Water Supply and Sanitation
The EIB has been the largest source of loan finance to the global water sector compared with other international financial institutions. It seeks to maximise added value to water projects through careful and innovative project preparation as well as advisory and technical assistance activities, particularly in regions and countries where the climatic conditions mean that even greater importance is attached to this sector.
The EIB finances water adaptation projects both inside and outside the EU. Although current EIB-funded adaptation projects are located mostly within the EU, the Bank also invests in projects in emerging and developing economies throughout the world in close cooperation with the European Commission and other financing institutions.
This joint financing blends EIB finance and EC grants. It also ensure compliance with the principles and recommended practices of EU legislation, including the EU Water Framework Directive and related directives.
The provision of basic water services supports the EU development and cooperation policies for reducing poverty in partner countries. By facilitating and ensuring reliable access to water the EIB subsequently enables food production to be improved.
The Bank is committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set in 2000 for water and sanitation. The work of the EIB in this sector actively contributes to the MDG target to “halve by 2015 the proportion of people in urban and rural areas without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
Cooperation
The ACP-EU Water Facility was launched by the EC in 2004 within the framework of the EU Water Initiative (EUWI). This water-dedicated instrument works directly with those most affected by water and sanitation shortages in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries. The Facility provides funds for technical assistance, acts as a catalyst for additional funding and enables more effective co-financing between EU grant aid and EIB financing instruments.
The EIB is one of the partners of Horizon 2020 an initiative launched by the EU Commission to clean up the Mediterranean. The Bank focuses on reducing the most significant sources of pollution in the Mediterranean countries and creating a pipeline of bankable investment projects, in close cooperation with the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) and the EC’s Directorate-General for the Environment.
Since 2010, the EIB has been a member of the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AgWA), a network of financial institutions, utilities, associations, research institutes and NGOs.
The Bank’s technical services can also act as sector specialist advisers to the European Commission in the assessment of projects, including water projects.
