Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Dario Scannapieco said on Monday that the bank would grant Serbia a loan of at least EUR 600 million this year, and assessed that the recovery of the European economy would take another several years.
In 2013, the EIB will continue to offer support to Serbia, which is the largest recipient of the bank’s funds in the region, i.e. EUR 500 million for development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and EUR 100 million for infrastructure projects, he told a news conference.
Scannapieco did not dismiss the possibility of increasing the funds, which would depend on new projects from Serbia.
Asked whether the EIB had changed its approach to the new Serbian government since June 2012, Scannapieco said there had been no major changes, stressing that a country’s economic growth is important for every government.
In 2012, the EIB invested around EUR 450 million in various projects in Serbia, which accounts for 64.2 percent of EUR 839 million in loans, which the bank granted to the entire Western Balkans (without Croatia and Slovenia).
In the last five years, the EIB granted Serbia a total of EUR 2.75 billion, and EUR 1.75 billion were withdrawn, Scannapieco said, adding that 900 million of the sum went to the financing of SMEs.
Scannapieco said that 2012 was a complex year for Europe, during which several countries experienced credit rating downgrades, the first estimates being that the recovery of the European economy would be postponed for several more years.
Source Tanjug
