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i2i and Regional Development

Innovation 2010 gives absolute priority to projects located in regional development areas. The creation of centres of excellence in the less favoured regions of the EU is a key factor in ensuring European citizens' equal access to technologies in a changing world. It also helps to offset the tendency for investment to be concentrated in the wealthiest parts of the European Union.

73% of the Bank's i2i lending in 2004 went to projects in the least developed regions of the Union, a testimony to the high value added of the Bank's involvement and its commitment to bringing about a transfer of knowledge to the areas lagging furthest behind.

Since i2i became operational in 2000, the EIB's Governors have decided to broaden the geographical scope of the Initiative by linking it to the creation of a European Research Area, an objective declared by the Heads of State and Government at the Barcelona Summit in March 2002.

The following geographical areas are eligible for EIB support under i2i:

  • the European Union Member States (EU-25), with special emphasis on projects located in assisted areas and cohesion countries;
  • the Acceding and Accession Countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey;
  • the Western Balkan countries, where, as the Bank's support for reconstruction and development begins to bear fruit, major needs in the form of educational facilities and technological networks will have to be addressed.