EIB President Calviño opens second EIB Group Forum and unveils Annual Investment Report

The European Union’s economy and businesses continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience in the face of multiple overlapping challenges, according to the EIB’s flagship Investment Report published today. ” This resilience and past accomplishment has come about largely thanks to a well-coordinated EU policy response, which should serve as a blueprint for the future,” said EIB President Nadia Calviño at the opening of the 2^nd edition of the EIB Group Forum.

“Sustained investment backed by coordinated EU policy support has been crucial to accelerate the energy transition and the adoption of new technologies” Calviño said, ahead of her keynote speech to more than 900 participants of the Forum in Luxembourg. “Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy hinge upon pooling resources, crowding in private capital and building partnerships within our Union, and beyond. Europe can and will rise to the challenge.”

The EIB Group Forum brings together senior policymakers, business leaders, academics and civil society representatives. Over two days, participants will discuss EU policy priorities and challenges, and the outlook for the European economy, ahead of the EU Parliament elections in June, against the backdrop of global geopolitical instability and conflict.

Speakers include Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, European Council President Charles Michel, European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola, Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, European Commission Executive Vice-Presidents Valdis Dombrovskis and Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioners Wopke Hoekstra, Mairead McGuinness and Kadri Simson, as well as several ministers, senior executives and policymakers from across Europe and the world.

The Forum, which will be livestreamed, will address the themes of competitiveness, energy security, innovation and the European Union’s strategic autonomy, investment to support cohesion and the digital transition, as well as the challenges of EU enlargement and the green transition. Setting the framework for discussions, the EIB’s Investment Report shows that European firms have increased investments in innovation, energy efficiency and supply chain diversification.

However, the report warns that the depletion of firms’ own financial reserves, which have acted as a buffer, will pose a challenge for investment in the future. It underlines a divide between firms that transform and remain competitive and those that lag behind. The divide also emerges across those energy-intensive firms that are most affected by the net zero transition. With those ahead in the decarbonisation process investing and innovating more, there is a risk that this divide will become entrenched.

EU’s investment has proven more resilient than in previous crises, although a gap in productive investment between the European Union and the United States remains a challenge for EU competitiveness. Moreover, investment in new technology and innovation needs to be matched by investment in skills and social infrastructure to sustain quality of life and social cohesion.

“Structural transformation, innovation, digitalisation and decarbonisation are key priorities for preserving EU competitiveness,” EIB Chief Economist Debora Revoltella, said. “We must increase our investment in these areas, provide dedicated finance for scaling up key technologies and create an enabling environment that reduces barriers and uncertainties. The findings of the Investment Report can serve as a roadmap for policymakers and investors to navigate current challenges and opportunities.”

Looking ahead, sustaining the pace of transformation will require effective and targeted policy interventions. Reaping the full benefit of existing public investment plans is a priority and goes hand in hand with preserving the level playing field of the Single Market to fully exploit its potential. It has been estimated that eliminating one investment barrier is associated with a 1 percentage point increase in firms’ investment rate (as a percent of assets).