On the occasion of the Eastern Partnership Summit held in Warsaw on September 29–30, 2011, the Republic of Poland has announced it would participate in the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) with a EUR 1 million contribution.

At the Eastern Partnership Summit, European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Wilhem Molterer, responsible for lending coordination in the Eastern Partnership countries, commented: “In times of economic hardship, we are particularly grateful for Poland’s initiative: establishing closer political association and building deeper economic integration between the EU and the Eastern Partnership region is indeed our shared priority. This contribution will directly contribute to funding critically needed projects”.

In the Eastern Partnership countries, the EIB supports the EU Neighborhood Policy by financing projects of significant interest to the EU.

Under the current mandate, the EIB can lend up to EUR 3.7 billion to projects in Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Russia during the 2007–2013 period. In this context, the EIB is prepared to consider supporting sound projects in the areas of transport, energy, telecommunications and environmental infrastructure. In addition, in Eastern Partnership countries.

To complement the mandate, EIB has set up the Eastern Partners Facility (EPF) at its own risk for an amount of EUR 1.5 billion, with a EUR 500 million ceiling for projects in Russia

The EPTATF is the trust fund launched by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in December 2010. It focuses on increasing the quality and development impact of Eastern Partnership operations by making available much-needed technical assistance.