PREDICTIONS FOR ROMANIA IN 2010 EIB funding expected to reach 1.5 billion Euros

The priorities of the EIB in terms of financing for Romania remain unchanged this year. The officials of the EIB said that in the beginning of 2009, the bank committed to lend money to all the major sectors of the economy, from basic infrastructure such as transportation, communication, energy and the environmental sector to industry and services, including supporting SMEs.

According to preliminary data provided by EIB officials, the institution estimates that it has lent some 1.5 billion Euros to Romania in 2009. In 2009 the EIB made a big effort to increase its lending in Romania to help the Romanian economy to better face the current financial and economic crisis. The officials of the EIB said: "The exact numbers and the 2009 balance sheet will be presented in press conferences at the end of February in Brussels and at the end of March in Romania. It is difficult to predict the volume of lending and the types of projects that will be submitted to us for financing, but we expect the funding for Romania to be close to 1.5 billion Euros again".

The EIB lent Romania 1.1 billion Euros in 2008, and 6.2 billion Euros between 1990 and 2008 inclusively. The EIB expects to play an important role in the future in supporting Romania"s development as part of the European Union.

In October 2006, the EIB and Romania signed a cooperation agreement which sets the framework for the bank"s support of Romania"s investment program. Even though funding is based on concrete project proposals, the agreement sets that this funding could reach a billion Euros a year, which can be adjusted along the way.

Overall the cooperation between Romania and the EIB aims to provide funding for the priority national investments and the creation of dedicated cofinancing facilities and of new mechanisms for supporting investments which are part of facilities for providing EU structural and cohesion funds, as well as improving the availability of funding sources for SMEs. The EIB is also supporting the durable investments in urban areas and assists the Government and private partners in structuring and implementing public-private partnerships.