(MENAFN- Trend News Agency )
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.18
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission signed an agreement that will make it possible to combine EU grants and long-term EIB financing for alternative fuels infrastructure projects, Trend reports with reference to the European Commission.
The agreement comes under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) and is part of the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) transport programme. It will make over €1.5 billion in EU grants available by the end of 2023 for alternative fuels infrastructure, including electric fast-charging and hydrogen refuelling stations on the TEN-T road network. In addition to the EIB, other private and public banks can also benefit from the facility.
The European Commission will manage the grant component directly and exclusively .The EIB will not be involved in the Commission's management or decision-making processes.
Proposals will be evaluated by the Commission/CINEA. Applicants will receive the evaluation results no later than six months after the submission deadline, and grant agreements will be signed within nine months.
While eligibility for the grant will be decided by the Commission, the Bank will apply its own eligibility criteria and due diligence process when approving co-financing under the AFIF, as is currently the case for any other alternative fuels operation. AFIF operations will be given the same priority as other Bank operations. AFIF grants will only be available for projects for which EIB financing has been approved and the grant agreements will only be signed after the signature of the associated EIB financing contracts.
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