The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted loans worth EUR 180 million to fourteen Italian Regions and the Municipality of Naples for reconstruction and hydro-geological consolidation works in the regions stricken by recent natural disasters.
The Regions to be assisted are: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania (and Municipality of Naples), Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, Puglia, Sicily, Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto.
Within the framework of the European Union's policy of promoting regional development, providing support to regions hit by natural disasters and protecting the natural environment, the Regions will channel this funding towards the repair, reconstruction and containment of damage caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods in the respective areas in recent years.
The Civil Protection Department has coordinated the operation between the various Regions concerned and the EIB. The Department itself will oversee implementation of the reconstruction programmes, which will be carried out under the direct responsibility of the Presidents of the Regions concerned. Technical and institutional links between the EIB, the Regions and the Civil Protection Department will be provided by a special Committee which will also serve to monitor the works financed.
The European Investment Bank finances capital investment furthering EU integration, in particular: regional development; trans-European networks for transport, telecoms and energy; industrial competitiveness. It likewise provides support for small and medium-sized enterprises and for environmental protection, energy security, and health and education projects. It also operates outside the EU, within the context of the EU's external co-operation policy. Owned by the EU Member States, the EIB raises its funds on the international capital markets on the strength of its AAA-rating. In 2002, the EIB lent some EUR 40 billion, of which EUR 6 billion in Italy.