President Calviño: Financing Europe's tomorrow

Good morning. 

Dear friends, distinguished leaders, colleagues, partners. 

It's a great pleasure to join you at the 20th GLOBSEC Forum in beautiful Prague, and I want to first thank our Czech hosts for their hospitality and their steadfast commitment to the European project. 

We are meeting at a defining moment for the world, and very especially for Europe. A seismic shift of the tectonic plates of the global order that has served us well for the past 80 years is taking place, and we're living it. 

Geopolitical tensions, technological competition, the urgent need for climate action, are converging and they are challenging us to rethink how we deliver security, prosperity and hope for future generations. 

And when everything everywhere, all at once, seems to be changing, there's one asset that gains value: confidence. 

In these turbulent times, Europe stands out as a beacon of stability. A beacon that reassures our citizens, our companies, our partners, and also creates opportunities. 

Our stability attracts talent, investment and innovation and that is why even amid this intense financial market volatility, European assets, stocks, bonds and our common currency are outperforming. 

Investors, innovators are choosing Europe, and we have just had a very good example. I was looking back on the last couple of weeks and seeing that the European Investment Bank, which I'm heading right now, has been extremely successful when we are approaching financial markets. Our latest €5 billion green bond issuance, just yesterday, was oversubscribed by 10 times with the record amount of €55.6 billion. I wanted to highlight this success in a time where words like climate seem to be actually revolutionary… I'll come to this in a moment. 

We need to navigate the troubled waters and seize the opportunities and all reports published by experts mentioned three key drivers for Europe's competitiveness and security: market integration, large scale investment and simplification. I would actually add a fourth one: solid international partnerships. And the EIB Group is in a unique position to contribute to all of them. 

First of all, we are in a unique position as a European Union financial institution, the financial arm of the European Union and at the same time, the biggest global multilateral development institution. 

Secondly, we are in a unique position because of our membership, because our shareholders are the 27 Member States. Neither more nor less, and there is a strong alignment of strategic priorities, political priorities with our shareholders. 

Thirdly, we have a very strong financial position with a close to €600 billion balance sheet, a very strong AAA that actually enables us to maintain and even increase our balance sheet without asking for additional capital contribution on the side of the Member States.  

And finally, the EIB Group— the  Bank and the Fund— have a unique position in catalysing private capital, which is of the essence to ensure the large scale investment which Europe needs at this point in time. Through venture capital investments, venture debt investments through co-investments with the private sector, the EIB is a key player in driving large scale investment and mobilising also the ecosystem of private venture capital investors in Europe. 

Let me give you some 4-5 examples of how the EIB can make a difference at this point in time. 

Security and defence, one of the top issues that has been discussed and will continue to be discussed here at the GLOBSEC summit. Since 2024, we have expanded our mandate— the scope of eligible investments that we can finance. Since the first day I joined the EIB Group, 1st of January 2024, it was absolutely clear to me we needed to step up our financial support to Europe’s security and defence capabilities in different areas. Large scale infrastructures, just for example, we are currently cooperating with the Lithuanian government in order to finance military barracks that will host, that will welcome a Bundeswehr brigade under NATO command, very close to the Belarusian border. Military mobility, military infrastructures, critical infrastructures. 

A second area where we are becoming increasingly active is industrial capacity from drone manufacturing to other inputs for the military and security area. 

Third area of activity— R&D, research and development. We're talking about space. We're talking about cybersecurity, drone manufacturing, again, innovative technologies. 

Fourthly, small and medium sized enterprises. We have just tripled our financing for a dedicated intermediated program so that European banks can provide liquidity—working capital— to small and medium sized companies in the supply chain of large European contractors. And this week we have signed the first deal with Deutsche Bank for a 500 million loan. I expect in the coming days to sign another, a second deal, with the French Banque Populaire Caisse D’Epargne, so that the ecosystem of companies which are active in the area of security and defence can have access to the necessary financing at this point in time. 

Finally, a fifth area where we are becoming increasingly active is supporting the ecosystem of dedicated investment funds that are providing capital to Europe's innovative startups in these areas.

On top of stepping up our support to security and defence, the EIB group is playing a key role in supporting Ukraine. Security and shared prosperity are mutually reinforcing. One is a condition for the other and vice versa. So by investing and supporting Ukraine, we are also supporting Europe's security and future prosperity.

Our commitment is very clear. From day one we have provided a more than €2.3 billion in support, in financing, for Ukraine and we have reached cruising speed in the deployment of financing and the implementation of projects on the ground.

Every second week there is an EIB finance project inaugurated in Ukraine and we are talking about vital infrastructure, we're talking about hospitals, schools, kindergartens, housing for displaced persons, municipal services, water supply, key energy infrastructures, transport infrastructures that are contributing to the economic resilience and the security of the country right now.

We have just signed a €2 billion guarantee with the European Commission at the beginning of the year, and we are implementing at a very good rhythm, building the basis for Ukraine's successful accession to the European Union family.

We have also launched an innovative product that is a pan-European export credit guarantee, that is already oversubscribed, to help European companies exporting to Ukraine. We have signed the first deal very recently with Denmark's export credit agency and it is the first of 13 different deals that we expect to sign with the national export credit agencies across EU members states.

It is in our interest to invest in Ukraine’s resilience and future prosperity, just as it is also to invest in the stability of our neighbourhood. And that is why we are also working very closely with the Western Balkans, with the South neighbours in the Mediterranean to make sure that we can contribute to stability around our borders.

The third area, I already mentioned: strengthening our global partnerships. Because faced with global challenges like security, climate change and in this troubled geopolitical environment, building strong partnerships around the world is also contributing to Europe's security and competitiveness from mobilising resources for vaccine production in Africa, to water infrastructures in Central Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, women's empowerment worldwide, we're trying to support strong economies and strong communities, strong societies that can also create a more favourable environment around the world, accompanying also the very important trade negotiations that are going on right now. 

A final couple of points I wanted to highlight. Also, key issues that are being discussed in this conference: innovation. I mentioned already how the Letta Report, the Draghi Report, are highlighting the need for market integration, large scale investment, simplification. As the EIB Group we are contributing in these areas by launching a new TechEU platform that we hope will mobilise up to €250 billion up to 2027. This is in fact the largest ever financing program to try to cover the whole cycle for companies— from idea to market— the whole innovation cycle— by providing a venture capital scale up debt, scale up capital, and also exit financing to ensure that ideas, technologies and companies that are born in the EU can also grow and thrive in the EU. I'm talking about investments in areas such as applied artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, clean tech— actually, we will be launching the first instruments in this area regarding clean tech— quantum computing, space health and biotechnologies, robotics, nanotechnology, energy grids and storage, critical raw materials, security and defence semiconductors. 

Actually, you know, and I don't know if you know it, I was very proud last time I was here in Czechia to actually announce and realise that we are supporting the country's unicorn, Rohlik. It's a company that we're very proud to support and I can also announce today that we will provide up to €20 million to a private credit fund called Orbit Growth Debt, which is also based here in in Prague, to bolster growth stage software and other technology companies in the Czech Republic, but also in Poland, Slovakia and in this whole region.

The EIB group is very strongly committed to supporting digitalisation, technological innovation and its essential that we have a pan-European approach. It's not only the large Member States, it's not only those Member States that have been leading these technologies. We need to ensure that there is a capacity in all Member States. Because talent is equally distributed, we have to make sure that opportunity also goes to each and every corner of our European Union.

A final point I wanted to highlight is reinforcing the international role of the euro. This is another opportunity that has been created by our current function and role as a beacon of stability. We, the EIB Group, is working very closely with the European Central Bank and with the European Commission and other parties to develop initiatives that can serve to build a stronger capital market union, a more integrated capital market union, and we can build on Europe's strengths as a trade and technology powerhouse and as a as a beacon of stability that is bringing also a strong interest on the side of international partners. I think the appeal of our current currency is illustrated by Bulgaria's upcoming adoption of the euro and we are also working with the ECB and the European Commission in the development of the digital euro. We really need to press ahead as these technological developments are taking place around us as we speak.

Let me conclude by summarising the key idea I shared with you at the beginning of my keynote speech. At the end of the day, when everything, everywhere all at once, seems to be changing, you can count on the European Union, you can count on the EIB, the financing arm of the EU: to stay the course, to turn challenges into opportunities, to build a more prosperous, more sustainable and also safer Europe. Because our unity is our strength and together, I am absolutely convinced that we will be able to successfully deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow. Following a clear compass — our European values.

To be frank with you, I think that today more than ever, we must be, we can be proud to be European. I am proud to be European and I'm really proud to be at the helm of the EIB. 

Thank you very much.