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The Lending Envelope (LE) will support investments in the construction, extension, renovation, and rehabilitation of public higher education and research institution premises in Poland and the Baltic States.
This is the second LE of its kind after the successful launch of the Higher Education and Research Lending Envelope in 202 supporting construction, extension, renovation and rehabilitation of a selected number of university premises in Poland and the Baltic States. The aim is to support universities in their efforts to upgrade their campuses, which are often comprised of buildings that have reached the end of their useful life. The fast take-up of the first lending envelope confirmed the strong demand for investments in the improvement of learning, teaching and research conditions at universities in Poland and the Baltic States, including improved accessibility for people with disabilities, and energy efficiency of buildings.
The proposed Lending Envelope (LE) addresses a sub-optimal investment situation in higher education and public research infrastructure in Poland and the Baltic countries. The Project is line with the InvestEU objective of social investments, including those supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in particular through education investments. The LE responds to various needs of the innovation systems, most notably the supply of highly skilled graduates and the performance of state-of-the-art basic research. In addition, its objective is to improve the scientific performance of those states by supporting strategic investments in this area.
The projects financed under the LE create positive externalities as they will promote access to high-quality public higher education, which benefits society and the broader economy, mainly in terms of skills development and upgrading. The LE also addresses a market failure regarding the financing of infrastructure for early-stage R&D activities performed by public institutions. Additionally, the LE is expected to include investments targeting climate change mitigation, which will have significant positive externalities as they contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The EIB financing will be offered on conditions normally not available on the market for higher education and research institutions. Longer maturities and drawdown flexibility will match the financial and investment needs of these institutions allowing them to diversify their lending possibilities. It is also expected that the EIB participation in the projects will allow the Borrowers to attract additional public and private financing parties.
The Directive 2011/92/EU amended by 2014/52/EU does not specifically mention the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for buildings relating to education, but it may be that some sub-projects can be regarded as urban renewal projects (Annex II of the European Directive). This will be verified for each suboperation during the appraisal. Directive 2010/31/EU amended in 2018 by Directive (EU) 2018/844 on the Energy Performance of Buildings will be checked during appraisal for each sub-operation on a case-by-case basis. The possible impact on natural sites will be checked during the appraisal of each sub-operation. The Project is expected to contribute to climate action and environmental sustainability (CA&ES) objectives, in particular to climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
The promoter shall ensure that contracts for the implementation of the Project shall be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation, Directive 2014/24/EU as well as Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.