European Bank for reconstruction and development logo in front of their main office for Ljubljana – 15 Sep 2021 (Shutterstock)

By Harper Meacham  

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Commission are working together to help European Union (EU) countries reach their full green potential through the InvestEU program. 

The program is providing over €1.1 billion (about $1.192 billion) in financing to support sustainable projects in the municipal, transport and energy sectors in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.  

The financing will address environmental challenges, contribute to the EBRD’s Green Cities program, and support green investments in a range of industrial and infrastructure projects.  

The InvestEU Investment Committee has approved guarantees of up to €150 million (about $162.7 million) for the first EBRD operations as part of the InvestEU guarantee agreement worth up to €450 million (about $487.9 million) between the European Commission and the EBRD.  

This will help financial institutions in these countries provide loans to finance investments in sustainable transport, energy efficiency, renewable energy and residential buildings, and support green investments in private companies facing higher costs of newer technologies, higher perceived risks and a lack of available financing. 

The InvestEU program aims to leverage substantial private and public funds to support a sustainable recovery, mobilize private investments for the EU’s policy priorities. 

They also work to back investment projects of implementing partners using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion ($28.4 billion).  

The entire budgetary guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity, and mobilize at least €372 billion ($403.4 billion) in additional investment.