It has been a very intense week at the European institutions due to the hearings of the new Commissioners and of course the US elections.
At the ECOFIN council, we discussed the excellent progress in mobilising investment through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and support to Ukraine.
We had a good exchange with the European Parliament’s Budget Committee on the role of the EIB Group to leverage the EU budget and our proposals to simplify and maximise the impact of EU financing on the ground.
The president of the European Investment Bank Group, Nadia Calviño, also resumed her tour of EU capitals.
In Slovenia, she met with President Musar, as well as the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on strengthening social infrastructure and innovation in the country.
And in Croatia, she exchanged with the Minister of Finance on deepening our cooperation for Climate, Cohesion, and Competitiveness.
This was also Board week. We are stepping up support to Europe’s farmers, key for food security, and at the forefront of climate change, with a €3 billion euro programme for agriculture - our largest ever.
Overall, around 11 billion euros of new investments were agreed by the Boards of the EIB and the European Investment Fund and new measures also to strengthen support for small businesses in Ukraine.
As we did for countries in Central Europe affected by the floods some weeks ago, we are working on an immediate support package to Spain, accelerating 900 million euros for investments in repair and reconstruction, helping communities build back better to be better protected from future climate shocks.
Elsewhere, we announced new green and digital projects in Czechia, the Netherlands and Poland.
Watch President Calviño's previous One week, one minute recaps.