CEB to support its members in response to COVID-19 outbreak

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is fully committed to providing flexible and timely financing to its member countries in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In the current, rapidly-evolving health emergency, the CEB is in constant contact with those of its member countries which have been severely impacted by the ongoing pandemic, with a view to identifying specific needs and taking appropriate measures.

Specifically, in response to the challenges posed to Europe’s public health systems, the Bank has adapted its Public Finance Facility (PFF), a financing instrument aimed at national and sub-national public sector partners, to cover: the acquisition, under emergency procedures, of medical equipment and consumable material; the rehabilitation and transformation of spaces, medical units; and the mobilisation of additional expertise.

In an effort to mitigate the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the CEB is also engaging with national promotional banks in order to continue supporting MSMEs and municipal companies, with a focus on the preservation of jobs and on enabling ongoing municipal investments. This type of financing comes in the form of programme loans, further adapted to the specific working capital and treasury needs of CEB partners.

In order to provide an efficient response to such needs, specific requests for financing will be dealt with by CEB services in a prompt and timely manner.

CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel said: “As a social development bank with decades of experience in financing public health sector improvements and in supporting small businesses throughout its member countries, the CEB is taking all necessary steps to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bank has reviewed and adjusted its financing instruments and is prepared to scale up its financing as needed and in coordination with action undertaken by the European Commission, other international organisations, and partner IFIs.”



Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook positive, AAA with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.