INTERVIEW WITHaEVA SREJBER, EIB VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF RESEARCH : "WE CONTINUE TO LEND MONEY TO VERY GOOD R&I PROJECTS".

• Position: Interview

In an interview with Europolitics Information Society, on 28 November 2008, Eva Srejber, the European Investment Bank's vice-president in charge of research and innovation, talked about the impact of the financial crisis, areas in which Europe lags behind and the EIB's prospects for the future.

What has been the impact of the financial crisis on EIB funding for the knowledge economy'?

First you have to understand that we support the knowledge economy' by funding both private and public projects within research, development and innovation and education. The background is that we want to contribute to keeping Europe competitive where we are at the technological frontier and helping us catch up in sectors where we are not. Normally, when you are in an economic downturn, private investment in research, development and innovation is slashed. So far, we have not seen that from our side and what we are trying to do is to keep private investment in research, development and innovation going by providing our cheap long-term loans. As concerns our specific lending window for sub-investment grade companies and research infrastructures, the so-called Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), there we have many projects in the pipeline and so far have not seen any negative effects.

Where do most of the applicants for the RSFF come from?

The RSFF started one and a half years ago. Until now, we have had applications mainly from sub-investment grade companies, many mid-caps with between 250 and 3,000 employees, which have research, development and innovation programmes. Since the start in mid-2007, we have had commitments to lend about 2 billion, which is a good sign of the need for this type of financing.

In which areas does Europe need to catch up?

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT). If you compare to for example the US and Japan, it is well known that Europe does not produce as much ICT. What is less well known maybe is that the big advantage of ICT comes through using it. The use of ICT in Europe in general is less advanced than in some countries, although of course there are huge differences between countries in Europe. For example, in the retail sector, ICT makes it easier for shops to keep track of stock and orders. That is very much used by large US retailers, but less so in the EU. The value of technology is when you put it to use in everyday life. There, Europe has to catch up.

What are the prospects for the future?

There are...