“Citizens must have access to affordable green technologies”

It is the largest multilateral lender in the world, the European Investment Bank, which releases funds for green projects – but not for investing in fossil fuels – and finances the reconstruction of Ukraine, and which supports the innovation and competitiveness in Europe. A whole program that Stefan Grobe discussed with the new president of the European Investment Bank, the former Spanish minister Nadia Calviño, in this new issue of the Global Conversation.

Stefan Grobe, Euronews – You began your six-year mandate a few weeks ago and you already have your work cut out for you. Starting with this priority: the reconstruction of Ukraine. Clearly, this is a monumental task that requires strong European commitments. We wonder how this will be managed. How to finance projects that could still be destroyed by war?

Nadia Calviño – The bank has been active in Ukraine for a long time. Since the start of the war, we have already invested two billion euros in the country. It is very good news that leaders agreed last week to strengthen the (European budgetary) facility for Ukraine. This will also give more guarantees and leverage to the European Investment Bank to continue supporting Ukraine currently, and to invest in reconstruction once the war is over, and this, I hope, will as soon as possible.

For many people, the EIB is also known as the “green bank”. Tell us a little about the projects, the sectors, the figures. Are investors still as enthusiastic?

Absolutely. Last year, we invested 49 billion euros in the green transition and I think that is very good. It’s really a good definition of the bank, to be seen as the “climate bank”. We have consolidated our brand and we finance the entire economic cycle. This is about the green transition, from R&D and the development of innovative technologies to strengthening the network. It’s also about the decarbonization of heavy industry, energy efficiency, net zero emissions technologies. I think this is the right way to support the ecological transition.

Today, major automakers are delaying the launch of new electric models, farmers are protesting environmental regulations, and populists are increasingly contemptuous of environmental policy. Is this a real danger for the Green Deal?

We are in a period of transition, changes can be disruptive and impose costs. This is why the public sector, the political sphere, but also public institutions such as the EIB must support these sectors. We must help the agricultural sector to undertake the necessary investments. We need to help heavy industry make these adjustments. Citizens must have access to affordable green technologies. It is our duty to explain things and support our economies and our societies, to fill the investment gap and to be sure to seize the opportunities of this double green and digital transition.

The EIB investment report shows that European businesses have increased their investments in areas such as innovation, energy efficiency and supply chain diversification. This is a good thing. However, the report also warns of the risk of seeing European companies moving forward in a dispersed manner. What is the problem ?

It is clear that businesses need to think twice before undertaking some of the necessary investments. Uncertainty and geopolitical tensions are very strong and also limit companies’ risk appetite. This is why the EIB plays an important role in reducing investment risks. When we invest in green hydrogen or in a circular battery factory, we make this project possible because we bring with us other public investors, but also private investors who consider the role of the bank as a very important element to reduce risks, but also with regard to technical analysis. We agree to some extent that this is a viable project. It is a good project that can mobilize private investment.

You mentioned geopolitical tensions. Many people in Brussels and European capitals fear Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Is this your case?

2024 is an important year as billions of citizens around the world will go to the polls, vote and decide the future they want for their lives and that of their children, including within the European Union. The European elections are imminent and all these elections will certainly have a significant impact on our lives. But, above all, I think that the European elections should result in strong unity among Europeans and a solid commitment to stay together, to respond together, in a united and determined manner, to the challenges that await us. Because this is what has proven to be, throughout history, the right way to move forward.

You mentioned the European elections, are you not worried about the outcome of the American presidential election?

I prefer to stay outside of any political considerations as president of the European Investment Bank.

One of the flagship policies of Brussels and Europe is to work in favor of competitiveness. And let me transition to a well-known topic, closely linked – and has been for a long time – to the political ambitions of the EU, namely the Capital Markets Union. A few days ago, the Council and Parliament agreed to review the rules relating to market infrastructures.

Do you think it can happen this year?

This is an area I have worked in for many years. As you know, I have extensive experience in financial regulation. Capital Markets Union was one of our main priorities ten or fifteen years ago. I therefore hope that during the next term we will be able to have an updated legal framework on this issue. But in the meantime, as President of the European Investment Bank, I have already launched a number of projects within the Assembly to see how we can be the pioneers of some of the financial instruments which can constitute the keys cornerstone of this true union of capital markets.

You have just started your mandate at the EIB in Luxembourg. Where do you want Europe to be in six years?

This is a very difficult question to answer, because who knows what might happen in the next six years? Just look back and think about what we’ve been through with the pandemic, the war, the inflation. I really hope that in the future we will be able to respond effectively to the challenges that are sure to arise. I hope that we will have peace restored to our borders and that we can, you know, looking back, think that it was just a brief period when so much war and destruction circumscribed the Union. And I hope that we will also see a strongly united and more integrated economy and society within the European Union and the prosperity, well-being and happiness of our children and grandchildren.