of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) made a strong start to the new year by approving thirteen loans worth almost € 1.1 billion. These will finance a wide range of projects with a high social impact in a number of countries across Europe.
Belgium: a € 300 million loan to finance investments in the education sector, in particular, the construction of new facilities and the modernisation of existing ones, with an emphasis on energy efficiency improvements.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: a € 5 million loan to provide financing to micro-enterprises for their productive investments. The funds provided by the CEB are expected to benefit at least 3,800 micro-businesses and farms.
Cyprus: a € 40 million loan to finance two water delivery pipelines and related facilities. The loan will help the country meet its current and future needs in terms of drinking water, and will benefit about 42% of the country’s population, including the 400,000 residents of the capital Nicosia as well as residents of the Famagusta area.
Czech Republic: a € 35 million loan to support the city’s long-term investment for the reconstruction and expansion of the wastewater treatment plant sewage line. The aim of the project is to dry all sewage produced by the plant and upgrade its technology to increase energy efficiency.
Finland: a € 50 million loan to finance Turku’s investments in municipal infrastructure, including the construction of new facilities and the renovation of existing ones for the benefit of the city’s fast-growing population.
Germany: a € 110 million loan to increase the number of social housing units available for low-income persons through the construction of new units and the renovation of existing ones.
Italy: a € 70 million loan to support investments aimed at improving public infrastructure and administrative services and enhancing urban and rural safety. The funds will benefit the region’s 1.5 million inhabitants living in municipalities spread around the region, comprising also very small municipalities.
Lithuania: a € 100 million loan to support energy efficiency improvement measures in multi-apartment buildings across the country. The aim of the project is to reduce energy consumption and heating costs, protect the environment and improve the living conditions of an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 households, including low-income families.
Netherlands: a € 150 million loan to enhance the sustainability of micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and not-for-profit providers active in the social economy.
Poland: a € 120 million loan to channel financing to micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in order to reinforce their competitiveness and support the creation and preservation of permanent and seasonal jobs in the country.
Serbia: a € 30 million loan to support MSMEs throughout the country. It is expected that the funds provided by the CEB will benefit at least 1,300 businesses in a variety of sectors, including commerce, industry and agriculture.
Slovak Republic: a € 50 million loan to finance investment projects undertaken by Slovak regions, municipalities and companies providing public service in the modernisation of public infrastructure as well as the productive investments of MSMEs mainly in manufacturing and transportation.
Original source: CEB
Published on 25 January 2019
