Europe faces considerable challenges, EIB President Werner Hoyer warned in his speech at the Columbia University in New York on 10 April 2017.
“Brexit confirmed the severity of the disenchantment,” said President Hoyer. “Some European citizens may have taken for granted the Union and some of the values it represents.” But multilateralism remains crucial for a functioning global economy in his view. “Going forward, an important factor will be the strength of multilateral institutions”, he said and called for equal opportunities and social mobility to counter the “global backlash against multilateral and open economies.”
Involving citizens, restoring trust
“Restoring trust in the institutional framework of the European Union must be our priority task at the moment,” said President Hoyer. “It is important to give the possibility for the citizens to have a real say in shaping the EU.”
The President underlined the role of the EIB Group in strengthening Europe through identifying and addressing investment needs and gaps. He highlighted the EIB Investment Survey results which revealed that “a considerable share of European companies claims to have invested too little in recent years.”
The President of the EIB concluded his speech saying that “the EU Bank will continue to work hard to step into the breach, be it to lend to Member States, companies and businesses in need of support, be it to adapt its offer to complement what the market provides and catalyse even more.”
He gave the speech on the occasion of the Ambassador Donald and Vera Blinken Lecture Series on Global Governance focusing on ‘The Current Situation and Future Prospects for Europe’s Economy’.
Full speech