EIB lending for health and education

Since 1997, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been contributing to European policy on growth and development through its lending to support the formation of human capital - health and education.

As a result of their critical importance to European development, health and education have gained a permanent presence in the Bank's lending portfolio. They are key to the Bank's contribution to the Lisbon Strategy and underpin its activity in fostering social cohesion and financing innovation. Investment in education, to the extent that it helps to implement the Lisbon Agenda, is also included in the Innovation 2010 Initiative (i2i), a top lending priority for the Bank.

Between January 1997 and December 2005, the EIB lent EUR 22.1 billion for investment in health and education.