Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have reached an agreement on the sources of funding for the EUR 100 million (USD 139 million) ‘European Progress Microfinance Facility’. Under the agreement, EUR 40 million (USD 55.1 million) will come from unallocated margins in the European Union (EU) budget and EUR 60 million (USD 82.6 million) will come from the PROGRESS program, an EU program for employment and social solidarity with a total budget of EUR 743.25 million (USD 1.02 billion). The European Parliament and European Council have agreed to release EUR 25 million (USD 34.4 million) from the EU’s 2010 budget in order to jump start the facility’s operations.

The facility will make loans of up to EUR 25,000 available to micro-enterprises and entrepreneurs in the EU who do not have access to traditional banking services.

By: Stefanie Rubin, Research Assistant

Additional Resources:

Source Article: Euroalert.net: “Deal Agreed on Sources of Funding for Micro-finance Facility,” http://euroalert.net/en/news.aspx?idn=9569

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Commission Works on Plan to Provide $139m in Microloans to Unemployed Youth: http://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-european-commission-works-on-plan-to-provide-139m-in-microloans-to-unemployed-youth/

Euroalert.net: “Easier Credit to Help Unemployed People Start up Businesses,” http://euroalert.net/en/news.aspx?idn=9400

European Commission: PROGRESS Programme: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=327