Within the next three years, investment of some €40 billion (£31.5 billion) in the EU accession countries of central and eastern Europe is likely to be facilitated by €17 billion in loans from the European Investment Bank, its president said yesterday.

Mr Philippe Maystadt was reporting on the bank's annual meeting and the discussions of ministers for finance, its governors. Several ministers referred to the investments in the accession countries as the equivalent of a mini-Marshall Plan.

Mr Maystadt said the bank had lent a total of €31.8 billion last year, of which €27.8 billion represented investments in the member-states, mostly on infrastructure projects in cohesion countries.

He said a major re-orientation of internal priorities in the coming year following the Lisbon economic summit would see €12-€15 billion of the bank's lending in the next three years focused on five priority areas:

human capital formation; research and development;

information technology and networks;

diffusion of information;

and the strengthening of small and medium-sized businesses.