At its annual meeting on June 8 2010, the board of governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed to focus lending activity in 2010 on those projects that are likely to have greatest impact on economic recovery and jobs, the EIB said in a statement.

Larger EU corporations are experiencing an improvement in their access to capital markets and funding and are not expected to make as much use of EIB finance as they did in 2009, the EIB said.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to finance however remains difficult and will remain a priority for the EIB in 2010.

EIB Governors also encouraged the bank to continue its policy of meeting market gaps by increasing the ceiling for Special Activities, from 6.35 billion euro achieved in 2009 to eight billion euro. The overall lending target for 2010 was set at 66 billion euro.

"With a lending target of 66 billion euro, the EIB is on track to achieve the additional 50 billion euro economic support package it pledged to deliver in 2009 and 2010," EIB President Philippe Maystadt said.

The EIB said that it had already delivered more than 20 billion euro of the 30 billion euro in extra loans to small and medium sized companies that it agreed to provide over 2008-2011 within the context of the European Economic Recovery Plan.

Speaking to the board, Maystadt highlighted the EIB’s role in contributing to the post-Copenhagen climate action financing agenda, the statement said.

"Adoption of the Commission’s proposal for an extra two billion euro of EIB finance for climate action projects outside the EU would represent an important step towards meeting the Copenhagen commitments," he said.

"Establishing a platform that would allow the EIB, the (European) Commission, member states and other European financial institutions to combine grants with loans for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects is a proposal that we have put forward to make concrete progress in the fight against climate change."

The EIB board of governors is composed of the Finance ministers from the 27 EU member states, who agreed separately on June 8 on a general approach to the revision of the EIB’s external lending mandate, pending full agreement with the European Parliament.