Overview
Stronger regions, stronger Europe
Watch how the EIB Group supports cohesion across Europe by investing in regions that need it most.
Our financing helps reduce inequalities, strengthen social investment and unlock local potential, ensuring cohesion goes hand in hand with climate action and competitiveness.
EIB Group cohesion activities facts and figures
Highlighted EIB Group financed and advisory projects in cohesion regions
Learn more about stories on the ground. Hover over the map to read about our impact in your country.
What we offer
Comprising the EIB and the SME-focused European Investment Fund (EIF), the EIB Group promotes a balanced regional development across the EU by offering loans, guarantees, equity, and other financial instruments —including advisory services— to both the public and private sectors. These instruments complement and leverage EU grants to support investments in cohesion regions, in line with the EU Cohesion Policy objectives.
In this context, EIB Group cohesion activities support
For small businesses, mid-caps and large companies
About one-third of EIB cohesion lending supports small businesses and mid-caps through intermediated loans. The Bank also offers loans directly to large corporates in a range of sectors. Find out the benefits of EIB loans.
The EIF supports SMEs through private and public financial intermediaries. By offering banks and other debt financial institutions guarantees and securitisation, the EIF enables its intermediaries to take on a greater risk and to provide better financing conditions. The EIF also enables equity financing for European companies throughout their life cycle through investment in venture capital/private equity funds and consequently supporting ecosystems and crowding in private capital. These efforts increase the supply of finance for small firms and infrastructure projects in cohesion regions, helping each region realise its full potential through economic growth. Read more about EIF financing.
For national, regional and local governments
Local governments face major challenges such as climate change, affordable housing and quality education. The EIB Municipalities Survey explores how they are responding and the obstacles they encounter.
The EIB offers a wide range of financing instruments for the public sector, from investment loans for large-scale projects to framework loans for smaller multi-sector initiatives. EU Member States and regions can delegate to the EIB Group the implementation of financial instruments (e.g. loans, guarantees and equity). These instruments help ensure efficient use of public resources, attract private investment, and maximise the impact of public policies. Find out the benefits of EIB loans.
For more than 15 years, the EIB has provided fund design, management, co-financing, and advisory services, focusing on cohesion regions and key sectors: energy efficiency, renewables, research and innovation, urban development, agriculture, mobility and ICT, human capital and skills development. Currently, the EIB manages nearly €11 billion under EU shared management funds, resulting in over 8,500 financed projects in Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, and Romania. More about EU shared management funds and financial instruments.
The EIF helps each region achieve its full economic growth potential by supporting Europe’s SMEs through its financial intermediaries. By offering them guarantees, securitisation and equity investments, the EIF takes risks to encourage lending, crowd in investments into private assets and help new market players get off the ground, increasing the supply of finance for SMEs and infrastructure projects in cohesion regions. Read more about the EIF’s financing.
Our financial, sector and thematic experts assess every project that the EIB finances. We make our expertise available to national, regional and local governments, including managing authorities of EU funds, project promoters (both public and private), and financial intermediaries in cohesion regions to improve the technical and financial quality of their projects.
Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions (JASPERS)
InvestEU Advisory Hub
European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC)
fi-compass
Innovation Fund - Project Development Assistance (PDA)
Project Advisory Support Service Agreement (PASSA)
Recovery and Resilience Facility and financial instruments (RFF)
Technical Assistance for Regions Undergoing a Green Energy Transition (TARGET)
EU Member States can draw on the EIB’s fund management expertise to implement financial instruments, combining them with other sources of financing. They may also allocate part of their shared management funds to the InvestEU Fund by creating a “Member State compartment.” This enables them to benefit from the EU guarantee’s high credit rating, making it possible to finance higher-risk projects. Read more about shared management funds and financial instruments.
Our partnerships
We are a key partner of the European Commission (EC) in supporting investments that strengthen cohesion across the EU through joint initiatives that help national and regional authorities prepare and deliver high-quality projects eligible for EU funding. The Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) is one such joint EIB-EC initiatives to support cities, regions, and territories most affected by decarbonisation—helping them diversify their economies and ensure a just transition.
We also cooperate with the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions to promote cohesion, competitiveness, and resilience in both urban and rural areas. In line with the EIB Climate Bank Roadmap, the JTM finances projects in regions that are still dependent on fossil fuels and where the shift to a net-zero emissions economy would cause job losses and economic decline.
Together with EU Member States, managing authorities, National Promotional Banks and other financial institutions, we support the delivery of programmes aligned with EU objectives for cohesion, prosperity and sustainable development.
Read more
All about cohesion
Read about all EIB cohesion news, publications, stories and more.
Contact us
Do you need finance or technical assistance for your project?
We offer a wide range of financial products, as well as advisory support.
Do you have a question?
For enquiries regarding the financing facilities, activity, organisation and objectives of the EIB, contact the Information Desk
Contact us
Tel. +352 4379-22000
Frequently asked questions
Are you a journalist?
Contact our Press office
Tel. +352 4379-21000
press@eib.org
www.eib.org/press
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