• EBRD and EU to boost economic resilience and climate action in EU Neighbourhood
• Businesses, industries, municipalities and infrastructure to benefit from new finance
• Up to €100 million in EU guarantees, supporting blended EBRD and private sector loans

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) – through Team Europe – are joining forces to provide more financial support to the municipal, infrastructure and industrial sectors that have been affected by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the southern and eastern EU Neighbourhood regions. The support will also address Covid-19 recovery through green investments.

The EU is providing a guarantee of up to €100 million to support EBRD investments of around €300 million and additional loans from private sector actors for cumulative total investments of over €500 million.

The EBRD and private sector co-financed loans will support investments in industrial, building, municipal and sustainable infrastructure. As a result of the pandemic there are short-term liquidity needs in these areas that are affecting businesses and employment.

In addition, the EU guarantee will support the Bank’s operations to develop green, low-carbon, climate-resilient economies in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and West Bank and Gaza) and eastern Europe and the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine).

The loans will also be used for sustainable investments in green city infrastructure, greener logistics chains, energy efficiency and green technology transfers in industrial processes, commercial operations and buildings.

These investments are expected to finance dozens of firms, provide thousands of people with improved access to services, support employment and contribute to energy and water efficiency. This will benefit the environment and build more competitive industries.

The EBRD has responded decisively to the pandemic and is now committed to dedicating the entirety of its activities to tackling the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, with an expected support package of €21 billion in total by the end of 2021. In the first half of this year alone, the EBRD invested a record of more than €5 billion.

The EU is providing the guarantee through its European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) Guarantee Programme, which supports financing and investment operations in partner countries in Africa and the European Neighbourhood.

Jürgen Rigterink, EBRD Acting President and First Vice President, said: “This is another important step which sees the alliance between the EBRD and Team Europe helping economies address the two most serious challenges the world is facing today: the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and the global climate crisis. We are committed to using our combined efforts and resources to alleviate both.”

The EBRD invests to promote sustainable and inclusive private sector development across 38 economies ranging from Estonia to Egypt and Morocco to Mongolia.