EIB has invested more than EUR 7B in Ukraine
“The European Investment Bank is the bank of the European Union. Accordingly, it supports projects that are in line with EU policies and key priorities,” Jean-Eric de Zagon, Head of the EIB Representation to Ukraine, told Dom TV channel, Ukrinform reports.
Among such priorities, he mentioned the environmental and sustainable development of countries, as well as the digitalization of the economy.
“That is, the first step for a country is to have a modern economy. The next one is the digitalization of the economy,” he said.
When granting loans to Ukraine, the EIB, in particular, focuses on the projects for the transition to green energy, in particular, sustainable transportation. The assistance in the restoration of the government-controlled part of Donbas is also among the priority areas.
“The Bank has been in Ukraine since 2007, and this is important. Today we have a portfolio of EUR 7 billion loans for Ukraine. We made a lot of efforts in 2014-2016 – after the Revolution of Dignity. At that time, the Bank and the EU undertook to provide EUR 3 billion loans to Ukraine. And we fulfilled that commitment. Last year we had a crisis related to COVID-19 and signed a EUR 1 billion loan,” said the Head of the EIB Representation to Ukraine.
According to him, the largest share of EUR 7 billion loans accounts for transportation, EUR 1.1 billion – energy projects, EUR 2 billion – development of small and medium-sized enterprises through commercial banks in Ukraine, about EUR 500 million – cooperation in the industry.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) was established in 1958 to provide loans for the construction and reconstruction of facilities of interest to the EU and associated countries. The capital is formed from the contributions of the participating states.
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