A European Investment Bank (EIB) office is to be opened in Cyprus.
This was announced on Monday 24 June by Finance Minister Makis Keravnos on his return from Luxembourg, where he met with EIB chief Nadia Calvinho.
According to him, the decision will bring significant benefits to the island nation. The financial institution, in turn, will be able to strengthen its cooperation with various local bodies and partners in both the public and private sectors. Modern office space for the EIB is expected to be built soon. In the meantime, the Bank's representative office will be located in the building of the Cypriot Ministry of Finance in Nicosia.
The opening of the EIB's Cyprus Office will bring significant benefits to the island nation, enabling the Bank to respond quickly to the needs of the local economy. In addition, various public and private companies will be able to benefit from the best practices of EIB staff in the implementation of their projects, as well as from technical assistance. The opening of the EIB's new office in Cyprus, the EU's easternmost country at the crossroads of three continents, is an important milestone for both the island nation and the financial institution," Mr Keravnos said.
It should be recalled that the European Investment Bank is the European Union's public financial and lending institution, which provides long-term loans for the development of Europe's less developed regions.
The Bank provides loans and guarantees for the implementation of projects:
- For the development of underdeveloped regions.
- For the modernisation or conversion of businesses or the development of new activities which contribute to the creation of a single market.
- which are of common interest to several Member States and which, by virtue of their size or nature, cannot be financed entirely by separate Member States.
The main sectors in which these loans are used are energy, transport and telecommunications. The European Investment Bank also provides soft loans from EU funds as technical manager. The Bank's loans are available in several currencies. The interest rate on "blended" loans is determined on the basis of the weighted average cost of funds raised in these currencies on the international or national capital markets.
The European Investment Bank's governing bodies are the Board of Governors, the Management Committee and the Board of Directors. The Board of Governors consists of the Finance Ministers of the EU Member States. It defines the general credit policy, examines and approves the annual accounts and makes changes to the authorised capital.
The European Investment Bank began operations in Cyprus in 1981. Since then, it has invested EUR 5.52 billion in 82 projects in the fields of energy, education, transport, communications, waste management and urban development. The EIB has financed the construction of hospitals, power plants and a new campus for the University of Cyprus.