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Energy Minister: EIB can finance up to 75 pct of Romanian eligible energy project costs
Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu and counselor Niculae Havrilet had a working meeting today in Luxembourg with European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President responsible for Romania, Christian Kettel Thomsen, with talks focusing on the increase in EIB's financial and technical support for investments in the Romanian energy sector and support for major projects in this field, the Energy Ministry informed in a release.
"Speeding up investments to increase renewable energy production, cut energy use and bills, and improve national and local energy infrastructure is crucial for Romania and global climate ambitions. Today's visit to the European Investment Bank provides a valuable opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Romania and the EIB, the world's largest international public bank and the main partner in the field of climate action and in the energy sector. I look forward to deepening discussions to enable Romania to take full advantage of new financing and technical support available under the Just Transition Mechanism, the Resilience and Recovery Fund and the Modernization Fund," said the Romanian Energy Minister.
Since 1991, the EIB has provided ?1.2 billion for investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and the transport network in Romania and can finance up to 75 percent of the eligible costs of Romanian energy projects, under the new energy transition package.
The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting new investments throughout Romania in order to enhance power distribution, harness hydropower, solar and wind energy and improve energy efficiency that supports economic growth and industrial production. The EIB and I are pleased to welcome Energy Minister Virgil Popescu and counselor Niculae Havrilet to our headquarters to provide an update on the EIB's enhanced support for energy transition, priority public and private energy investment and expert cooperation to share best practices. I look forward to visiting Bucharest in the coming weeks to further deepen our dialogue and announce significant new support for nationwide energy investment in Romania, said the EIB Vice President.
European Investment Bank Vice President responsible for Romania Christian Kettel Thomsen hosted the working meeting with EIB financial, technical and energy transition experts that took place in Luxembourg in parallel with the meeting of EU energy, transport and telecommunication ministers.
According to the cited source, the EIB confirmed the continued support of investments in Romania's energy transition as part of EIB's climate roadmap and technical and financial support for decarbonisation projects in the country. The EIB can finance up to 75 percent of eligible energy project costs in Romania under the new Energy Transition Package.
In recent months, the EIB has worked closely with the National Bank of Romania, government authorities, public and commercial banks to formulate recommendations to boost green finance in the country.
The EIB's dedicated advisory experts are also working with Romanian partners to prepare projects that enable energy efficiency as well as increased use of alternative fuels in the country.
The European Investment Bank is owned directly by the 27 EU member states and in 2020 the EIB Group provided EUR 809 million new support for COVID-19 resilience, education, water, energy efficiency and private investment in Romania.
Since 1991 the EIB and EIF have provided more than EUR 17 billion for transformational private and public investment across Romania.