The European Investment Bank is providing €12.5 million to the Lithuanian Public Investment Development Agency, VIPA.
The agreement is backed by the Juncker Plan’s European Fund for Strategic Investments.
VIPA will use the financing to create the first national investment platform dedicated to promote and finance energy efficiency projects across Lithuania.
The investments will focus on the installation of solar panels on private homes, the renovation of multi-apartment buildings and the implementation of efficient lighting, and will help beneficiaries to cut CO2 emissions and lower their energy bills.
Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “It is vital that we bring our homes and businesses into the 21st century when it comes to their carbon footprint.”
He added, “I am very pleased that the Juncker Plan is supporting Lithuania’s first energy efficiency investment platform. Not only will the projects financed by this platform help Lithuania meet its sustainability objectives, but consumers will see a drop in their energy bills.”
Meanwhile, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on the implementation of the finalised Basel III standards in the EU.
It says these internationally agreed standards for banks aim to continue improving the solidity, stability and resilience of the banking sector.
The consultation will help the EU to ensure that the specificities of the European banking sector are fully taken into account and to ensure that banks are able to perform their role of financing the economy and financing the green transition. The Basel III framework was developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the financial crisis.
The consultation aims to gather views from interested parties on specific topics such as credit risk, operational risk, market risk, credit valuation adjustment risk, securities financing transactions as well as in relation to the so-called output floor.
This consultation will also be the opportunity for the Commission services to welcome stakeholders’ views on other related subjects with a view to ensuring convergent and consistent supervisory practices across the Union and alleviating the administrative burden.
