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  • The programme aims to support over €372 billion in investment across the European Union.
  • Investment projects under InvestEU will focus on four areas: sustainable infrastructure; research, innovation and digitalisation; small and medium-sized enterprises; and social investment and skills.

The EIB Group — which includes the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its subsidiary the European Investment Fund (EIF) — and the European Commission held a series of presentations today to launch the InvestEU programme in Slovenia, highlighting potential investment areas in the country that could receive support. With an EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion, this investment support programme aims to mobilise financing of more than €372 billion across Europe by 2027. It will back the European Union's strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal, the digital transition, and social and general interest projects in education, health and housing. A minimum of 30% of this financing will go to investments to combat climate change or mitigate its effects. The event was opened by Slovenian Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič, EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova, and Principal Adviser at the European Commission Markus Schulte.

Slovenian Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič said: “Slovenia’s economy recorded one of the fastest recoveries from the pandemic, however we are faced with new challenges. The government adopted a number of measures mitigating the effects of the energy crisis and they have already had some positive effects, including on inflation trends. Investments play an important role in stimulating further growth and we are implementing green investments and investments in the field of digitalisation with our own resources and with the support of various EU instruments. Investments need to be maintained at a high level to ensure growth and productivity, as well as the green and digital transitions. This could also be achieved via InvestEU. This programme is still at an early stage, and we hope that our private companies will also benefit from it in the near future. The EIB has in recent decades been a key partner to our private sector as well as supporting our main infrastructure projects. We expect the EIB to continue its successful cooperation, especially with financial intermediaries in Slovenia. The cooperation goes both ways and we can highlight our contributions to some EIB initiatives, namely the Economic Resilience Initiative, the FEMIP Trust Fund and the Pan-European Guarantee Fund. The latter was particularly important in widening the range of emergency financial assistance to our small businesses in times of economic downturn due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Principal Adviser at the European Commission Markus Schulte added: “The InvestEU Programme is a crucial tool to deliver on our common objectives, especially the green and digital transitions but also the European Union’s strategic autonomy. Through a guarantee from the EU budget, InvestEU continues EU efforts to boost investment in Europe. It offers great opportunities to Slovenian businesses. Together, we can harness its full potential to channel investment towards sustainable growth and create high-quality jobs in Slovenia. I am delighted to be present in Ljubljana today for its launch event.”

EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova said: “In the face of multiple challenges that the European Union is currently facing, we owe it to our children not to confuse short-term fixes with longer-term solutions. The digital and green transitions remain our priority and the best way to ensure safe, affordable and secure energy for Europe and the world. InvestEU is a key programme of the European Commission, with the EIF and the EIB as lead implementing partners, that will help to make the economy greener, more digital and more inclusive. By combining public funds with our expertise, InvestEU will be a key tool for financing high-impact projects in Slovenia and the European Union as a whole.”

Background information

EIB Group in Slovenia

The European Investment Bank has been working in Slovenia since 1977, financing more than €7.3 billion worth of projects to date. Slovenia has one of the highest EIB lending levels per capita among countries that joined the European Union in 2004.

In 2022, the EIB financed new R&D investments in Slovenia by MAHLE GmbH worth €42 million. The project is focused on innovative technologies in battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.

The European Investment Fund has provided financing worth €348 million through 18 contracts in Slovenia since its inception. These investments have leveraged approximately €1.5 billion in financing and supported more than 74 000 jobs.

In 2022, EIB advisory services had more than ten active assignments in the country, ranging from innovation, climate adaptation and mitigation projects to technology transfer and capacity-building support. 

Since 2006, JASPERS alone has supported the preparation of investment projects worth close to €4.5 billion. Meanwhile, EIB advisory support is provided to the Slovenian Regional Development Fund and SID Banka on applying the EU sustainability taxonomy and financing green investments. SID Banka and EIB experts are also joining forces in support of technology transfer from academia and research institutions.

Looking ahead, the EIB Group is particularly focused on supporting projects related to the energy transition, road and railway transport, social and affordable housing, and the successful deployment of InvestEU with the help of EU partners and national authorities.

About the EIB Group

The EIB’s key priorities are climate and the environment, development, innovation and skills, small businesses, infrastructure and cohesion. It works closely with other EU institutions to foster European integration, promote the development of the European Union and support EU policies in more than 140 countries worldwide.

The EIF is part of the EIB Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF contributes to the pursuit of key EU policy objectives such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

The InvestEU programme provides long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery in the European Union. It helps to generate additional investments in line with key European priorities, such as the European Green Deal, the digital transition and support for small businesses. The InvestEU programme brings together all EU financial tools to support investment by making project financing simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme — building on the success of the Investment Plan for Europe (the Juncker Plan), which led to €500 billion of investment from 2015 to 2021 — is composed of three elements: the InvestEU Fund using the €26.2 billion EU budget guarantee to support at least €372 billion in additional investment; the InvestEU Advisory Hub; and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is being implemented via several financial partners led by the EIB, which will distribute 75% of the guarantee. The remaining 25% will be deployed by other international financial institutions and national banking institutions.