The European Council of 28/29 June 2012 stated that it is crucial to boost the financing of the economy. In that regard, the European Council considered that paid-in capital of the European Investment Bank (EIB) should be increased by EUR 10 billion, with the aim of strengthening its capital basis as well as increasing its overall lending capacity by EUR 60 billion, and thus unlock up to EUR 180 billion of additional investment, spread across the whole European Union, including in the most vulnerable EU Member States.

As part of its strategy of providing attractive long-term lending that benefits sound investments in Europe, the EIB value-added is particularly enhanced in case of support to projects and promoters with less favourable access to finance.

The Portuguese government is committed to collaborate with the EIB to explore complementarity between EIB financing and private sector funding with the aim of maximizing growth potential and job creation in a context of a successful implementation of the adjustment process as validated by four consecutive reviews.

Against this background, the Portuguese Republic and the EIB agreed today to a certain number of key principles and concrete steps to foster cooperation between the two parties:

  • The EIB would be prepared to assess capital investment projects undertaken by private or public sector promoters in Portugal with a view of extending new finance to those ventures in Portugal, for amounts to be determined;
  • Support SMEs, notably, through banks or public sector agencies within the above-mentioned framework;
  • Explore different schemes for co-financing or guarantee new EIB facilities, involving, notably, the State and Structural Funds;
  • The EIB would assist the Portuguese authorities to use the existing EU Funds Co-financing framework loan and envisage new, general or special-purpose, framework loans with the Portuguese Republic, in each case in compliance with applicable requirements.
  • The Portuguese Republic would help identifying projects eligible for EIB finance in accordance with EIB’s rules, particularly in the following sectors: selective infrastructure (with a special focus on ports, logistics and other sectors complementary to tradable goods and services), SMEs, knowledge economy and human capital, export facilitation finance (including support to trade finance), foreign direct investment (both inward and outward), energy efficiency and climate change; and
  • Count on the EIB to help the public sector to enhance the value from existing PPP contracts, using the specific expertise that the Bank has in this area, while taking into account EIB’s policy and credit interests as financier to those projects.