Vilnius Factoring Company, a private lending company in Lithuania, has signed a cooperation agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF) for the granting of microcredits up to 25,000 euros. Micro-enterprises and farmers in Lithuania can now benefit from non-bank business financing opportunities under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI). 10 million with […]
H2020: Secure, clean and efficient energy: Innovative financing for energy efficiency investments
This project aims to achieve innovative financing for energy efficiency investments (LC-SC3-EE-9-2018-2019) within the secure, clean and efficient energy sub-programme of the Horizon 2020 Programme. There is a need to set up innovative financing schemes at regional or national level in order to create the conditions for adequate supply of private finance for energy efficiency […]
Young farmers: €1 billion to facilitate access to finance
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched today a €1 billion loans package targeting specifically young farmers. In 2017, 27% of the loan applications submitted to banks by EU young farmers were rejected, compared to only 9% for other farms. The €1 billion package announced today by Commissioner for agriculture Phil Hogan […]
Antitrust: Commitments by Mastercard and Visa to cut inter-regional interchange fees
The European Commission has made commitments offered by Mastercard and Visa legally binding under EU antitrust rules. The companies will significantly reduce (on average by around 40%) their multilateral interchange fees for payments in the EEA with consumer cards issued elsewhere. When a consumer uses a debit or a credit card in a shop or […]
MEPs agree on future regional and cohesion funding
Parliament adopted last Wednesday new funding rules to strengthen the EU’s economic, social and territorial cohesion, with 475 votes to 93 and 53 abstentions. The updated rules, which will apply from 2021 to 2027 to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF), will cover all regions, with special focus on less […]
European Parliament confirms that the 2017 EU budget was well-managed
The European Parliament today gave its final approval, known as ‘discharge’, to the way in which the European Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, managed and implemented the EU budget in 2017. The positive vote follows from the European Court of Auditors’ decision to give the EU annual accounts a clean bill of health for […]
External action: more funds for human rights, development and climate change
EU external action funding should support development, climate and environmental goals, and promote democracy, rule of law and human rights, say MEPs. Last week, the Foreign Affairs and Development committees adopted their joint position on the proposed Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). The new financial instrument would, once agreed by both Parliament and EU […]
EU Budget for 2021-2027: provisional agreement reached on the financial programme to support justice area
Yesterday, the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the 2021-2027 Justice programme proposed by the European Commission in May 2018. This new programme will support developing an integrated European justice area based on the rule of law, mutual recognition and mutual trust. The Justice programme with a budget of € […]