Name: EIB Group Forum 2024
Start: 2024-02-7 08:00
End: 2024-02-8 06:00

The second edition of the EIB Group Forum took place in Luxembourg with senior policymakers, business leaders, academics, and civil society representatives. Over the two days, keynote speakers and panellists shared insights about the growth outlook for the European economy, against the backdrop of war, inflation, and tight financial conditions, which have added to chronic structural challenges such as an ageing population. Participants heared proposals about how to leverage investment into green and digital technologies to foster innovation and productivity gains, amid a severe shortage of skills.

The Forum presented our annual Investment Report, which offers an in-depth examination of the challenges in delivering sustainable competitiveness and which provides key input for answering those questions.

Watch a recap of the EIB Group Forum

EIB Forum plots EU path for clean energy and economic autonomy

Over two days, panellists and speakers at the second EIB Group Forum laid out potential solutions to a series of challenges facing Europe, from climate change to the need for secure supplies of critical resources. Across a range of issues, experts echoed the importance of a coordinated European position.

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Daily sessions

Find below all the recordings of our panel sessions and keynote interventions:

7 February

11:00-11:30 CET - Official opening
Official opening of the 2024 EIB Group forum with Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank, Luc Frieden, Prime Minister, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Charles Michel, President of the European Council
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Read President Calviño's speech
Read the press release
11:30-12:45 CET - Panel 1: A European policy agenda for unavoidable challenges
As we approach the European Parliament elections, several key policy dossiers remain open: the Green Deal, the banking and capital markets unions, migration and enlargement. The next EU Parliament and European Commission will need to address these challenges and seize the opportunities they present.
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13:45-14:00 CET - Keynote speech by Nadia Calviño
Keynote speech by Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank.
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President Calviño's keynote speech
14:00-15:15 CET - Panel 2: Boosting Europe’s competitiveness and building a just, green, and resilient future
Cohesion policy after 2027 faces an arduous task. This panel debate reflected on the future of cohesion policy and discussed current challenges, the implications of the persistent climate crisis and recent shocks, as well as the tools needed to enhance Europe’s competitiveness and build a just and resilient growth model for our regions and cities.
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15:15-15:30 CET - Keynote: Strengthening EU competitiveness and resilience, the central role of investment
Keynote speech by Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People Commissioner for Trade, European Commission.
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16:00-17:15 CET - Panel 3: Energy Security as a common challenge
Energy access, security, and affordability play a critical role in economic growth and development. This panel explored the emerging paradigm and consensus on sustainable energy-mix models and supply chains, and innovative ways to accelerate the path towards a green sustainable transition.
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17:15-17:25 CET - Keynote speech: Europe 3.0 – Modernise to thrive
Keynote speech by Bertrand Piccard - Initiator, Pilot and Chairman, Solar Impulse Foundation.
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17:25-18:45 CET - Panel 4: Competitiveness and innovation in European manufacturing
The EU has recently launched different initiatives to foster the EU’s competitiveness and capacity to innovate and accelerate the deployment of new technologies. This panel exchanged views on how to reposition the EU in the global technological race and discussed the needs of a strong single market, skills and investment.
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8 February

09:00-09:15 CET - Opening key note speech
Keynote speech by Jordan Schwartz, Executive Vice President, Inter-American development Bank
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09:15-10:30 CET - Panel 5: Global economic relations at a time of geopolitical dislocation
Globalisation and the financial architecture that underpins it are faced with an increasingly vocal backlash. But challengers of the institutional order have yet to put forward a coherent alternative. This panel explored the global economic relations at a time of geopolitical dislocation.
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10:30-10:45 CET - Keynote by Maroš Šefčovič
Keynote by Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President at the European Commission
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Read Vice-President Šefčovič's speech
11:15-11:30 CET - Launch of the EIB Investment Report 2023/2024
The EIB launched its Investment Report 2023/2024 with Debora Revoltella, Chief Economist at the European Investment Bank.
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11:30-12:00 CET - Fireside chat: Checking the pulse of the green transition
As we head to the EU elections, European politics is increasingly dominated by bitter debates over how to share the burden of climate change mitigation and adaptation, both within countries and between countries. This fireside chat discussed the opportunities and costs associated with the transition, as well as lingering questions about the distributional impact of global warming and the policy choices to address it.
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12:00-13:30 CET - Panel 6: The Road to Enlargement
Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked EU thinking towards enlargement. Discussions on how the EU can adapt to the accession of Ukraine and other candidate countries is gathering pace and there is now widespread support for welcoming new member states. This session looked into the role finance institutions can play jointly in accompanying accession countries on their path to EU integration and building on the experience in the Western Balkans.
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12:00-13:30 CET - Panel 7: How will technology shape the EU financial sector going forward?
Digitalisation drives firms’ resilience to economic disruption, and it has helped European firms adjust at a time of repeated shocks. Firms’ digitalisation depends on many factors, such as an adequate digital infrastructure and competition-friendly regulation, trade with firms in innovative sectors, or availability of funding to enable the most hard-hit – and smallest – actors of the economy improve digital skills and scale-up.
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13:35-13:45 CET - A conversation with Márton Nagy and Mikolaj Dowgielewicz
A conversation with Márton Nagy, Minister for National Economy, Hungary and Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, Deputy Secretary General, European Investment Bank
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EIB Investment Report 2023/2024

The European economy is under pressure. This report, which is based on the EIB Group’s annual Investment Survey, provides insights on how EU firms are dealing with this pressure, and whether they are taking the necessary steps to transform their businesses.

Explore the report