Eastern neighbourhood

At the Global Gateway Forum, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and European Investment Bank (EIB) President Werner Hoyer formalised a financial package under which the European Commission will provide an investment grant of €12 million for the EIB Global project to rehabilitate and modernise two key sections of railway line in Moldova. Supported by a forthcoming loan of €42 million from EIB Global, the upgraded railway infrastructure will not only enhance internal connectivity within the country, but also offer a crucial export route for Ukraine, fostering regional stability and economic resilience.

The European Investment Bank, through its dedicated development finance arm EIB Global, backs the four-year programme of investment in the Moldovan electricity distribution sector. The programme will be implemented by ICS Premier Energy Distribution, Moldova’s largest private electricity distribution system operator, which serves about 70% of the country. The EIB finance, in line with the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, will contribute to the modernisation, digitalisation and expansion of the electricity distribution grid in the central and southern part of Moldova, including the capital Chisinau.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s philanthropic arm, the EIB Institute (EIBI), has donated €800 000 to support family-style orphanages in Ukraine coordinated by the Olena Zelenska Foundation, a Ukrainian charitable organisation founded by the First Lady of Ukraine. This donation made in late December 2022 will help 2 082 children living in 280 family-style orphanages in the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Sumy, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr oblasts. Many of these orphanages were evacuated from frontline areas. Due to the war and constant energy and communications outages, they need immediate help.