The European Investment Bank (EIB) has opened an office in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava. 

The Vice-President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic was in attendance for the event among other high profile individuals from Brussels.

Sefcovic said that the presence of the EIB in Slovakia will give the bank market accessibility.

The European Investment Bank’s President, Werner Hoyer said that the bank will be able to give support and to develop closer cooperation with Slovak banks and investors, to the benefit of the Slovakian people.

During the ceremony, €350 million was loaned for priority projects that have already been cleared by the EU Structural Fund program 2014-2020. Three similar loans to the value of nearly €2 billion have been given to Slovakia since 2004. The total value of loans the EIB have given to Slovakia since 1993 is €6.6 billion.

The EIB stakeholders consist of European Union member states. It currently has offices in 20 members states and 19 countries outside the European Union.

Established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome, the EIB’s function is to provide financing for long term structural and economic projects, with a vision of European integration and social cohesion.