Press Release: More funds for vital investment in EU’s neighbourhood

The EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) was formally launched on the 6th of May, by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, representatives of EU Member States and ENP partner countries. The NIF is a key instrument of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and will mobilise additional funding for infrastructure projects mainly in the energy, transport and environment sectors in the entire area of the European Neighbourhood Policy by providing grant support for lending operations of public European financial institutions. The Commission has already made available €100 out of the €700 million it intends to allocate to the NIF for the period 2007-2013. On top of this, the Facility is open to contributions from all EU Member States so that resources from the Community budget and of the EU countries and public financial institutions will be pooled and better streamlined for the benefit of partner countries. Germany (€10 million), Italy (€1 million) and Sweden (€1 million) plan to allocate funds to the NIF in 2008; others Member States are expected to announce their contributions shortly.