The EIB was represented yesterday by Dario Scannapieco, Vice President responsible for operations in the Western Balkans; the Republic of Serbia by the Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, the Minister of Economy and Regional Development  Nebojsa Ciric and by the Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Dejan Soskic. In the discussion prior to the signature ceremony, Vice President Scannapieco covered with the Serbian Ministers and the Governor all the main issues concerning the EIB activity in Serbia aimed at helping the country on its path towards the European Union integration.

This new generation of Fiat minivan is set to replace the Idea and Multipla (the latter model discontinued last year). Designed in-house at Fiat Centro Stile, the new model will come to the market in two formats - a five-seater and long-wheelbase seven-seater, and is said to be spun off the 'Small' architecture which debuted on the Grande Punto, although its design language is supposedly influenced by the smaller and iconic 500. It is also set to be sold in North American markets.

In a statement the EIB explained the use of the 500 million euro loan: "The project concerns the investments for the modernisation and expansion of production capacity of an automotive plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, which is owned by Fiat Auto Serbia, a joint venture between Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. and the Republic of Serbia. The financing is expected to have significant multiplying effects on the local economy and employment. Moreover the operation contributes to develop the localization of suppliers that decided to set up their production in the region. The project’s scope concerns the production of a new multi-purpose vehicle and is fully in line with the EIB’s lending policy to the transport sector according to European Commission guidelines. The loan will also benefit from a euro 200 million guarantee of SACE (the Italian export credit agency, owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy)."