- EIB Board approves €3.6 billion in financing for clean transport, energy and innovation, as well as upgrading water and sanitation in Africa.
- EIB Board also backed broader support for Europe’s automotive sector, which has received more than €11bn EIB financing in the past five years.
- EIF Board approved investment in deep tech venture capital fund and backing for war-affected companies in Ukraine.
The Boards of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), meeting this week, approved new financing to support economic prosperity and resilience, boost innovation and EU’s strategic autonomy in new technologies, and deepen global partnership.
"The EIB Group is responding to Europe’s priorities in the current volatile international context, providing financing for projects to boost security, technological innovation, critical infrastructures, and the deepening our international partnerships” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “We also affirmed our commitment to support Europe’s manufacturing champions in the automotive industry. The automotive sector is the second largest focus of the EIB Group after energy, where the EIB Group has committed more than €11.5 billion over the past five years.”
The EIB Board approved a total of €3.6 billion of new projects for water and energy infrastructure, housing and clean transport.
The EIF’s Board approved transactions totalling €2.2 billion, including four operations under the EU4Business Guarantee Facility to facilitate access to finance for war-affected enterprises in Ukraine.
Backing the automotive sector
The EIB Board of Directors discussed ways to further step-up support for Europe’s automotive industry, with a focus on innovation and investment in future technologies. The EIB Group has provided more than €11.5 billion euros to support the sector over the past five years, with financing covering the entire supply chain and key infrastructures – from battery and components manufacturing to electric vehicle charging stations.
Transport, energy, water and housing
New financing approved by the EIB includes more than €1 billion for low-emission transport in northern Europe, urban mobility in Germany, climate-resilience in Poland and upgrading 350 kilometres of the main transport route in Malawi.
Large-scale energy and water investment totalling €1.4 billion was also agreed, including research and development of heat pumps in Poland and Belgium, improvements to water and sanitation in Latvia and Guinea and an expansion of electricity distribution in Brazil.
Financing to enable construction of more than 700 affordable homes in Czechia was also approved.
Fresh EIB financing of €1.1 billion for company investments agreed today includes small-business financing programmes in Spain and Greece and venture-debt financing for 3D software, digital health and disease-resistant and drought-resistant agriculture.
Venture capital support for deep-tech and cybersecurity
Among the greenlighted EIF equity investments were participations in a pan-European venture capital fund seeking to scale up deep technology investments – including cybersecurity - with resources under the European Tech Champions Initiative, and a venture capital fund supporting early-stage tech companies in emerging European venture capital markets.
The EIF Board also endorsed two new mandates, which will respectively foster the Polish venture capital market and early-stage technology transfer and deep tech investments in Spain.
Background information
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.
Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB's financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.
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