The Economic Resilience Initiative involves a step change in EIB support for the two regions by increasing its financing by an additional EUR 6 billion over a five year period starting from October 2016 for the Southern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans during this period. The support is already starting to have an impact on the ground and reinforces economic resilience.

The EIB estimates the EUR 6 billion, together with other sources of public and private sector finance, will deliver EUR 15 billion euros of additional investment in the eligible countries of the Southern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans by 2020.

The Economic Resilience Initiative focuses on both the public and the private sectors, to support:

• sustainable and vital infrastructure, by investing in services like clean water, energy and electricity, particularly in regions where infrastructure needs were aggravated by migration; but also for example by improving education, healthcare, local transport and urban services 
• private sector growth, boosting employment opportunities, for example through more support for small businesses and micro-enterprises

The initiative also allows the EU Bank to provide additional technical assistance and advisory services to support the projects.

ERI investment is progressing: To date, 59 projects and EUR 5.26 billion worth of financing have been approved under the initiative. Well over half of that went into private sector development. Lending through partner banks alone is set to benefit over 11,000 smaller businesses and mid-caps, helping to sustain more than 211,000 jobs.

Other projects include urgently-needed investments in water and waste, but also vital transport, energy and healthcare infrastructure. The operations cover Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia in the Southern Neighbourhood, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia in the Western Balkans.

Over two million refugees are currently hosted in the Southern Neighbourhood, while the Western Balkans have acted as one of the main migratory routes to Europe. The initiative from the EU bank, part of a joined up EU effort, will help to tackle the root causes of migration and contribute to sustainable development by supporting projects with high social and environmental returns. In line with the Bank’s existing activities, investments will strive to generate employment opportunities for young people and women, and support climate action.

In practice, developing economic resilience in host and transit countries means creating jobs and building the infrastructure needed for the local population as well as displaced population. Refugee communities may also benefit, providing them with opportunities to build their self-reliance and live in dignity.

Furthermore, the investments in economic resilience will contribute to improve the preparedness of the regions for future external shocks, and ideally also contribute to enhanced stability in fragile countries.

The European Union’s External Investment Plan, agreed in mid-2017, is a new approach to the way the EU supports sustainable development and aims to identify, prepare and deliver support for investment projects in Africa and EU Neighbourhood countries.

The Economic Resilience Initiative by the EIB is complementary to the EU External Investment Plan. Ensuring close coordination and complementary with EU initiatives is a key priority. In fact, given the EIB's important role in the EIP, we can ensure the two work hand-in-hand. ERI is part of Europe's joined up response to the migration and refugee crisis, with a focus on tackling the longer-term causes of migration. The EIB will continue to use the blending support offered through the EIP and will be one of the implementing partners for the new EU guarantee offered through the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD).

In order to implement the Economic Resilience Initiative to its full extent, the EIB needs:

• adequate EU guarantee support to cover both political and commercial risks of the EIB lending operations in the eligible countries of the Southern Neighbourhood and Western Balkan regions

• donor resources, to be used for technical assistance, investment grants and other forms of concessional finance, as well as impact finance

In order to address the common challenges that the EU neighbourhood is facing and to provide the concessional finance needed to implement the ambitious investments included in the Economic Resilience Initiative project pipeline, the EIB is partnering with the international donor community. Funds are held in a dedicated fund, the Economic Resilience Initiative Fund (ERIF).

By contributing to the ERIF, donors can make a direct impact on the lives of migrants and members of the local population in host and transit countries of the Southern Neighbourhood and Western Balkan regions.

Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK have become the first EU Member States to pledge contributions, which means that we can now use the ERI Fund resources to accelerate high-impact investments aimed at creating new opportunities and building economic resilience in the regions. They will help to improve people’s daily life and the business environment not only in communities where many migrants come from, but also in host and transit communities. The Economic Resilience Initiative was requested by all 28 member states of the European Union. With these nine countries leading the way, others are expected to follow soon.

This is in addition to the financing already available, including a EUR 90 million contribution from the EIB itself for technical assistance on getting projects off the ground.