EIB Group renews record-high financing target of €100 billion to boost Europe’s strategic and technological independence

• EIB Group extends this year’s record-high financing goal of €100 billion to 2026, including €4.5 billion for security and defence.
• EIB Group also bolsters support for scale-ups by expanding European Tech Champions Initiative.
• In area of new project financing, Boards of Directors approve €7.5 billion to strengthen EU social infrastructure, climate action and global partnerships.

The Boards of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group approved its 2026–2028 Operational Plan, which will keep the financing level at a record high of €100 billion next year. This includes increased security and defence financing of €4.5 billion, corresponding to 5% of total financing within the European Union.

The eight priorities of the EIB Group’s Strategic Roadmap will guide 2026 investments, aligning them fully with EU policy priorities and focusing on green finance, technological innovation, security and defence and Ukraine.

“Amid extraordinary geopolitical challenges, Europe stands as a beacon of stability and confidence,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “The EIB Group continues to play its role in reinforcing Europe’s competitiveness and security, contributing to a strong EU voice in the new world order.”

The decisions were taken at the latest monthly meetings of the Boards of the EIB Group, which includes the European Investment Fund (EIF). The planned financing of €100 billion next year will include a total of €15.3 billion from the EIF, which uses equity investments, guarantee instruments and securitisation to boost European businesses.

European Tech Champions Initiative

 The EIB Group also agreed to expand its flagship European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) to bolster technology companies in Europe and strengthen innovation and competitiveness across the continent. The expanded programme, called ETCI 2.0, will support both mega funds and mid-sized funds, enabling tech companies across Europe to obtain capital needed to grow.

ETCI 2.0 aims to mobilise financing from EU countries and new institutional investors such as insurers, pension funds and banks, strengthening public-private partnerships. In their meetings this week, the Boards of the EIF and EIB committed a total of €1.25 billion of their own funds to ETCI 2.0.

ETCI is the cornerstone of the EIB Group’s TechEU programme, the EU’s largest financing programme to support innovation. The programme ensures that ideas, companies and technologies developed in the EU can grow and thrive within Europe. Since being established in 2023, ETCI has supported the growth of nine tech scale-ups valued at more than $1 billion – companies known as unicorns.

New project financing

In the area of new project financing, the EIB Group Boards this week approved a total of €7.5 billion to boost the EU’s social infrastructure, climate action and global partnerships. The support covers hospital upgrades and healthcare innovation in France, Germany and Sweden as well as new schools in Finland, France and Slovakia. In addition, sustainable agriculture in Lithuania and Poland, green and digital infrastructure in Spain and water projects in Italy, Spain and Sweden stand to benefit.

Beyond the EU, the new financing supports business finance in Ukraine and Europe’s Global Gateway strategy, including vaccine production in Colombia and South Africa, electricity-grid improvements in Ethiopia, water infrastructure upgrades in Gambia and the Solomon Islands and climate change adaptation in Pakistan.

Background information    

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. The EIB finances investments in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world and Europe’s capital markets union.   

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.    

 Approximately half of the EIB's financing within the EU targets cohesion regions, where per-capita income is below the EU average, while almost 60% of annual EIB Group investments support climate action and environmental sustainability. 

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