25.06.2013

The Minister of Finance Petar Chobanov and the EIB Director for South-East Europe Luca Lazzaroli made a review of the Bank\'s activities in Bulgaria. It became clear during the meeting that the future policy of EIB included agricultural support to the Member States through funding small agricultural schemes and implementing employment promotion instruments in SMEs via intermediary banks. Given the priorities of the Government\'s programme, Mr. Chobanov and Mr. Lazzaroli discussed the opportunities for a broader cooperation between EIB and the Bulgarian Development Bank in order to realize various schemes granting easier access to financing for SMEs.

Mr. Luca Lazzaroli is heading an EIB delegation that will sign a Financing Agreement granting a loan of EUR 100 million to Societe Generale Expressbank for funding SME projects.

EIB supports Bulgaria with the absorption of the Structural and Cohesion Funds by securing the resources for the national co-financing of investment projects under the operational programmes. The Bank supports the implementation of important infrastructural sites in the energy, transport and environmental sectors. The institution has thus far invested in Bulgaria around EUR 3.4 billion, of which EUR 1.3 billion investment in the private sector, without any government guarantee.