The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the bank of the European Union and one of the largest providers of finance for climate action in the world. Since our establishment in 1958, the EIB has invested over a trillion euros in projects in Europe and countries worldwide.
This timeline covers influential events that shaped the EIB from 1958 through the present.
January 1958
Establishment of the European Investment Bank. Founded in 1958 by the Treaty of Rome, the EIB was first located in Brussels (Belgium).
February 1958
Appointment of the members of the first management committee; start of Pietro Campilli’s term of office as President.
April 1959
First EIB loan. The final beneficiaries of this transaction, carried out jointly with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, were three Italian companies: Sincat and Celene (to build a large petrochemical complex in Sicily), and Mercure (to exploit a seam of lignite in Lucania to produce electricity).
June 1959
Start of the presidency of Paride Formentini.
March 1961
Launch of first EIB borrowing operation.
January 1962
Authorisation to finance projects outside the European Community. This marked the beginning of the extension of EIB’s activities around the globe to support emerging and developing economies also in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
January 1968
Installation of the bank in Luxembourg. The first Luxembourgish headquarters were established in the Place de Metz.
November 1968
Inauguration of the first external office in Rome, in addition to the existing office in Brussels.
September 1970
Start of the presidency of Yves Le Portz.
January 1973
New Member States join EC: Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom.
September 1973
Issue of the first borrowing operation in eurco, a new borrowing unit. According to the bank, “the eurco provides investors with a new instrument for investing their savings that spreads their risk between all the currencies of the EEC according to an appropriate weighting, which should thereby offer greater stability in the value of their investments.”
August 1980
Move to the new Kirchberg building, currently known as the West building. The Kirchberg building’s first phase (1974-80) was designed by British architect Sir Denys Lasdun and is one of his few works outside the UK.
January 1981
Greece joins the EIB.
June 1981
First borrowing operation in ECU. This cartoon by Plantu, from March 1979, published in Le Monde, refers to the launch of the ECU, a ship created to sail on the stormy seas of the international monetary system.
August 1984
Start of the presidency of Ernst-Günther Bröder.
May 1990
Participation as a founding member of the EBRD. Partnering with others is an important feature of the Bank’s operations. After the fall of the Berlin wall, the EIB quickly began providing financing to the Eastern European countries.
January 1991
Authorisation for operations in South Africa. 10 years later, the EIB office for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean was inaugurated in Pretoria.
February 1993
Extension of the bank's activities to Latin American and Asian countries.
April 1993
Start of the presidency of Sir Brian Unwin.
June 1994
Establishment of the European Investment Fund. The logo adopted by the EIF in 1994 depicts a bridge symbolising the link between public and private financing.
November 1994
Authorisation for operations in Gaza and the West Bank. A 250-bedroom international-class hotel was co-financed by the EIB in Bethlehem in 1998, the first facility in this category in Palestine.
February 1997
First borrowing operation in euros. This first transaction took place over a year before the new European currency was launched on 1 January 1999. The lead managers of the issuing syndicate were the Caisse des dépôts et consignations, Paribas and Warburg.
January 1998
Launch of the pre-accession facility for countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus.
February 1999
The EIB adopts new logo, intended to embody the idea that the Bank is investing in Europe's future, nurturing the European Union's objectives. It also aims to emphasise the idea of partnership, which underpins our activities.
January 2000
Start of the presidency of Philippe Maystadt.
June 2000
Creation of the EIB Group. The European Investment Bank (EIB) becomes majority shareholder of the European Investment Fund (EIF). The EIF becomes EIB Group’s specialist arm for providing risk capital.
June 2001
European Council of Gothenburg: the EIB is asked to promote the sustainable development strategy. Since 2002, the EIB and the European Commission are coordinating their efforts in this field.
June 2003
Launch of the investment facility of the Cotonou Agreement. The EIB’s activity in the Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) is increasingly targeted at reducing poverty and stimulating sustainable growth, in particular through the development of the private sector.
December 2004
EU mandate for operations in Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
July 2007
The EIB issued the first Climate Awareness Bonds on the capital markets, the world’s first Green Bonds. The funds raised are earmarked to match disbursements to EIB lending projects in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
June 2008
Inauguration of the EIB’s new building, known as the East building. The transparency of the new glasshouse complements the low, cruciform West building.
September 2010
Adoption of EIB’s Environmental and Social Handbook, setting the guidelines to include environmental concerns and human well-being in our projects. The promotion of sustainable development underpins our lending strategy.
January 2012
Start of the presidency of Werner Hoyer.
July 2013
Croatia joins the EIB.
November 2014
Launch of the European Fund for Strategic Investments by the European Commission and the EIB. Part of the Investment Plan for Europe, it initially aimed to mobilise €315 billion and was then extended to €500 billion by 2020. Over the years, thousands of projects benefitted from its financing, making Europe more modern, social and green.
June 2016
The European Council welcomes the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative, a new initiative to support regions outside of Europe that are significantly affected by the refugee crisis through investments in favour of growth, jobs, vital infrastructure and social cohesion.
November 2019
The EIB Group adopts the Climate Bank Roadmap, its ambitious plan for the future of the planet. The roadmap outlines our bold ambitions for climate finance to back the European Green Deal and make Europe carbon-neutral. The EIB also revises its Energy Lending Policy, becoming the first international finance institution to end financing for fossil fuel projects and to focus its support on projects that are fully aligned with the Paris Agreement.
January 2020
The United Kingdom officially departs from the European Union, consequently ending its membership of the European Investment Bank.
March 2020
As the world struggles with COVID-19, Europe is both heavily affected by the pandemic and at the forefront of combatting it. The EIB Group is instrumental in dealing with its impact, while reassuring a green and inclusive recovery.
January 2022
EIB Global is founded. This new branch brings all EIB resources to bear on its operations outside the European Union with a structure designed to foster strong, focused partnerships with Team Europe.
February 2022
Russia invades Ukraine. The EIB Group strongly condemns the unjustified attack, expressing its solidarity with the people of Ukraine. In just one month, we disbursed €668 million for immediate assistance to Ukrainian authorities. Learn more about how we stand with Ukraine and its neighbouring EU countries.
February 2023
The European Investment Bank unveils its new logo. The new logo embodies our role as the EU bank. The flag highlights the Bank's status as a member of the EU family. The distinctive shape of the Bank's main building represents the uniqueness of our role.
January 2024
Start of the presidency of Nadia Calviño.