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The People behind the Projects - Interview with Richard Weber - NIF
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Blending loans and grants to finance investments for the Neighbourhood
The Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) is an innovative financial instrument of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), whose primary objective is to kick-start key infrastructure projects that require considerable financial resources, as well as to support private sector development in the neighbourhood region.
The leverage effect of NIF contributions is high: in 2009, €99.7 million of NIF grants generated a total contribution from European Finance Institutions of approximately €2.5 billion – in other words almost €25 for each euro provided by the NIF – and the total cost of the investments concerned reached over € 5 billion. The projects chosen – from water treatment to hospitals – “have a direct impact on the life of the people,” explains Richard Weber, Deputy Director-General of EuropeAid in an interview with the ENPI Info Centre.
The leverage effect of NIF contributions is high: in 2009, €99.7 million of NIF grants generated a total contribution from European Finance Institutions of approximately €2.5 billion – in other words almost €25 for each euro provided by the NIF – and the total cost of the investments concerned reached over € 5 billion. The projects chosen – from water treatment to hospitals – “have a direct impact on the life of the people,” explains Richard Weber, Deputy Director-General of EuropeAid in an interview with the ENPI Info Centre.
