- The EIB lent a record €100 billion in 2025, including €12.31 billion in Italy.
- Italy was the largest EU member beneficiary of EIB financing in 2025, and the second largest at EIB Group level.
- 57% of the year’s activity was devoted to climate action, and 40% of funds went to southern Italy, both record volumes in absolute terms.
In 2025, the EIB Group – comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) – strengthened its commitment in Italy, providing €12.31 billion in financing in the country. It was a record year overall for the Group, which invested a total of €100 billion.
During the year, the EIB Group signed 105 financial operations in the country totalling €12.31 billion, or about 0.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). These fund will help unlock around €37.5 billion of investment in the real economy, equivalent to 1.7% of GDP. EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti was in Rome to present the figures, and underlined Italy's central role in EIB strategy.
Italy received €11.34 billion in financing from the EIB – more than any other EU country – and €12.31 billion from the EIB Group overall (for which it placed second, just behind France and ahead of Spain).
On an operational level within Italy, the EIB Group stepped up its contribution to the European Union’s two main cross-cutting objectives: climate action (to which it directed 56% of its activity) and cohesion (40%).
EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti said: “The EIB Group is translating Europe’s priorities on the energy transition, competitiveness and strategic autonomy into concrete investments in Italy. The financial operations signed in 2025 aim to strengthen infrastructure, support industry and back productive transformation, helping to make the economy more resilient, sustainable and able to face global challenges.”
Climate action
For the fourth year running, the EIB Group devoted more than half of its activity to climate action and environmental sustainability, consolidating its role as the EU climate bank in Italy. In 2025, this commitment translated into €6.92 billion in financing to support the energy transition, climate change adaptation and more resilient infrastructure, in line with EU priorities.
A significant share of these funds went to the energy sector. In particular, €2.14 billion was directed to clean energy generation and €2.67 billion to energy transmission and efficiency, contributing to security of supply, the integration of renewables and a stronger internal energy market. These operations will generate a total of 5 670 GWh a year of renewable energy – enough to meet the annual needs of about 1.9 millions households – and modernise over 1 280 km of power grids.
The water sector was a climate action priority, with Italy again being the biggest beneficiary of EIB investments in this domain in 2025 (€837 million was earmarked for utilities). The operations will help ensure that around 3.4 million people have access to drinking water, improve sewerage services for 4.7 million people and reduce flood risk for almost 4 million people, strengthening climate change adaptation on the ground.
Cohesion
In parallel, the EIB Group strengthened its commitment to economic and social cohesion, investing €4.9 billion – 40% of its overall activity in Italy – in the southern regions of the country. The operations supported territorial cohesion, infrastructure resilience and growth opportunities, helping to close regional gaps and promote more balanced and sustainable national development.
Partnership with the Italian Republic
The EIB Group also consolidated its partnership with the Italian Republic in 2025 via the Ministry for the Economy and Finance, signing new agreements worth €1.26 billion. The operations involved strengthening national security and defence, including financing for the purchase of helicopters for the Italian Army, as well as support for reconstruction and infrastructure resilience in areas hit by catastrophic climate events, including the Phlegraean Fields and regions in central Italy.
National champions and small and medium-sized enterprises
With a view to supporting Italy’s industrial base, the EIB Group worked with national financial intermediaries to provide €1.99 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps, backing the investments of over 26 000 companies employing more than 610 000 people. In parallel, €1.84 billion was allocated to supporting the research, development and innovation activities of current and future national champions, including the first Italian unicorn company financed directly by the EIB, helping to strengthen the country’s industrial and technological competitiveness.
The EIF in Italy
The European Investment Fund (EIF) invested over €1.2 billion in Italy, with an unprecedented equity commitment of €687 million, the highest level ever recorded in the country. A further €532 million was allocated to guarantees and securitisation operations, strengthening access to credit and growth prospects for Italian businesses.
Background information:
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight key priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security. All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment. Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the funds made available by the Group unlocked over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2025 and mobilised a further €110 billion for startups and scale-ups. Around half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average. High-quality, up-to-date photos of EIB headquarters for media use are available here.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) Group is part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group). It supports Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by improving their access to finance through a wide range of selected financial intermediaries. The EIF designs, promotes and implements equity and debt financing instruments targeting SMEs. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, research and development, the green and digital transitions and employment.