The facility provides support in finance for coronavirus testing capacity and vaccination campaigns, as well as medical and non-medical equipment for hospitals, BNS reports, and complements and existing €600-million for EU funds co-financing, signed before the pandemic began, in 2014.

Marten Ross, deputy secretary general for financial policy and external relations at the Ministry of Finance said of the development that: "Increasing the loan by €120 million will boost state liquidity, offering us better options for coping with unexpected expenditures arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in the health care and civil protection sectors."

Operational and capital expenditures aimed at strengthening the emergency response against COVID-19, plus raising Estonia's mid- and long-term pandemic preparedness in line with the national strategic framework will also result from the funds.

The EIB is co-owned by EU members states and provides long-term financing to investment projects in line with the union's policy goals. Over the past five years, the bank has loaned over a billion euros to both public and private sectors in Estonia.

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