On 19 February 2020 EIB President Werner Hoyer and Vice-President Dario Scannapieco met with Italian government leaders to broaden the scope of the EIB Group’s activities in the country. In a meeting in Rome with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy Roberto Gualtieri, the Bank confirmed it will enhance cooperation on investments in the country thanks to a new Memorandum of Understanding with InvestItalia, the country’s government task force created in 2019 to boost both public and private investments.
Italy – the EIB’s main partner within the EU in 2019
In the last ten years, the Bank has invested €100 billion in Italy, supporting €277 billion in investments, over 300 000 small and medium businesses and 6.5 million jobs.
“Italy is a key member of the EU Bank,” stated President Hoyer. “Initiatives like InvestItalia are crucially important because they provide the framework and tools we need to make sure public and private investments increase not only in volume but also in quality, going where they are most needed.”
Various areas for enhanced collaboration
Under the new Memorandum of Understanding, Italy will benefit from the Bank’s expertise in infrastructure projects, its ability to create platforms that sustain the economy and its technical assistance, including the economic evaluation of projects and budget plan definition. Specific areas for cooperation include:
- industrial research and development, support to SMEs, digital and innovative infrastructure, sustainable urban development and requalification, transport development;
- support to, creation and development of the equity capital market, loans and guarantees for innovation, corporate growth and technology transfer from universities and research centres;
- fight against climate change, environmental action, valorisation and optimal use of natural resources, energy efficiency of industrial production, and private and public constructions.
