As part of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), the EEA-EFTA States Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, together with the former EFTA States, Austria, Finland and Sweden, established the Financial Mechanism with the objective of reducing economic and social disparities between the regions of the EEA. Interest rebates of 2 percentage points per year for a total amount of 1.5 billion euros on EIB European Investment Bank) loans and 500 million in grants were made available for projects in Greece, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Portugal and ten regions in Spain. Priority was given to projects within sectors of the environment, transport and education and training. The Financial Mechanism entered into force o­n 1 January 1994 and remained open for commitments until 31 December 1998

Pre-allocations of Beneficiary States in euros:

Grants:By the end of the commitment period, the Financial Mechanism Committee had approved grant applications for a total 492.8 million euros (56 grant commitments), corresponding to 98.6 % of the total grant facility of 500 million euros. Of the total grants committed by 31 December 1998, 61% went to environmental projects, 22% to education and training projects and 17% to the transport sector.

Interest Rebates:By the end of the commitment period, the Financial Mechanism Committee had approved 37 interest rebate applications for a total loan portfolio of 1.5 billion euros of EIB loans. This corresponds to 100% of the total EIB loan portfolio for which the interest rebate facility had been made available.

Present status:The tables found by following the link below give a short description of the various grant financed projects and their present status. Financial Mechanism (1994-1998) Status report (updated 17 January 2006).