Massive engineering projects across Europe and the wider world will benefit from a €10bn war chest set aside at the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The projects will address rail, port, road, airport and inland-waterway needs.
Under the EIB’s European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) initiative, the cash will be distributed around the continent and to major partners in other regions to help meet the infrastructure goals of a globalised economy.
As well as spurring the development of public-sector projects, the money will be used to encourage corporate research in critical areas, such as the energy, automotive and textile industries, with scientific work to create new treatments for epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease also lined up for funding.
In Austria, France, Germany and the UK, EFSI loans will plough into renewable-energy schemes – and will support similar initiatives under way in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Africa and Nepal.
Among the UK projects set to receive help from the loans is a large-scale rollout of smart meters, enabling residents to manage their power use more effectively, while in the Netherlands, a series of inland waterways will be upgraded.
The EFSI loans initiative has been put together through negotiations between the EIB and key players in the European Council, Parliament and Commission – with current European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and VP Jyrki Katainen playing crucial roles.
It is expected that, over the next three years, the scheme will leverage private and public investment totalling €315bn.
EIB president Werner Hoyer said: “In putting money to work across Europe, speed is of the essence. The Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and the EU Bank have worked fast and well, and EFSI now sees the light less than nine months after president Juncker and I outlined the plan at the European Parliament on 27 November last year.”
He added: “The EIB has already started identifying and financing projects that will get EFSI backing. We believe that Europe must act fast, and we are now delivering on that belief.
“Now we must ensure the success of the investment plan for Europe by making EFSI work as the other parts of the plan are put in place, including regulatory reform, which is crucial to make the EU more welcoming for investors and entrepreneurs.”
The EIB is the EU’s non-profit, long-term lending institution, which was established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome.