President Nadia Calviño was in Barcelona this week, at the Union for the Mediterranean Forum, where she shared the important projects we are financing in this region, from water to transport and energy. She also had the opportunity to see the result of our investments on the ground, visiting with the president of the Catalan government and the Mayor of Barcelona two flagship projects financed by the EIB Group to improve water infrastructure and provide affordable housing.
Moving to Madrid we presented the progress of the European Tech Champions Initiative, our successful fund of funds to mobilise investments to scale up innovative startups and nurture Europe’s venture capital ecosystem. We had very productive meetings with Spanish ministers of Economy, Housing and Digitalisation, as well as with the president of the Spanish national promotional bank, ICO, to reinforce our cooperation in supporting European priorities, from innovation to housing and, of course, the green transition.
Terrible damage and loss caused by extreme weather events in Spain remind us of the urgent need to invest in adaptation to climate change. It is not only the right, but also the smart thing to do. Every dollar invested in prevention and resilience saves five to seven in damage and repair. In this regard we would like to highlight three new projects announced this week.
To join up forces with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature to help Europe adapt to global warming and protect biodiversity, for the Salto de Chira pumped hydroelectric plant in Canary Islands, and finally for the world’s first artificial energy island off the Belgian coast.
Watch President Calviño's previous One week, one minute recaps.
