EIB Group and European Commission simplify application of State Aid rules to support Europe’s clean industry and hold roundtable with business leaders

The European Investment Bank Group and the European Commission agreed to simplify State aid rules in relation to EIB Group financing, in a step to further facilitate support for Europe’s industry and economic competitiveness.

The agreement confirms that financing by the EIB Group from its own resources falls outside the scope of EU State aid rules. The accord also eases conditions for joint investments by Member States and the EIB Group and speeds up the deployment of the InvestEU programme.

The agreement takes place within the broader European Union framework to prevent governmental support for companies from distorting markets. The accord reinforces the EIB Group’s ability to channel investments that advance EU policy goals, such as the Clean Industrial Deal, while safeguarding the European single market.

The Clean Industrial Deal is the Commission’s plan to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of European industry by accelerating decarbonisation and securing the future of manufacturing in Europe. As the financial arm of the EU, the EIB Group plays a key role in mobilising private investment advancing climate action and industrial competitiveness in Europe.

Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework

On 25 June 2025, the Commission adopted a new state-aid framework supporting the Clean Industrial Deal (CISAF) to enable Member States to push forward the development of clean energy, industrial decarbonisation and clean technology.

The EIB Group-Commission accord on State aid rules has three main elements:

• The agreement ensures that financing provided by the EIB Group from its own resources falls outside the scope of state-aid rules along with all its consequences. This is particularly relevant for Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs), which are critical to Europe’s strategic autonomy in areas like clean technologies and advanced manufacturing. Under the agreement, EIB Group financing will not count toward State aid thresholds for IPCEIs, making it easier to combine funding sources and scale up ambition.
• The accord facilitates co-investments by Member States and the EIB Group. When the EIB Group participates in a project that also receives support from a Member State, the required level of private-sector participation – when relevant for state-aid purposes – will be reduced by half if accompanied by an equivalent amount from the EIB Group. This principle is already reflected in CISAF and highlights the EIB Group’s role as a market reference and a catalyst for additional investment. It will facilitate equity co-investment programs with Member States, including in early-stage funds, funds managed by first-time investment teams and funds in European regions with less a developed venture capital ecosystem.
• The agreement facilitates and accelerates the deployment of the InvestEU programme, for which the EIB Group has already mobilised billions of euros in investments for innovation, sustainability, competitiveness, and social inclusion. This paves the way for a new equity co-investment product under InvestEU and sets the stage for a review of the guarantee agreement to streamline State aid provisions in line with evolving policy priorities.

Cleantech

The EIB Group boosts the Clean Industrial Deal and strengthens Europe’s leadership in technology through TechEU, the EU’s largest financing programme to date in support of innovation, with the goal to attract talent, capital and investment in Europe. These actions include the reinforcement of cross guarantees for wind energy production and three new instruments to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness:

• A €1.5 billion package to provide counter-guarantees through partner banks to grid component manufacturers to ensure sustainable supply, giving companies greater certainty to ramp up production of electricity networks across Europe. This will facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the grid and the delivery of affordable power to EU businesses and households. 
• To help ensure predictable and affordable energy costs for businesses and accelerate investments in green energy, the EIB and Commission are launching a €500 million pilot programme to support the take-up of more corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs). The EIB will counter-guarantee, through partner banks, part of the PPAs undertaken by mid-sized as well as larger energy-intensive companies for the long-term purchase of electricity generation from clean sources.
• To provide liquidity and working capital for highly innovative small and medium-sized enterprises active in developing green technologies, the EIB and Commission are launching a €250 million CleantechEU guarantee scheme.
• A €1.5 billion top-up to a successful EIB programme supporting European wind turbine and component manufacturers.

President Nadia Calviño and Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera also hosted today a roundtable on Investing in Europe’s Clean Future in Brussels with key financial and industrial stakeholders on mobilising private investments for a resilient, decarbonised European industry.

Statements from the roundtable are available on EBS.