Debate: Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report
Date: WEDNESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Ylva Johansson
Language: EN

I will now turn to the topic in hand. I would like to welcome the report and thank the European Parliament and in particular the rapporteur – also on behalf of Vice-President Dombrovskis, who cannot be here today.  The European Investment Bank is a crucial partner for implementing EU policies inside and outside of the Union. I welcome this opportunity today to discuss the main findings of the CONT Committee report on the Bank’s activities. I look forward to Parliament’s views and recommendations with regard to how the EIB can better help the EU to achieve our global policy goals.  While the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were fading away, Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and a resulting energy crisis have presented our societies with extraordinary challenges that require us to respond with decisive and coordinated EU action. The support of key partners, including the European Investment Bank, is important for providing and leveraging investments aligned with EU policy priorities, including green and digital transformations that leave no one behind and to boost energy efficiency. For example, through the REPowerEU Plan, the EU has raised its renewables and energy efficiency targets and put significant resources into achieving them. The EIB Group answered our call with its REPowerEU package from own resources, which adds much needed firepower for an efficient response to the energy crisis.  InvestEU, our flagship investment programme, is a powerful tool to achieve the EU’s policy priorities. I would like to say a few words on its successful deployment and the role played by the EIB.  Implementation of the InvestEU programme is well on track. I’m happy to see that the EIB and the European Investment Fund are moving forward and already generating operations under the InvestEU Fund. InvestEU is already out on the financial market, supporting SMEs, investments in solar, wind energy, energy efficiency, renewable hydrogen and in the social and skills area. InvestEU also allows for innovative ways of supporting promising projects to enable the decarbonisation of the EU economy, such as the EU—Catalyst Partnership, which brings together the European Commission, the EIB and the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst in a unique public—private partnership.  With regard to the EIB activities outside the EU, I would like to highlight our joint efforts to support Ukraine last year. I appreciate that the EIB mobilised urgent financial support for Ukraine with unprecedented speed. It managed this by re—proposing an early disbursement of several loans backed by the EU budget guarantee. These disbursements, more than EUR 1.7 billion in 2022, were achieved in close cooperation with the Commission. This complemented the micro-financial assistance that the Commission provided to Ukraine in 2022, which totalled more than EUR 7 billion, offering immediate financial assistance to Ukraine on very favourable terms when its funding needs were acute. Support from the EU, including from the EIB, contributed to making sure that the most critical functions of the Ukrainian State could continue.  We also appreciate the EIB pledging EUR 3 million to finance projects, contributing to solidarity lanes, and encourage the EIB to accelerate identification of such projects and ensure their timely implementation.  In the longer run, I am confident that the bank will play an important role in financing the reconstruction of Ukraine. To this end, we expect the EIB to maintain strong partnerships with other international financial institutions and national promotional banks that are active in Ukraine.  Externally, many other challenges lie ahead, including climate change, connectivity and the need to achieve an inclusive post-pandemic recovery.  We also look forward to discussing with the EIB the strategic orientation of the EIB Global branch.  Thank you very much. I am looking forward to listening to the interventions in the debate.