The European Council meeting on 19 and 20 December welcomed the impact of the EIB capital increase, which enabled the Bank to step up EU lending by 38% to EUR 62bn this year. The council also welcomed the EIB’s new EUR 4bn mandate to the EIF as part of a policy to develop SME finance tools for the European Union over the coming months.
The meeting, attended by EIB President Werner Hoyer, hailed the adoption of the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework and reiterated the importance of the Youth Employment Initiative as a key objective of the EU strategy to foster growth, competitiveness and jobs.
The conclusions arising from the final meeting of 2013 can be downloaded here.