President Calviño at the XXIII CEDE Congress

Bos días, dear Mayor Rey, President Formoso, Isidro Fainé, José María Méndez, Rosa María Carabel, friends and colleagues.

Yes, bos días to you. As you can surely imagine, I am very happy, and touched, to be able to be here today, in my hometown, my home, where everybody knows your name, as they say. And to be able to share some reflections with you on matters critical for Galicia, Spain and Europe, now and in the future.

A year ago, when my dear friend Isidro Fainé asked me, “Where should we hold next year's congress?” I said, without hesitation, “In Coruña.” Not just because it's my hometown, and not just because it has a mayor who clearly has so much energy, such commitment to private enterprise and economic activity – and who immediately said, “Of course, let's do it, it'll be great.” But also because the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence – the first of its kind in Europe – is headquartered here, and because of its vibrant ecosystem of research centres and large and small companies with a very important role to play in the future of artificial intelligence.

At that time, of course, I didn't know I was going to take part in the congress – as I have every year since 2018 – as president of the European Investment Bank. But now, almost a year since taking up that post, and being here with you, my trusted colleagues, I would like to share some of my thoughts on the broader geopolitical context in which this whole debate around the present and future of artificial intelligence is taking place.

As we saw in the opening video, we are witnessing a profound shift in the global order that has shaped Spain and the world over the past 80 years. That global order was based on a network of multilateral institutions led by the major Western economies. They were tasked with maintaining financial stability, promoting ever more open and rules-based world trade, protecting dollar hegemony and fuelling the market economy as a system integral to liberal democracy.

Europe has benefited richly from the peace dividend stemming from this global order. But now, all this is being called into question. The rise of new powers is causing extreme tension and fragmentation in international markets. Some are questioning the governance of multilateral organisations. New strategic alliances are forming, and new monetary and payment systems are becoming established. All this is making investors nervous, and society uneasy.

What's more, these geopolitical changes are happening alongside a true technological revolution in two domains. On the one hand: the reform of energy and industry, which we have already spoken about here, and which is a response to climate change. On the other: the explosion of artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies in the digital sphere – something with which many of you here today are intimately familiar.

Europe is at a crossroads, and the choices we make now will determine our voice in the new global order, the competitiveness of European industry, and our very ability to ensure the security and prosperity of future generations. Consumers and businesses are well aware of these challenges.

A recent survey by the European Investment Bank has revealed Spain as the country with the highest percentage of people who believe climate action is a political priority: 95% of respondents. And this survey was conducted before the recent catastrophic flooding across much of our country. Six out of ten EU companies are investing in climate action, and seven out of ten are investing to digitalise processes and incorporate new technologies into their operations. If we are to surmount these challenges, I think that we can all agree that huge investment volumes will have to be mobilised from both the public and private sectors.

With its AAA rating and enormous €600 billion balance sheet, the European Investment Bank – which, as has already been mentioned, is the public sector bank for the 27 EU Member States – is being called upon to play a key role in mobilising that investment. To support European industry and SMEs, and to amplify the voice of Europe across the world. As the climate bank, more than half of our operations target climate action, adaptation and mitigation. But thinking about future generations and investing in the green transition isn't just the right thing to do – it is also a worthwhile investment in the here and now. Each euro invested in climate resilience saves between five and seven euros from being lost to damage or spent on repairs. To make no mention of the losses that can never be made up for, like the tragic loss of human life.

The recent flooding across much of our country is a clear illustration of why we need to invest in prevention and resilience. The EIB got to work quickly. We have already announced that we will be repurposing projects and becoming more agile in making planned disbursements totalling up to €900 million for the areas impacted by the recent extreme weather. And in the coming weeks, we will start channelling around €400 million more through financial institutions to support SMEs and mid-caps affected by the recent floods.

Our common goal must be to rebuild infrastructure and, above all, adapt to climate change. We must build back better – bringing in new, more efficient technologies and generating cheaper and cleaner energy. The good news is that there is no stopping the technological revolution. As the political debate rages on, a new phase of the green transition has arrived.

It was clear at the recent COP conference in Baku. We are entering a new chapter in which the climate transition is increasingly driven by new technologies. That is why it is essential that Europe continue to lead in clean technologies that allow us to decouple economic growth and prosperity from the emission of CO₂ and other polluting gases. This will doubtless be among the priorities of the new European Commission, which starts work this week: providing the right legal framework and mobilising the investment needed to unite climate action with competitiveness.

To do this, we need clear, simple regulation that is aligned with the reality on the ground. Regulation that supports the competitiveness of European industry, as Rosa María Carabel so aptly expressed just a moment ago. And for that, we need investment. That is why, once again, the EIB is at the heart of the discussion. It is a key player in mobilising public and private sector investment and financing major transport and energy infrastructure, and the most innovative and high-risk projects, helping to adapt the entire economy. This is especially true for industry, for agriculture, and for transport. From high-speed rail, to the electricity links between France, Spain and Portugal, to the innovative Salto de Chira hydroelectric power plant in Gran Canaria, to energy efficiency for the CHUAC hospital complex here in A Coruña, to the waste-to-energy project to produce biomethane from agricultural waste signed with Nortegas this very day. There are so many seminal projects in Spain financed by the European Investment Bank.

In fact, I don't think it's going too far to say that the EIB is consolidating Spain's position as the country of renewables. In tandem with the green transition, Europe must scale up investment in new digital technologies. Doing this means using two of the levers noted in the recent Letta and Draghi reports.

Both reports are clear about which two fundamental levers will enable Europe to keep its leading position in technology and its authoritative voice in the emerging global order. The first is completing the internal market by integrating those markets still separated by national borders, like energy and telecommunications. I am sure it will be spoken about today. The second is scaling up capital markets to channel savings into productive investments in order to finance the growth of European businesses.

The facts are well known. Europe has heaps of talent, renowned universities and research centres and innovative startups, but market fragmentation and a shortage of capital stops them from growing. When businesses reach the €500 million financing wall, they have to leave the European Union and go elsewhere to receive finance or be acquired by foreign investment funds. And we all know clear examples of this. 58 of the unicorns that emerged in the United States in 2022 had been started in Europe.

This must fill us with confidence in our abilities, but also with determination. We have to ensure that ideas, businesses and technologies that are born in the European Union remain here and can grow and thrive in Europe. Again, the European Investment Bank has an important role to play here, because beyond the legislative proposals that I have already spoken about and the work of national governments, the European Investment Bank is a pan-European mechanism that mobilises savings and channels them into productive investment in Europe.

It is about scaling up successful programmes and developing our instruments to attract private investment for European businesses and projects. And that is exactly what we are trying to do: contribute to a real European capital market, with a focus on covering financing gaps throughout the business and innovation lifecycle, from basic research to growing and scaling up startups in Europe.

For example, one of the programmes that we are working on, and that I had the opportunity to discuss this morning with some of the investors who attended, was the successful European Tech Champions Initiative. We have already closed deals with the European Tech Champions Initiative to invest in scaling up European startups. In the first year and a half, we have already closed deals worth around €2 billion, mobilising five times this amount in Europe for capital investment in startups. Before next year, we have planned to use up the €3 billion in capital from the initial investment, an objective that we set ourselves with a very short time frame.

And Spain is a great example of the success of the Europe Tech Champions Initiative. Two startups in new technologies have already received financing and we have closed a deal with the first billion-euro Spanish mega fund called the Kembara fund, which is actually run by a Galician. This very room is overflowing with Galician talent. We are hoping to support another Spanish mega fund before next year to help them achieve the aim of reaching €1 billion.

Aside from scaling up the Europe Tech Champions Initiative, we are working on a TechEU programme to mobilise large venture debt capital investments and even cross-guarantees to support innovative businesses in clean technologies, AI, chips, high-performance and quantum computing in health sciences, and neurotechnology, as well as to support Europe's industrial capacity.

Since 2018, we have financed approximately €3 billion of investments in AI as part of a wider effort to support technological innovation. There are many projects up and running in Spain, from the pioneering immunology research centre that we are financing with Criteria Caixa, and Haizea's manufacturing of advanced parts for wind energy generation, to the graphene brain chip developed by INBRAIN to treat neurological disorders. These are just a few examples of the investments and projects that are underway in our country in the field of disruptive technologies, and that are being financed by the European Investment Bank.

I will finish with exactly that idea, almost a year after I started as president of the European Investment Bank, and after my visits to the 27 EU Member States; in fact, I arrived late yesterday evening direct from Malta. In this first year, I made a commitment to visit all 27 EU Member States, the 27 shareholders of the European Investment Bank, and I only have Hungary left to visit next week. During these visits to the 27 EU Member States, I have had the opportunity to get a closer look at some of the many innovative European projects on the ground, and to see for myself the important role that the European Investment Bank plays in the financing of those projects.

We are a key partner in enabling businesses to make their vision a reality, so that the managers, the leaders can implement their plans, and in doing so improve the lives of millions of people across Europe. Similarly, in my last post as Vice-President of the Government of Spain, I had the opportunity to travel up and down the country and see the talent, creativity, the excellent managers and the impressive business projects that are being developed in Spain up close.

I could also see for myself the huge impact of EU resources from the Next Generation EU funds, which have already been mentioned here by the president of the local government, in their support for innovative projects across the region, transformative projects that are responsible for the strong recovery that the Spanish economy has made, the strong economic growth that it has sustained up to now, but above all, the structural shift that is happening towards activities with greater added value, with greater technological capital, which then create higher quality jobs. Just yesterday the first agreement was signed with the European Investment Bank to mobilise Next Generation EU loans worth over €200 million for the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

And beyond the talk and debates, there is a technological revolution taking place, in which Europe and Spain have taken a leading role, one that they have to maintain in the future to continue to have a strong voice in the world, in this new global order that is taking shape, and above all to continue to deliver on the commitment to people guaranteeing a prosperous future for younger generations. The challenges that we are facing are huge, of course, but it has already been mentioned that the opportunities that we have are also huge. A significant portion of us and of our businesses are seizing these opportunities, and the European Investment Bank will continue to be an essential partner of the institutions and of small and large companies to ensure that these projects continue to develop.

I won't embarrass the people here that work at the European Investment Bank by asking them to stand up, but throughout the various meetings today, don't hesitate to speak to them, because we want to find good projects, projects that are important to Spain's future that we can continue to support.

That is the reality that must fill us with confidence for the future, and above all, with determination to continue working together in order to encourage cooperation between the public and private sectors and to follow the same principles that have led to so much success in recent years to continue building a strong, safe, prosperous and peaceful Europe. I will leave you with this final idea so that you can add to it throughout the day today, which I'm sure will be productive, because technology aside, you all bring the human element. Thank you very much.