Lagos — European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer said that, subject to approval from its governing bodies, the EIB is willing to immediately increase its contribution to the REPowerEU Plan from the current €30 billion package to €45 billion euros in additional financing.
This would mobilise over €150 billion euros of investment in support of green technologies and Europe’s energy independence from fossil fuels, Hoyer said in his opening speech at the inaugural EIB Group Forum, in Luxembourg.
“At the EIB, we are ready to play our role in a European investment initiative that supports EU competitiveness and maintains a level playing field across the single market,” Hoyer said. “The European Investment Bank has the capacity to become a key financial pillar of an initiative to prepare us for the Net-Zero Age.”
The EIB signed record financing for energy projects advancing the EU’s transition to net-zero last year and is willing to do “even more” if member states support it with the appropriate enabling measures, Hoyer said. “This is of course subject to discussion with our governing bodies,” he said.
The EU “must be motivated by the recent policy announcement in the US, and double down on our own path to net-zero,” Hoyer added, referring to the US Inflation Reduction Act. “We should blend EU funds, incentives, and favourable loans into simple financing instruments that help super-charge the transition for all EU member states, not just the ones with pockets deep enough to offer state aid. We don’t lack the financial resources to do it. We just need the political will and a plan that will give investors certainty and crowd in private capital.”
The EIB Group’s recently launched European Tech Champions Initiative, to be managed by the European Investment Fund, will play a vital role in delivering European competitiveness, President Hoyer said, describing how growth capital can be used to support European businesses to scale-up, providing them the resources to make an impact globally.
President Hoyer also underlined the importance of the EIB new development arm, EIB Global in supporting the EU’s Global Gateway initiative. He said, “The EIB, via its development arm, EIB Global, is well on track to facilitate at least one third of the 300 billion euros of investment that Global Gateway aims to support by 2028. Europe needs to step up its political and economic presence in the world and make its voice heard. EIB Global is a key part of this effort. “
Opening the first EIB Forum in Luxembourg, President Hoyer said that “the new environment requires all of us to adjust and, in some cases, reinvent the wheels that move us. Hence the theme of this Forum: “Adapting to a changing world”.”
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