News

CEB supports public infrastructure projects, small businesses in the Slovak Republic

4 October 2016

Paris - The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved two new loans to support projects aimed at improving living conditions in urban and rural areas and boost job creation in the Slovak Republic. 

The first loan, worth € 40 million, to Slovenská sporiteľňa will provide funds for projects aimed at improving energy efficiency and advancing environmental protection, and channel financing to regional governments and public-private entities for public infrastructure modernisation projects. It will also facilitate access to funding for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) seeking financing for productive investments. 

The second loan approved by the CEB, worth € 13 million, to the self-governing region of Trenčín through an EU Co-financing facility (ECF), will provide bridge-financing for projects financed by European Structural and Investment Funds in three sectors: the modernisation of urban and rural areas, protection of cultural heritage, and protection of the environment. 

The CEB loans will make a significant contribution to improving the living conditions of thousands of persons living in urban and rural areas, including the more than half a million inhabitants of the Trenčín region. It will also give an impetus to the MSME sector, which employs more than half of the total workforce in the economy of the Slovak Republic, and bolster job creation in the country at a time when the national unemployment rate is above the European Union average. 

“The Bank has had an excellent cooperation with the Slovak Republic, a CEB member since 1998,” said CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel. “These new social projects will continue to support important public infrastructure investments in the country and will also contribute to job creation and preservation, in line with the social mandate of the CEB.”

Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AA+ with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.