The FINANCIAL -- The EBRD has
approved a new strategy for its activities in the Slovak Republic for
the next three years.
The Slovak Republic is an advanced transition country, which implemented the body of EU market regulation prior to its EU accession in 2004 and which has benefited from integration into the EU internal market. While the global economic crisis hit the Slovak Republic hard in 2009, the economy recovered well in its aftermath. Public debt remains one of the lowest in the EU. However unemployment remains high and austerity measures continue to subdue domestic demand.
The Slovak Republic has made solid progress in building functioning market institutions in most sectors of the economy. However, there remain significant transition challenges in terms of market structure in a number of areas, including sustainable energy, infrastructure, MSME financing and capital markets.
The EBRD’s priorities for the next strategy period include:
Deepening financial intermediation and support for SMEs.
Supporting investments in infrastructure, energy security and energy efficiency.
Support cross border co-operation and investments of leading local entities in other countries of EBRD operations in order to enhance their regional presence.
Recently, the EBRD’s investments in the Slovak Republic focused on energy efficiency and included projects such as the US$ 150 million to MOL Group for energy saving measures in Slovnaft, a €60 million programme which improved the homes of about 50,000 people under the energy efficiency and renewable energy financing facility SlovSEFF. As European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced, there were also other improvements such as the insulation of a nursery school in the western part of the Slovak Republic funded by another financing facility for municipal energy efficiency, MFF EE.
Altogether the EBRD has so far committed €190 million for energy efficiency projects in the Slovak Republic, supported by €45 million in grants from various donors, mainly through the Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund.
Since the beginning of its operations in the Slovak Republic, the EBRD has invested over €1.63 billion in about 125 projects in the country, mobilising about €4.4 billion of financing from other sources.
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