OREANDA-NEWS. April 23, 2015. Today the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that it has approved up to € 300 million in financing for the first four projects as part of the Investment Plan for Europe, in which it is the Commission's strategic partner. These projects are in different sectors (R&D, health care, industrial innovation, transport) and in different countries (Spain, Italy, Ireland and Croatia). They serve as examples of investments that the new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) may support in the near future.

This means that until the EFSI is fully operational, the EIB is already providing funding to these projects, thereby leveraging private sector financing. The EFSI – at the heart of the Investment Plan - should be up and running by September 2015. European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "This is fantastic news for investment in Europe. We are only in April, and already the EIB has fulfilled its commitment to pre-finance projects until the EFSI is fully operational. With the vote in the European Parliament's committees on Monday, and Poland announcing its contribution of €8 billion to the Investment Plan on Tuesday, this is a very good week for investments in jobs and growth in Europe."

The Commission also welcomes the news that six Member States (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Poland) have said they will contribute money to the Investment Plan for Europe through their National Promotional Banks.