President Calviño at the BIST Forum 2026

Buenos dias, good morning.

It's such a great pleasure to be here in Barcelona today and to participate in this very important forum organized by the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, BIST, at a very special moment for Europe and the world.

As the minister just said, we all know what's going on in the world. So let me first personally thank Andréu Mascolel for putting together this insightful panel and of course the BIST organisers and devoting so much energy and commitment to mobilizing finance for science and technology to the benefit of our economies and our citizens. And I want to also thank wholeheartedly Minister Andreu Mas-Colel for his kind words. And I also want to thank all of you for the work that you are doing to build a better world, which is at the end of the day what putting research into innovation and then changing the world what is all about and I think that's what inspires and motivates you every day.

I'm really happy to be here because the Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology is a model of multidisciplinary excellence and an engine room for the next wave of technological transformation. Researching and acting in very important areas, biotechnology, photonics, AI-enabled discovery. I found very interesting this reflection about collective intelligence as being the right way forward, not so much artificial intelligence, but what we need is wisdom, don't we? And I am really happy to be here because this is the proof of concept of the main message that I want to share with you today.

Many are the reports and the experts that are sharing the diagnosis of what we need to do, what are the challenges, but I want to leave a main message with you today and that is that Europe is a superpower and that joining forces of the public and the private institutions and companies working together, we will successfully tackle all current and future challenges and maintain Europe on an upward path of shared prosperity, security and welfare. And this conviction and this determination is based on my personal experience.

When I was a minister and a vice president in the government of Spain, I visited many countries, sorry, many companies, many universities, many research centers, many startups, large, small, including some of the flagships that are represented here today. And likewise now as president of the European Investment Bank, I am talking to governments, to private banks, to investment funds, to startups, to large corporations in the 27 Member States.

And this personal first-hand experience clearly confirms that the European Union is a technology, trade and manufacturing powerhouse. As the video which is watched said, much more than people think and much more than the media usually say. Europe hosts centers of excellence in quantum and high performance computing. One of them is just around the corner from here. Industrial robotic leaders, advanced manufacturers, world leaders, technological leaders and powerhouses in the areas of aerospace, food, biotech, health tech, medical devices, advanced pharmaceuticals. And there is a growing ecosystem of startups and also venture capital funds. And Barcelona is a very good example of this bubbling environment.

And that's all those things that are happening right now in Europe can bring us to a higher level through three drivers.

First, build on Europe's strengths. Speed and scale give Europe a competitive edge in fast moving sectors. At the European Investment Bank Group, we are investing record levels in technological innovation, including in security and defense, developing new instruments that can catalyse private investment. Yesterday we were discussing some of those instruments and we may discuss a bit about that in the panel. We have launched last year TechEU, our flagship and largest ever technology financing programme to support to mobilise €250 billion of investments by 2027, which seemed to be very far when we launched it and it's around the corner. And we are on track to mobilise that investment. Let me stress that just in Spain last year, we financed a record figure of €2.8 billion in innovation that have mobilised close to €9 billion, complementing the programmes and the very important investments launched by the government.

Once again, the European Investment Fund, our subsidiary specialising in capital guarantees, securitisations, has played a very important role in translating ideas, research and science into concrete technology and projects. Thanks, for example, to the agreement with the Centre for Technology Development and Innovation (CDTI), a pioneer program in Europe. As a result of this cooperation, we have already signed a first deal with the Montana Fund in the important field of child health. The only pediatric fund that exists in Europe, also based here in Barcelona.

Another fantastic example of how innovation and technology transfer can translate into new industries in Europe is the investment of the EIB in EuraFoods, supporting research and innovation activities to develop next generation plant-based proteins and more sustainable food technologies. I will actually have the opportunity to visit them, to visit their lab later today. I don't know if I will have to taste one of those hamburgers. Very curious to see what's going on in Eura and very proud to finance them.

The EIB is also financing the construction of the Caixa Research Institute, the research centre of the Caixa Foundation that is being developed here just across the street. It is the first centre in Spain for interdisciplinary and applied immunology research, and it is expected to become a benchmark in its field in Europe. Let me turn into Spanish for just a moment.

At the European Investment Bank, we are extremely proud to see that our commitment to cutting‑edge technology is delivering very tangible results across the business ecosystem. Just a few days ago, I was in Brussels attending a major event organised by the DigitalEurope association, where several European companies were honoured. I felt a real sense of pride in seeing that, in one way or another, every single one of them had benefited from EIB support. That same dynamism and support can be seen very clearly here in Barcelona.  

Through a range of financial instruments, we have backed spin-offs and ideas – ideas developed, in particular, in BIST centres and at various universities – supporting them as they scale up. One of these projects is our €20 million investment in InBrain. Its CEO and co‑founder is here with us today, working to advance the development of a new graphene‑based brain implant to treat neurological disorders.  

Through the European Innovation Council, which we also manage at the EIB, we are supporting investments in two further quantum computing companies based in Catalonia, in Castelldefels: LuxQuanta and Quside. Both originated at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, which is also part of BIST and which I myself had the opportunity to visit when I was a minister.  

Further proof of the dynamism of Catalonia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem – so well represented here today – is the fact that 40% of our venture debt operations in Spain are directed to companies based here in Catalonia, many of them incubated in the laboratories and research centres represented in this room. 

This collaboration continues to go from strength to strength.  

 In fact, today I would like to announce a new investment in a technology that perfectly illustrates the key role the EIB plays in helping ideas grow and thrive in Europe. This technology, developed by scientists at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, focuses on reusing recycled fibres, which, thanks to the investment we are making, will be translated into the production of sustainable construction materials, with applications in key areas such as housing.  

We will share the details of this operation and the companies involved in May, but I wanted to highlight this particular initiative because housing is one of the most pressing challenges facing Spain and the whole of Europe. And here too, as the minister rightly pointed out, innovation and research can play a truly fundamental role. 

EIB financing not only supports the development of technological ideas; it also translates into tangible projects that improve people’s lives. 

So through our investments and partnerships, we're turning science fiction into science facts and changing the world to the benefit of our companies, of our economies and citizens.

And this brings me to the second driver I wanted to highlight, which is the importance of mobilizing private capital. In this turbulent geopolitical context, many are saying it, and I really believe it, this is Europe's moment, because in this environment of high volatility and uncertainty, we are a beacon of trust and stability for investors. I can see that every week as we contact investors and capital markets. And there is great potential in activating private institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies, channelling savings into productive investments here in Europe.

The EIB Group is leveraging every euro of the European budget to mobilise 15 euros of total investment, the bulk of which comes from the private sector. We also have a very successful experience in introducing innovative financial instruments that put capital to work.

The EIB Group is Europe's biggest catalyst for venture financing, with a 30% market share in 2025 in venture debt and 25% share in venture capital last year too. And we are signing deals in these two areas every week. The EIB continuously innovates also, and this year we are preparing to extend and scale up our venture debt programme and to deploy an exit toolbox, a suite of instruments, venture debt, convertibles, acquisition, finance, pre-IPO support to improve and expand exit opportunities for venture investors in European startups and scaleups.

And I know this is a very important issue for all of you here, because beyond the startup phase, we need to deal with the scaleup phase from ideas to markets and global leadership.

And that's the third driver, scale what works. The EIB is one of Europe's greatest success stories, and so are the recent instruments we launched to leverage guarantees from the EU budget and to mobilise private investment, such as the InvestEU program, the European Tech Champions Initiative, which I'm particularly proud of, because Spain did contribute to this European Tech Champions initiative from day one, one billion euros to support dedicated investment funds to scale up Europe's successful innovators.

And it is such a great success. In barely two years, we have been able to double the number of mega funds in Europe. That's venture capital funds with at least one billion euros in capital. And this has led to the scaling up of more than 35 startups in Europe, amongst which 11 unicorns. Fast growing companies with at least one billion euros in capital.

And this success is also showing in Spain, where we have already invested in two mega funds to support the market for European scale-ups, which traditionally have had to resort to funding from other parts of the world, and in particular across the Atlantic. And with the European Tech Champions initiative, we have already invested in four Spanish companies, three of which are unicorns. And most of them, by the way, are based here in Barcelona.

So Spain is a very good example of how the EIB Group, thanks to a wide range of financial instruments, supports the entire growth chain of companies, from idea to global markets, as I said a moment ago. And we will continue working with this objective, making sure that technologies, ideas, companies that are born European can grow and thrive here in Europe.

I will conclude to leave room for the debate in our roundtable with a personal reflection and a call for action that some of you have already heard coming from me in previous occasions. Because at this turning point in history, as a new global order is taking shape, we need to remind us of our many strengths. There is a lot of debate and discussion on the weaknesses, the things that are not working properly, the gaps, the challenges.

I really think we have to focus on our strengths. We also need to join forces and have confidence in the future. And amongst those strengths, science, research and the ability to turn knowledge into innovation and industry are key.

Europe is currently confronting many serious challenges. We are in a fight for peace. For our security, our democracies, our economic model and our social cohesion. And this is very serious. And there are many powerful actors around us that want to weaken our union. And the multilateral framework based on international law, mutual respect and loyal cooperation. And this is a good fight.

And it is up to each and every one of us to play our role in this fight. To play a role in shaping our future. In the words of Leonard Cohen “Ring the bells that still can ring. For there is a crack. There is a crack in everything and that's how the light comes in”. So let's ring the bells. This is my call for action. Let's play a role in shaping the future we want.

Each and every one of us has a role to play in this phase of intense change. A turbulent phase. One in which our decisions, our words and our actions shape the design of a new world order. One in which we also shape the impact of new technologies. 

And at the European Investment Bank, we are clear about where we stand. 

We are engaged in a battle for peace and security, for our democracy and human rights, for our values. And for an international order based on the rule of law, on mutual respect and on alliances in which everyone stands to gain. So that is where you will find us – ringing the bells that still can ring, letting the light come in. 

Thank you very much. Moltes gracias.