Today in Madrid, the Minister of Public Works, José Blanco López, and the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Magdalena Álvarez Arza, signed a framework agreement for co-financing Spain’s 2009-2012 State Plan for Housing and Rehabilitation.
The Minister of Public Works stressed that, “renting is a decision that makes perfect economic sense since it enables savings to be channelled towards other needs and provides greater flexibility for adapting to changes in living and working circumstances. The most advanced housing policies in Europe focus on the rental sector; that is what we are also doing in Spain and from now on the European Investment Bank is joining us in our efforts”.
The EIB Vice-President, for her part, emphasised that “with this agreement the EIB is helping to meet a social demand: access to affordable rented housing. It will also enable us to foster economic and social cohesion and sustainable urban development – two of the Bank’s priority goals”. Magdalena Álvarez also pointed out that “today’s signature constitutes a further step in the extensive collaboration between the EIB and the Ministry of Public Works, with which we have been working for many years.”
The agreement provides the preliminary framework for an EIB contribution of up to EUR 800m to the 2009-2012 State Plan for Housing and Rehabilitation. The aim of this EIB financing operation is to assist the Plan’s “Programme for the Promotion of Social Housing for Rent”.
It will be implemented in the form of loans advanced by the EIB to credit institutions, particularly the Instituto de Crédito Oficial, which will in turn onlend the funds on advantageous terms to promote social housing for rent.
In 2010, the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed finance contracts in Spain for a total of EUR 9 300m, making Spain the biggest recipient of EIB loans for the seventh year running.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union’s (EU) long-term financing institution promoting European objectives. Founded in 1958, it operates in the 27 EU Member States and more than 130 other countries worldwide.