The European Investment Bank's President Sir Brian Unwin today gave an interim report to the Economic and Finance Council meeting in Mondorf, Luxembourg, on action the Bank is taking to implement the Amsterdam European Council resolution on Growth and Employment. The Bank is due to make a full report on its three-year "Amsterdam Special Action Programme" (ASAP) to the Employment Summit to be held by the Heads of State in November in Luxembourg.

Sir Brian Unwin said: "Our focus will be on stepping up the financing of efficient infrastructure, including environmental protection and urban environment projects, indirect but essential support for job-creating ventures, and on extending our activities in the labour intensive areas of education and health. New action will also be taken to expand support for technology related and high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises and to widen their access to crucial venture capital and thus their capacity to create competitive and stable new jobs.

"The EIB is ready to commit up to ECU 1 billion of its surpluses to back its SME action plan by end of the year 2000. It is difficult to give precise figures at this stage, but the leverage effect of our proposals could support a total volume of SME finance of between ECU 5 to 9 billion through a variety of financial instruments.

"We are sending a clear signal that the EIB, as the European Union's long-term financing arm, is moving rapidly on initiatives that will directly or indirectly create new and stable employment opportunities. EIB teams have already been to a number of Member States for discussions, and we are progressing on practical operations", he said.

Main elements of the EIB's ASAP consist of:

  1. A special window for new instruments to help finance technology related and high-growth SMEs, to be backed by recourse to the EIB's surpluses. The Bank's Governors have agreed that the EIB can commit up to a total of ECU 1 billion of its surpluses over the next three years to support such initiatives. The EIB is currently developing new financing schemes under which SMEs can benefit from risk-sharing or subordinated finance and venture capital facilities. Discussions, being held with financing intermediaries throughout the Union, are furthest advanced in Italy, France, Spain and the UK. A new European Technology Facility is also in preparation with the European Investment Fund to provide venture and equity capital for high-technology and fast growing SME projects.
  2. Developing the EIB's financing in the areas of education, health, urban renewal and environmental protection. The Bank has begun examining larger education and health projects in Germany, Greece and Spain, and global loans (line of credit to a local bank for supporting small-scale ventures) are being arranged for such investment in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. At the same time, existing global loans for infrastructure projects are being extended to include health and education schemes. The Bank is also fine-tuning its facilities for urban renewal and environment protection investment (an area where it is already active - ECU 4 to 6 billion p.a.).
  3. A new impetus to the financing of Trans-European Networks (TENs) and other large infrastructure investment, by developing aspects of the EIB's TENs Special Window, including extra-long grace periods and maturities, special tailor-made financing packages, earlier involvement in project preparation, and strengthening support for public-private partnership initiatives. The EIB is already a major financier of TENs investment - ECU 6 to 7 billion p.a. over the last three years. As a start, the Bank is currently examining the possibility of accelerating and increasing the financing of TENs investment in Belgium, Germany and Italy. For larger infrastructure and environmental projects the EIB may, in special cases, consider raising loan amounts to beyond its normal 50% limit of project cost, and provide earlier support for project preparation by financing feasibility studies.

The EIB's ASAP has been approved by the Bank's Board of Directors at a special meeting in July and by the EIB's Board of Governors (the EU Finance Ministers) during the summer.

Note to Editors:

The EIB, the European Union's financing institution, was set up in 1958 to provide loan finance for capital investment furthering the European Union's balanced development. Owned by the Member States, the EIB raises its funds on capital markets where its bond issues have consistently received an excellent credit rating (AAA). The EIB's President and Chairman of its Board, Sir Brian Unwin, assumed office in 1993.

The European Investment Fund, a public-private partnership established in 1994 and owned by the EIB (40%), the European Commission (30%) and the banking sector (30%), takes equity participations and issues long-term guarantees for the financing of major infrastructure and SMEs investment.