The fund will have a budget of €25 billion
The European Commission (EC) has approved the creation of a €25bn guarantee fund managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the economies of the Community in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The European Commission press office said on Monday.
“The European Commission has approved, in line with EU rules on state aid, the creation of a €25bn pan-European guarantee fund managed by the European Investment Bank to provide additional support to small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the outbreak of a new type of coronavirus”, – it said in a document.
Twenty-one of the 27 EU countries will participate in the fund: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. The European Commission expects the guarantee scheme to attract up to €200 billion of private investment to support businesses in these countries.