Poland signs EUR 700-mln deal with EIB for rural development

Poland has signed a EUR 700-million credit agreement with the European Investment Bank to support rural development, the Finance Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The money will go into the Rural Areas Development Programme and will cover the years 2014-2020.

"The contract is a further example of our good cooperation, and the area the loan will support is part of the 'green' priorities of Poland and the EIB," Tadeusz Koscinski, the finance minister, said in a ministry press release.

The ministry said the deal would support investment in agriculture, agricultural processing and the distribution of agricultural produce.

"Thanks to the new contract, the European Investment Bank can further support the development of Polish rural areas in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way," Teresa Czerwinska, the president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), said in a communique. "Not only will new jobs be created but the small and medium-sized enterprise sector will also gain a significant modernisation stimulus in the field of food production and processing."

The EIB funds will also be earmarked for increasing competitiveness and promoting environmentally friendly production. Investment will also be supported in small and medium-sized enterprises in the modernisation of production and processing, particularly in high value-added production, including livestock production. Forestry investments will also be supported within the agreement's framework.

Since the start of the EIB's activities in Poland, the bank has granted almost EUR 76 billion in funds to support investment projects.