On the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2024

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2024

(2024/2053(INI))

– having regard to Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty on European Union,

– having regard to Articles 15, 126, 174, 175, 177, 208, 209, 271, 308 and 309 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to Protocol (No 5) on the Statute of the European Investment Bank (EIB),

– having regard to Articles 41 to 43 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

– having regard to the EIB Group Activity Report 2024 of 30 January 2025 entitled ‘Priorities for prosperity’,

– having regard to the EIB Investment Report 2024/2025 of 5 March 2025 entitled ‘Innovation, integration and simplification in Europe’,

– having regard to the EIB Group 2024-2027 Strategic Roadmap of 21 June 2024,

– having regard to the EIB Group Operational Plan 2024-2026 of 9 February 2024 and to the EIB Group Operational Plan 2025-2027 of 30 January 2025,

– having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2025/504 of 11 March 2025 amending Protocol No 5 on the Statute of the European Investment Bank,

– having regard to the letter by EIB President Nadia Calviño to the EU leaders of 4 March 2025,

– having regard to the report of 9 September 2024 by Mario Draghi entitled ‘The future of European competitiveness’,

– having regard to the report of 17 April 2024 by Enrico Letta entitled ‘Much more than a market’,

– having regard to the report of 25 April 2024 by Christian Noyer entitled ‘Developing European capital markets to finance the future’,

– having regard to the report of 30 October 2024 by Sauli Niinistö entitled ‘Safer Together – Strengthening Europe’s Civilian and Military Preparedness and Readiness’,

– having regard to the EIB Cohesion Orientation 2021-2027 of 13 October 2021,

– having regard to the EIB’s third annual report on EIB Group activities in EU cohesion regions of 15 July 2024,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021 establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/795 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing the Just Transition Fund,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1229 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on the public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009,

– having regard to the Commission proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February February 2025 amending Regulations (EU) 2015/1017, (EU) 2021/523, (EU) 2021/695 and (EU) 2021/1153 as regards increasing the efficiency of the EU guarantee under Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and simplifying reporting requirements (COM(2025)0084),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 29 January 2025 entitled ‘A Competitiveness Compass for the EU’ (COM(2025)0030),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 11 February 2025 entitled ‘Commission work programme 2025’ (COM(2025)0045),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 12 February 2025 entitled ‘The road to the next multiannual financial framework’ (COM(2025)0046),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 26 February 2025 entitled ‘The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation’ (COM(2025)0085),

– having regard to the EIB Group 2023 Climate Bank Roadmap Progress Report of 25 July 2024,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,

– having regard to the EIB press release of 6 March 2025 entitled ‘European Commission and EIB group lay foundations for a new pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing’,

– having regard to the ‘Main outcomes from EIB Group analysis and stakeholder consultation’, presented at the EIB seminar on housing on 18 July 2024,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 26 February 2025 entitled ‘Action Plan for Affordable Energy: Unlocking the true value of our Energy Union to secure affordable, efficient and clean energy for all Europeans’ (COM(2025)0079),

– having regard to the EIB Group Security and Defence Industry Action Plan presented at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on 12 April 2024,

– having regard to the EIB’s updated list of eligibility, excluded activities and excluded sectors of 14 July 2022,

– having regard to the press statement by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the defence package (Rearm Europe plan) of 4 March 2025,

– having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 1 December 2021 entitled ‘The Global Gateway’ (JOIN(2021)0030),

– having regard to the EIB Global Impact report 2023/2024 of 13 June 2024,

– having regard to the Tripartite Agreement between the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank, signed on 11 November 2021,

– having regard to the EIB Group Complaints Mechanism Procedures of 13 November 2018,

– having regard to the document entitled ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the EIB Group’ of 14 October 2024,

– having regard to the study of the European Parliamentary Research Service entitled ‘Increasing European added value in an age of global challenges – Mapping the cost of non-Europe (2022-2032)’, published in February 2023,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Budgets,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A10-0000/2025),

A. whereas the EIB Group has a balance sheet of close to EUR 600 billion;

B. whereas the EIB, entirely owned by the Member States, is tasked with contributing to the achievement of the EU’s objectives;

C. whereas the EIB states that its total investment reached a record level of EUR 88.8 billion in 2024, of which EUR 50.7 billion related to climate and environment; whereas the EIB’s total investment is expected to increase to EUR 95 billion in 2025;

General remarks

1. Welcomes the EIB’s strategic priorities for 2024 to 2027, which reflect the EU’s political priorities, including competitiveness, the green and digital transitions, regional cohesion, social infrastructure such as housing, education and health, as well as security and defence;

2. Highlights the strong call for the EIB to play an even greater role in closing Europe’s investment gap; calls on the Commission and the EIB to fully leverage the EIB’s potential; urges Member States to provide sufficient funding for this purpose; recalls that the new Commission has set itself the goal of being an ‘investment Commission’;

3. Stresses that the EIB’s ‘triple A’ rating is an important asset; underlines that the rating stems, among other reasons, from the fact that the EIB has been responsive to EU policy objectives, notably by becoming a ‘climate bank’;

4. Stresses the need to simplify, optimise and consolidate current and future EIB processes and mandates to enhance synergies, effectiveness and efficiency;

Closing the investment gap and fostering competitiveness

5. Emphasises the important role of the EIB Group as a pan-European investment body in mobilising both public and private financing for EU priorities and supporting Member States in financing essential and strategic investments;

6. Recalls that the EIB’s operations are by nature limited and can only play a supporting role in addressing the significant investment gap; reiterates that a more integrated Economic and Monetary Union and strengthened economic architecture would support the EIB’s operations; calls, therefore, for swift and substantial progress regarding the Capital Markets Union and the completion of the Banking Union, as well as the establishment of permanent EU investment instruments and tools;

7. Calls on the Commission and the EIB Group to enhance efforts to mobilise savings for productive investments, supporting innovation throughout companies’ life cycles, including more scale-ups with higher-risk equity and venture debt, and strengthening the EU’s leadership in green and digital bonds;

8. Stresses that de-risking financial instruments and budgetary guarantees have proven to be powerful tools; is concerned that, according to the interim evaluation of the InvestEU programme, envelopes for many financial products may run out by the end of 2025 without budgetary reinforcements;

Promoting the digital transformation

9. Calls on the EIB to strengthen financing for the EU’s open strategic autonomy in the digital field and to promote European digital infrastructure, new and disruptive technologies, and research;

10. Supports the EIB’s expansion of the European Tech Champions Initiative to attract private capital for scaling innovative start-ups into successful global leaders;

Consolidating the EIB’s role as the EU’s climate bank

11. Welcomes the EIB’s role as a climate bank and its alignment with the EU sustainable finance framework, including the integration of taxonomy criteria; recalls that all of the EIB’s financial flows must be fully consistent with the EU’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and climate objectives for 2030;

12. Welcomes the EIB’s climate and environmental investments, which totalled EUR 50.7 billion in 2024, exceeding the target of channelling at least 50 % of total financing to climate action and environmental sustainability;

13. Welcomes the EIB’s investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electricity grids and storage, including its support for REPowerEU;

14. Stresses the need for increased investment in climate adaptation and resilience; encourages further research and development, including of innovative technologies, for climate preparedness;

Addressing challenges in social infrastructure, cohesion policy and housing

15. Welcomes the EIB’s core strategic priorities to reinforce Europe’s social infrastructure and a modern cohesion policy for inclusive and sustainable growth across Europe;

16. Calls on the EIB to step up investments in education, training, upskilling and reskilling, and health, in line with the Draghi report;

17. Welcomes the EIB’s commitment to addressing the double market failure in the housing sector, including the insufficient provision of decent, safe, and energy-efficient housing, as well as the market failure to close the energy efficiency gap;

18. Welcomes the EIB’s ‘Action Plan for Affordable and Sustainable Housing’ with planned investments of EUR 10 billion over the next two years; draws attention to the outcome of the EIB Group analysis and stakeholder meeting, which highlighted an estimated annual investment gap of EUR 300 to 400 billion needed to build 1.5 million new housing units and to renovate 5 million additional units annually;

Financing peace, security and defence

19. Welcomes the EIB’s proactive approach in the area of security and defence; highlights that investment in this sector doubled in 2024 to EUR 1 billion, with the EIB’s 2025 plan set to double it again to a record EUR 2 billion; stresses that European-level funding, based on solidarity, is essential to meet the significant funding needs of Member States;

20. Welcomes the EIB’s plan to revise its operational framework, establishing a dedicated transversal public policy goal to enhance Europe’s peace and security, backed by ambitious financial and capital allocation;

21. Warns that any adjustment to the EIB Group’s eligibility criteria or funding to align with new priorities must safeguard the Group’s financial position and ensure effective financing of other EU strategic priorities;

EIB neighbourhood and Global Gateway

22. Welcomes the EIB’s vital support for Ukraine in the light of Russia’s full-scale and illegal war of aggression; calls for an increase in EU budget guarantees to allow the EIB to continue to deliver and strengthen public and private sector operations in Ukraine;

23. Welcomes the EIB’s role in the Global Gateway as crucial for Europe’s global position and for promoting the rules-based multilateral system, sustainable development, democracy, human rights and the rule of law;

Governance: accountability and transparency

24. Stresses that the EIB’s growing role should be accompanied by greater democratic accountability and transparency; reiterates its call for an interinstitutional agreement between Parliament and the EIB;

25. Welcomes the 2024 Framework for recognition of trade unions at the European Investment Bank;

26. Welcomes the EIB’s principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, including the target of at least 40 % of management positions being held by women by the end of 2026;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The report welcomes the EIB's strategic priorities for 2024-2027, which are closely aligned with the EU’s key political objectives, demonstrating the bank's readiness to adapt to evolving policies while remaining committed to long-term goals.

Against the backdrop of multiple internal challenges, the need for future investments, and rising geopolitical tensions, there is a strong call for the EIB to play a bigger role in addressing Europe’s investment needs and funding common EU priorities. The EIB Group is a key player in mobilizing private and public investments across Europe and maximizing the bank's potential to leverage investments is essential. However, it operates within a defined mandate and financial capacity and can only play a supporting role in addressing the significant investment gap in Europe. To maximize its impact, broader structural and financial backing is needed through a more integrated Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and a strengthened economic architecture. The completion of the Capital Markets Union and the Banking Union, along with the establishment of permanent EU investment instruments and tools, would create a more robust framework, enhancing Europe’s ability to mobilize investments effectively and sustainably, and help bridge the investment gap across the EU. Both, Member States and the Commission must step up their efforts to achieve this.

This year's annual report focuses on the following key topics: closing the investment gap and fostering competitiveness; promoting the digital transformation; consolidating the EIB's role as the EU climate bank; addressing challenges in social infrastructure, cohesion policy, and housing; financing peace, security, and defence; and the EIB's role in the neighbourhood and Global Gateway. Moreover, it takes a stance on the governance of the EIB and reiterates its call for an interinstitutional agreement between the Parliament and the EIB.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft report:

Entity and/or person

European Commission

European Economic and Social Committee

European Investment Bank

The European Federation for Public, Cooperative and Social Housing (Housing Europe)

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that he has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.