With the European Investment Bank (EIB) called to the rescue of European economies in the midst of looming economic recession, we call on the bank to face the future and become a more sustainable, transparent and accountable institution.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold, European governments are developing public stimulus packages to help relaunch their economies and avoid a recession of historic proportions. And the EIB will play a flagship role under the EU recovery package announced by the European Commission’s President yesterday.
Firstly, the bank adopted emergency measures and announced that it will spend €40 billion to support mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the EU and €5.2 billion outside of Europe. In parallel, the European Council agreed to create a new €25 billion guarantee fund which would back €200 billion of new EIB operations aimed at securing loans for the public and private sector, with an increased focus on reaching out to SMEs and midcaps via public and private banks.
