Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino has been chosen by the European Union to chair the European Investment Bank (EIB). She arrives at a crucial time at the head of this organization which is often considered the largest multilateral financial institution in the world.
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She said she wanted to become the first woman to head this institution created in 1958 and considered the financial arm of the European Union. Objective achieved for Nadia Calvino, 55, an economist by training, who until now held the post of Minister of the Economy in the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez since 2018. She will succeed the German Werner Hoyer, whose second mandate of six years expires at the end of the year.
Fierce struggle
The succession at the head of the European investment bank has been the subject of a fierce struggle in the circles of European power. And for good reason, its role is more strategic than ever. After the Covid-19 crisis and the start of the war in Ukraine, money is lacking within the European Union. And in the years to come, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will not only have to help finance the reconstruction of Ukraine but also the climate and energy transition, or even the rearmament of European countries. Tens of billions of euros in financing will be needed.
Projects outside Europe
If France is today the main beneficiary of these loans, the EIB also intervenes in projects outside Europe, and concludes agreements with partner countries of the European Union, especially in Africa, in Asia or South America. During the COP28 which is currently taking place in Dubai, the EIB committed to investing 100 million euros in the green transition in Rwanda. It also likes the name “European climate bank” and has announced an increase in its annual green financing by more than 80%.
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