At a meeting in Paris the Administrative Council of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) approved eleven loans worth almost € 1.1 billion, including:

Georgia: a € 5 million loan to JSC Credo Bank to finance the productive investments of small businesses throughout the country. The aim is to encourage the development of micro-enterprises and support income-generating activities and self-employment in a country where the unemployment rate is considerably higher than the EU average.

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 (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AA+ with Standard & Poor's, outlook positive and AA+ with Fitch Ratings, 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.