Although there was renewed interest in European aid to Lebanon following the Paris III donor conference last January, it is worth remembering that there is a strong tradition in European funded local projects, whether they be under the umbrella of the European neighborhood policy — which currently applies to Europe’s 16 immediate neighbors, with the exception of Russia — or as envisioned by the Barcelona Process, which aspires to deepen relations between the European Union and its southern neighbors with bilateral agreements, leading ultimately to the promotion of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade agreement in 2010. “The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) operations in the Mediterranean partner countries have in fact been brought together under the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) since October 2002,” explained EIB spokesperson Orlando Arango. Active in Lebanon since 1978, the EIB has invested a total of 800 million euros, especially to reconstruction, water and sanitation
