EIB finances modernization of European Union
The European Investment Bank (EIB) last year lent 25 billion euro mainly to support capital investment to further the modernization, growth and future enlargement of the European Union, according the EIB's first newsletter of 1999. A particular feature was the EIB's support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with some 8500 SMEs ventures benefiting from 2.4b euro lent to the EIB's partner banks. The EIB has also created the European Technology facility (ETF), a new 125 million euro instrument, managed by the European Investment Fund, which supports venture capital funds.