Dear Mr. Bekdash,

Thank you for your e-mail to the European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term financing institution of the European Union.

The EIB is active both inside and outside the European Union.  Outside the Union, EIB lending is governed by a series of mandates from the European Union in support of EU development and cooperation policies in partner countries. The European Investment Bank’s operations in the Mediterranean partner countries have been brought together under the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) since October 2002.

FEMIP gives priority to financing private sector ventures, whether local initiatives or foreign direct investment. In order to create an enabling environment for the development of private enterprise, FEMIP also supports infrastructure projects, investment in human capital and schemes specifically targeting environmental protection.

Please note that the EIB does not provide grants, sponsorship or financial aid. Individuals and organisations interested in gaining access to European funds in the form of grants should contact the European Commission directly: http://ec.europa.eu/grants/index_en.htm

With reference to your request for financing, one of the two main financing facilities of the EIB is intermediated loans consisting of loan facilities to banks and financial institutions to help them to provide finance to customers with eligible spending programmes or projects costing less than EUR 25 million. Lending decisions under this scheme remain with the clearing bank or finance house with access to EIB funds. Promoters interested in global loan financing should contact the banks and intermediaries involved directly: http://www.eib.org/products/loans/intermediated/index.htm

Additional information is available on the EIB’s website section dedicated to financing in FEMIP:

http://www.eib.org/projects/regions/med/index.htm

http://www.eib.org/infocentre/publications/2007-annual-economic-report-on-partner-countries.htm

http://www.eib.org/projects/publications/femip-2007-annual-report-.htm

http://www.eib.org/attachments/country/femip_overview_2007_en.pdf

http://www.eib.org/projects/publications/financing-provided-by-the-eib-in-syria.htm

For general information on SMEs, please see the following link: http://www.eib.org/projects/topics/sme/index.htm