(BRIEF) European Union finance ministers unanimously backed Nadia Calviño’s candidacy for the presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in discussions at the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting in Brussels. Calviño, most recently Spain’s First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise is expected to succeed Werner Hoyer, whose term expires on December 31, 2023. The resolution marks a key milestone in the appointment process, as Calviño will officially assume her duties as President of the EIB on 1 January 2024.
(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, December 9, 2023 — /EuropaWire/ — European Union finance ministers agreed to Nadia Calviño’s candidacy for the presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Ministers held a discussion in their capacity as EIB Governors on the sidelines of today’s meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels.
The resolution was adopted following consultations among the Bank’s shareholders, led by the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Vincent Van Peteghem, who most recently chairs the EIB Governing Council.
“The EIB is a key tool for achieving the EU’s policy objectives, both within our Union and beyond our borders,” said Van Peteghem. “We are convinced that Nadia Calviño has all the qualities needed to lead the world’s largest multilateral bank, channelling much-needed finance for businesses and investments to boost Europe’s competitiveness and sustainable growth.
The current First Vice-President of the Spanish Government and Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Nadia Calviño, would succeed Werner Hoyer, whose second term at the helm of the EU bank ends on 31 December 2023. Economist by training, Calviño Director General of Budget of the European Commission between 2014 and 2018.
“The EIB, the monetary arm of the EU, is a key institution for the European economy. It will play an even more vital role in the long term in financing the green transition, providing monetary aid for the reconstruction of Ukraine and also helping Europe’s role in the world,” Calviño said. “I am revered by the acceptance and help of the ministers who head the EIB Group. »
Under Werner Hoyer’s leadership since 2012, the EIB became the first multilateral bank to end support for unabated fossil fuels and raised its lending volumes for clean energy and security investments in Europe to unprecedented levels, earning the title of EU climate bank. Werner Hoyer spearheaded initiatives ranging from the financing of vaccines against COVID-19 and polio to helping European businesses weather the fallout from the 2008 financial and social crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine. He also ensured the EU bank did not suffer from the impact of Brexit and steered the largest capital increase in the Bank’s history. Recognising that most of today’s challenges are global, in 2022 the EIB launched EIB Global to support climate action, economic growth, innovation and development beyond the European Union.
“I am proud of what the EIB Group and its committed and talented staff have achieved over the past few years. Above all, I am confident in its future, following today’s decision,” Hoyer said. “Having Nadia Calviño political and monetary experience at the forefront of our operations highlights the commitment of our shareholders (the EU Member States) to expand our footprint and ensure that, at a time when Europe faces challenges so deep, the EU bank will have the leadership it wants as the monetary arm of the European Union.
Next Steps & Timeline
Today’s political agreement paves the way for the formal appointment procedure through the EIB’s Board of Directors and Board of Governors through a written procedure. The vote in the EIB’s Board of Directors and Board of Governors is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, ahead of the new President’s official start date of 1 January 2024.
For more main points on the procedure for the appointment and appointment of the President of the EIB, see Article 11 of the EIB Statute and its Rules of Procedure.
Background information
The EIB Group is the long-term financial institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It includes the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). We fund forged investments that contribute to the EU’s policy objectives, adding social and territorial cohesion, innovation, the just transition to climate neutrality and global partnerships.
As a not-for-profit entity, the EIB passes on the benefit of its strong market rating and consequent low cost of funding on capital markets to its clients — European businesses, Member States and partners around the world.
The EIB’s pioneering and profound engagement in favour of climate action earned it the title of EU climate bank. The Bank launched the first green bonds as early as 2007. It was the first multilateral development bank to end support for fossil fuels, and under its Climate Bank Roadmap it has committed to supporting €1 trillion in climate investment by 2030. Over half of the EIB Group’s lending in 2022 was devoted to climate and environmental sustainability projects, while almost half of the EIB’s financing inside the European Union went to projects in cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower and access to finance more needed.
The EIB Group is the champion of innovation in Europe. EIF European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) improve their access to finance through a wide variety of monetary intermediaries, including banks, insurance and leasing companies, microcredit providers and private equity. budget. The EIF designs and offers debt and equity financing instruments, and leverages EU financing tools, such as the InvestEU programme, for entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, studies and development, digitalisation and employment. Earlier this year, it launched the European Technology Champions Initiative, an ambitious budget fund that aims to ensure that the pioneers of the European manufacturing generation remain in Europe.
EIB operations outside the European Union are carried out through EIB Global. As a key partner of the EU Global Gateway, EIB Global aims to invest at least €100 billion by 2028, a third of the Global Gateway target. With offices around the world, the global EIB is close to local people, businesses and establishments and fosters strong Team Europe partnerships with the European Commission and progress financing establishments.
More information on the role and activities of the EIB Group can be found here.
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SOURCE: European Investment Bank
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