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TunisiaNew EIB initiative to help Southern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans in dealing with refugee crisis
June 29, 2016
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A new initiative from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support regions outside of Europe that are significantly affected by the refugee crisis has been welcomed by EU heads of state and governments meeting in Brussels yesterday. The EIB’s ‘Crisis Response and Resilience Initiative’ is intended to build resilience and create more job opportunities in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans regions by stepping up support for vital infrastructure and the private sector.
Speaking after the meeting with EU heads of state and government in Brussels, EIB President Werner Hoyer said: “It is crucial that Europe supports countries in its neighbourhood who are hosting large numbers of refugees. The EIB was set to deliver EUR 7.5 billion to these regions over the next five years. On top of this we now propose to deliver an additional EUR 6 billion of EIB lending to the public and private sectors, starting this year. This would catalyse another estimated EUR 15 billion of investment”.
“Taken together, we are talking about more than EUR 35 billion of investments on the ground. With this we could provide services like clean water, energy and electricity in regions where services are stretched, and improve education, healthcare, local transport and urban services. This will help to help ensure that refugees and host communities alike have access to education and healthcare. We can also support the creation of jobs through more support for small businesses and micro-enterprises, encouraging them and other companies to take on more young people, to offer training and help to integrate refugees”, he added.(EU Neighbourhood Info)
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EIB – website
Countries covered:
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Algeria
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Egypt
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Israel
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Jordan
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Lebanon
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Libya
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Morocco
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Palestine *
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Syria *
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Tunisia
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