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CEB Governor Wenzel in Hungary to sign loan agreement for education infrastructure programme
13 June 2016
BUDAPEST - The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and Hungary signed today a € 49.1 million loan agreement to support the Hungarian government’s “Education and Infrastructure Programme”. Signing on behalf of the CEB was Governor Rolf Wenzel.
The programme is aimed at the refurbishment of education and sports facilities across the country. More specifically, the CEB loan will finance the renovation and expansion of pre-school and school buildings and also of various sports complexes, including gyms. The programme is expected to benefit thousands of pupils and teaching staff as well as the wider local communities.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Also present were Mihály Varga, Hungary’s Minister for National Economy, and Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) which is co-financing the programme.
Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Wenzel said: “We, at the CEB, are proud to be financing a programme with such a high social value, which is entirely consistent with the CEB’s social mandate. I am pleased that the CEB is working on this programme with Hungary, a valued member of the Bank for almost two decades. I look forward to continuing and further expanding to other areas the excellent co-operation that the CEB and Hungary have had over the years.”
Since becoming a CEB member in 1998, Hungary has had numerous projects approved by the Bank, mainly in the areas of natural and ecological disaster management, job creation and preservation, and urban and rural modernisation.
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.