The FINANCIAL — The Neighbourhood Investment Facility brings additional investments in transport, energy and environment infrastructure, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, and to the development of social and private sectors in Eastern and Southern Partner Countries. The European Commission decided to contribute an additional EUR 295.04 million to the Facility in 2015 to enable more than EUR 3 billion in investments.
The Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) is an instrument which combines EU grants with other public and private sector financial resources, such as loans and equity. This allows to leverage additional non-grant financing for the development of key infrastructures and social and private sector development including specific support to SMEs, according to EU.
‘A flourishing economy across the neighbourhood is essential to reach our shared objectives of stability and prosperity. And for that, the private sector must be at the core of any successful process. A well-functioning private sector is critical to achieving strong and sustainable growth, creating the level of employment that is so much needed across the region. Our decision to provide an additional funding to the NIF will bring us closer to these shared objectives’ stressed Johannes Hahn Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations ‘
In addition, this Commission decision allocates EUR 85 million of NIF resources in the Neighbourhood East to help SMEs to benefit from the opportunities offered by the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements signed with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine as well as stimulating woman entrepreneurship in the Eastern Partnership region. These specific projects targeting the East Neighbourhood are expected to generate more than EUR 1.3 billion of investment.
