EIB Group Secures EUR5.2 Billion for Non-EU Countries

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The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) has earmarked EUR5.2 billion for non-EU countries within a wider package of EU measures for removing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which encompasses the Western Balkans, the EIB announced on April 9.

The funds are part of a wider package of aid for 100 non-EU countries which the EU and its Team Europe have announced and is supported by EU budget guarantees, the statement said.

"The EIB has prepared a package of emergency relief for the countries of the Western Balkans and above all local small and medium enterprises and health systems. We would like to do everything that we can and help save human lives, jobs and the wages of the citizens of the Western Balkans," EIB vice-president Dario Scannapieco, who is in charge of activities in the Western Balkans, said.

He stressed that the scale of the crisis demanded European unity and solidarity, adding that the EIB Group was proud to be in the position to help mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Balkans with concrete support. The EIB Group's support package for the Western Balkan states will be available according to expedited procedure and adjusted to the specific needs of different economic sectors, but also the local challenges that the pandemic was creating.