The loan was signed on the margins of the meeting of the EIB’s Board of Directors taking place in Bucharest on 17-18 September.
The loan will support the modernisation of 3,000 farms and co-finance 400 projects focused on the processing and marketing of agricultural products and 750 schemes to improve services for the rural population.
„Our loan will complement EU grants and aims in particular at strengthening the competitiveness of the agriculture and forestry sectors, improving the management of natural resources and encouraging climate friendly farming”, said EIB President Werner Hoyer.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will be the promoter of the project, while public and private entities will be the final beneficiaries of the loan signed between the EIB and the Ministry of Public Finance.
This is the second EIB operation supporting Romania’s Rural Development. The previous one, a loan of EUR 300 million for Romania’s 2007-2013 Rural Development Plan, has been fully disbursed and benefited some 900 village infrastructure projects, 4,000 famers and agri-food and forestry SMEs.
“The framework loan signed today is the 6thoperation of this kind financed by the EIB, emphasizing not only the good cooperation between the Romania and the EIB but also the Bank’s readiness to respond to Government’s priorities. The loan will partially cover the state budget contribution to a number of measures under the National Rural Development Program. Thus, the investments in agriculture and rural development will boost competitiveness and improve the rural infrastructure around the country. In my capacity as President of the EIB Board of Governors and considering the up-coming Romanian Presidency of EU Council, starting with January 1st, 2019, I would like to state that Romania will promote a balanced approach regarding EIB future role as EU financial institution as well as the dialogue with all stakeholders involved in the complex debates regarding the next Multiannual Financial Framework,” Romania’s Public Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici told a press conference.