- EIB Group support for innovation, healthcare, infrastructure and businesses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania totalled around €775 million last year.
- Green financing from the EIB reached €170 million in the Baltic states.
- Overall, the Bank has invested €11.5 billion over three decades of activity in the Baltics by supporting the public, private and banking sectors.
The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), which consists of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), provided loans, guarantees and equity commitments worth €775 million for projects in the Baltics in 2022.
Nearly €172 million of EIB Group financing went to Estonian projects in 2022, mainly to support public infrastructure, healthcare, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and innovation. To support sustainable transport, the EIB increased its loan to Estonian Railway. It also invested in dairy producer E-Piim for the construction of a greenfield milk processing plant and in biotech company Icosagen. The European Investment Fund signed agreements with Trind Ventures Fund II and Specialist VC Primary and Secondary Fund II, among others.
In Latvia, the EIB Group signed €300 million worth of projects in 2022, mainly channelling it into infrastructure, and small and medium businesses. Latvijas Finieris Group obtained a loan for investments to expand its integrated birch plywood production facilities, Rīgas ūdens to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure in Riga and Citadele banka to support small and medium businesses based in all three Baltic States.
Nearly €303 million of EIB Group financing went to Lithuanian projects, mainly to support maritime infrastructure, small companies and innovation. Port of Klaipėda received an EIB loan to upgrade its infrastructure, and Teltonika IoT Group to accelerate its research, development and innovation activities. On the EIF side, Mano Bankas and Orion Leasing are supporting small and medium companies in Lithuania with microloans and leasing contributing partially to climate action. The EIF also invested €25 million in pan-European climate tech venture capital fund Contrarian Ventures.
“Since opening the first EIB office for the Baltic states in Vilnius in 2020, we have significantly expanded our activities by supporting innovation, healthcare, infrastructure and small and medium businesses,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros, overseeing the bank´s activities in the Baltics “Now that we are in a situation of volatile energy prices and turmoil in commodity and food markets, the EIB needs to step up its efforts again. We look forward to supporting many more projects and businesses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to increase our financing for the green transition, which is the number one priority for us.”
EIB Group 2022 results
Overall EIB Group financing signed last year reached €72.5 billion, which is expected to support around €260 billion in investment and create 950 000 jobs by 2026. Almost half of EIB lending in the European Union (45.9%) was signed for projects in cohesion regions, underlying the Bank’s support for equitable growth and convergence across the European Union.
The EIB offered immediate relief to Ukraine right after the outbreak of the war, disbursing €1.7 billion in funds last year to help finance emergency repairs to the country’s infrastructure ravaged by Russian bombing. The Bank remains committed to stepping up its activities in Ukraine, in line with the mandate given by EU leaders, and in close cooperation with the European Commission, the European Parliament and international partners.
Green financing from the EIB increased substantially again to €36.5 billion (58% of the total), meaning that the Bank met its commitment to devote at least half of its resources to climate action and environmental sustainability, well ahead of its 2025 target. Overall, the EIB Group is well on track to achieve its objective of supporting €1 trillion in green financing this decade, having already backed €222 billion in investment over the past two years.
The EIB Group signed a record amount in new financing for renewables, efficiency, storage and grids in 2022, highlighting the EU bank’s unwavering commitment to ensure access to affordable energy at a time of extreme uncertainty. Total EIB financing signed for sustainable energy projects in the European Union reached an unprecedented €17.06 billion, as the Bank began rolling out a special package of support for the REPowerEU plan to end dependence on Russian fuel imports.
More information on 2022 annual results: EIB Group commits record financing in support of EU energy security and green economy