In the first European Investment Bank (EIB) meeting since the UK left the EU, the bank has awarded €4.9bn of funding for projects in areas such as clean energy, transport, social housing, health and education infrastructure.
Funding will be split between:
- €1.7bn for the private sector investment, including reducing industrial energy use, developing medical devices and accelerating digitalisation of postal services. Money will be given to companies in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Spain to support climate action.
- €1bn will go towards clean energy projects in Europe and Central Asia, including 18 nphotovoltaic projects in central Spain, renewable energy projects in Austria and Italy and a Dutch project to distribute electricity generated by windfarms in the North Sea.
- €983m will be spent on rail links, including upgrading urban and regional lines in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Poland, and expanding maritime and rail freight transport capacity on routes across Europe.
- An unspecified amount of money will be spent on social and affordable housing in Paris and Berlin.
- Educational projects will also receive funding, including the Universities of Santiago de Compostela and Vigo in northern Spain, primary schools and sports training facilities in Hungary and a regional medical centre in Estonia.
Earlier the EIB has provided €600m for the Pune metro in India, €180m for construction of an airport in Crete, and €240m for 2,000 homes in Berlin.
Image: Images of houses in Berlin funded by the EIB (Amaury Wenger/Gewobag)
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