President Calviño: Time to choose Europe

Good afternoon. Congratulations! I was just sharing this congratulations with the new chair. It is a great pleasure to be back at the ICMA annual event. It’s been a while since I last joined this institution. It’s the first time I participate as president of the European Investment Bank Group.

And actually, the EIB Group has had a very long-standing and very fruitful partnership with the International Capital Markets Association.

I will mention some of the results of that partnership in a moment, but the truth is that for more than five decades, you have played a key role in shaping global capital markets, acting as a trusted standard setter, and the force for market transparency and efficiency all over the world.

So, congratulations on your appointment and best wishes in this new function, which is very important for all of us who are important players in international capital markets.

And I am, of course, delighted and particularly interested to address you today, at this point in time, when the geopolitical and geoeconomic order that has served us so well for the last 80 years is changing.

I am going to do a spoiler and share with you the key message of my speech: Choose Europe.

You will not be surprised. It is simple. Remember and share this message when you get out. Because, actually, in times of intense market volatility – and I was just saying, this is probably the new normal – there is one asset that gains value and that’s confidence. Predictability. The rule of law.

And Europe is clearly all of this: a beacon of stability in turbulent times. And that explains why European assets, stocks, bonds, and our common currency are outperforming in these past months.

Europe can seize the moment through four key levers: market integration, large-scale investment, simplification and solid partnerships.

And we see from the European Investment Bank’s side a strong momentum to advance in these four areas, and we are determined to contribute, building on the unique position of the EIB Group at this point in time.

• A unique position as financing arm of the European Union, offering pan-European investment instruments to channel savings into investments in line with Europe’s shared priorities, but also the largest player in the multilateral development bank family;
• With a robust €600 billion balance sheet and a very strong AAA financing capacity;
• With 27 Member States as shareholders, neither more nor less, which at this point in time, is extremely relevant because our 27 shareholders have unanimously endorsed our strategic roadmap, thus signalling the complete alignment with Europe’s priorities;
• The EIB Group is a key player in the European market for venture capital and venture debt;
• And an innovative actor, able to develop new products and to adjust to the new policy priorities under the European flag.

Let me give you a snapshot of what’s going on:

1.   Since 2024, we have enlarged our eligibility framework to step up support to Europe’s security and defence capabilities. Thanks to our proactive approach, there is already a robust pipeline of more than 20 projects currently under assessment.

We are talking about military infrastructures and barracks, including in Lithuania, to station a German Bundeswehr brigade. We are talking about space and cybersecurity, drones, innovative technologies and also financing for banks to provide liquidity to small and mid-caps in the supply chain of Europe’s contractors.

Actually, we are about to sign the first deal with two of the largest European banks to provide financing to Europe’s SMEs in the security and defence sector.

We are also working with the main national promotional banks, including KfW, that I understand was participating this morning, to reinforce our cooperation to develop European projects in this sector.

 

2.   Second workstream: we will shortly be launching a new TechEU platform, complementing the start-up and scale-up fund of the European Commission to provide a full palette of financial instruments – equity, quasi-equity, loans and guarantees – to support higher risk projects and innovative companies throughout their investment journey, from idea to market.

The aim is to deploy €70 billion in finance by 2027, starting with cleantech in the coming weeks, to mobilise at least €250 billion in total investment so that ideas, technologies and companies that are born in the EU can thrive, can grow and remain European.

TechEU will also help attract talent to Europe, building a safe space – it’s a sort of sanctuary for science, academic research and engineering. And these words may sound surprising, but I think when we read the daily news, we become aware of how important it is to have an environment that actually preserves these major objectives and principles.

3.   Third innovation: we have launched a pan-European export credit guarantee for EU companies trading with Ukraine.

I can share with you that just this morning, we signed the first deal, with Denmark’s export credit agency, and we expect to sign 13 more this year, with export credit agencies around the whole EU, to mobilise over €300 million in support for Ukraine’s economy and closer ties in the run-up to the country’s accession to the EU.

4.   Fourthly, we are pumping up Europe’s securitisation market.

And I think we’re well recognised in this area, including for our innovative products.

A few months ago, we signed the first synthetic securitisation transaction backed by solar panel loans. In collaboration with an Estonian fintech, the agreement will facilitate new lending to private individuals in Poland willing to instal solar panels and heat pumps.

And we have signed similar synthetic securitisation agreements that support new financing for green investment by small and medium-sized companies, for example, in Romania, or SMEs led by women – SMEs all around the EU, actually.

5.   The fifth and final area I wanted to mention today: we’re working closely with the European Central Bank and the European Commission to reinforce the international role of the euro.

Building on Europe’s strength as a trade powerhouse, and our pioneering role in areas such as green and digital bonds.

Actually, this pioneering role is shared with the ICMA, with the International Capital Markets Association, because you accompanied us back in 2007 when we launched the first sustainability bonds. And also, you supported us and helped us develop this area with the green bond principles developed in 2014. You brought transparency and standardisation, actually creating a very successful asset class.

Today, green, social and sustainability bond markets have reached a combined issuance volume of close to €5 trillion.

The euro and European-based issuers are leading the global market.

The EIB alone has issued more than €120 billion in green and sustainable bonds and is among the largest players in this area.

A couple of months ago, we became the first supranational issuer to launch a green bond not only aligned with the ICMA’s Green Bond Principles – of course! – but also with the requirements of the European Green Bond Standard regulation. With a size of €3 billion, this is the largest European green bond issuance to date. It was oversubscribed more than 13 times!

I think this shows that there is robust market demand for responsible and sustainable investment products.

And it also shows that – at a time where words like “climate” sound revolutionary – it is important that we can show that investing in the green transition is not only the right, but also the smart, thing to do.

 

It is very important also to continue to be ahead of the curve with new instruments, like digital bonds, where the European Investment Bank is also a pioneer.

And let me say just one word about Cyril Rousseau, who is here and who is the director general responsible for the finance department. He’s absolutely passionate about innovation. I am really very impressed, and I want to pay tribute to your dedication and also your dynamism in these new areas.

Let me wrap up.

Investment is a stake in tomorrow’s world.

It is in our hands to shape tomorrow’s world.

When “everything, everywhere, all at once” is changing very fast, it is the time to choose Europe.

It is the time to step up our investments, to provide certainty and clarity to private investors, to make a difference on the ground, building strong partnerships in the EU, including with the private sector and around the world.

I am really proud to be leading the European Investment Bank Group.

I am proud to be European.

Our unity is our strength.

And I am quite confident that, being united, we will deliver.

So come join us. I count on you, too.

Thank you very much.