>@EIB

Pim Van Ballekom (55) has been appointed Vice-President and member of the Management Committee of the European Investment Bank (EIB) by the Bank’s Board of Governors, consisting of the 27 European Union Finance Ministers. The appointment takes immediate effect. Van Ballekom is the first Dutch Vice-President since 2000 and the fourth Dutch Vice-President since the Bank was founded in 1958.

Until his appointment at the EIB Van Ballekom was Head of International Public Affairs at APG Pension Group. Prior to this he was Dutch member of the Board of Directors of the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Financial Counsellor and Head of the Financial Section at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU, (Deputy) Head of Cabinet for Frits Bolkestein, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Taxation and Customs Union, and has had various positions within the Ministry of Finance.

The EIB is the European Union's financing institution. Its purpose is to promote the EU’s objectives by providing long-term finance in support of viable investment projects. In the Netherlands, the EIB provides funding for amongst others large infrastructure projects and SME’s through local banks, and is prepared to support a broad range of projects, such as research and development.