EIB pledges additional €4 bln to support Ukrainian war refugees

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Bank of the European Union, announced a €4 billion program for 2022 and 2023 to help cities and regions in EU Member States address urgent investment needs and meet the challenges of welcoming and integrating war refugees from Ukraine.

The new EIB program, pending approval by the EIB’s Board of Directors,  aims to finance the development of key social infrastructure for the provision of public services to refugees, including housing, schools, hospitals, and kindergartens. The financial support will be complemented by advisory support, helping local authorities in the EU Member States with free technical assistance to assess local needs rapidly, and plan, prioritize and prepare the related investments.  

The EIB Board already approved the EIB Solidarity Package for Ukraine on March 4, 2022. As part of that package, between March 8 and 25, the EU Bank disbursed €668 million of urgent liquidity support to the Government of Ukraine. In addition, the EIB is working on providing further financing to enable the Government of Ukraine to continue providing critical public services for citizens that remained in Ukraine. As discussed between EIB President Werner Hoyer and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, these funds are foreseen to support transport, energy, urban development, and digital projects; they are a part of the Solidarity Package for Ukraine prepared in cooperation with the European Commission.

(WBJ)