The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed off on its 2026–2028 plan, keeping financing at a record €100 billion in 2026 to back EU priorities from green investment to defence and support for Ukraine, according to the Bank. Of that, €4.5 billion—around 5 per cent of EIB lending inside the EU—will go to security and defence. The plan follows the EIB Group’s eight‑point Strategic Roadmap, which steers money toward climate action, technological innovation, security and rebuilding Ukraine.
EIB Group President Nadia Calviño said the Bank is helping shore up Europe’s competitiveness and security “amid extraordinary geopolitical challenges”, and backing a strong EU role on the global stage. The total includes €15.3 billion to be deployed by the European Investment Fund, which uses equity, guarantees and securitisation to channel finance to European firms.
The EIB Group also agreed to scale up its European Tech Champions Initiative into “ETCI 2.0”, widening support from mega‑funds to also include mid‑sized funds so more tech companies can raise the growth capital they need in Europe rather than abroad. The EIB and EIF boards together committed €1.25 billion of their own money to the new phase, which aims to crowd in financing from EU countries and big institutional investors like insurers, pension funds and banks. Since 2023, the initiative has already backed nine European tech “unicorns” valued at over $1 billion.
Alongside the strategy decisions, the boards approved €7.5 billion in new project finance for social infrastructure, climate action and global partnerships. In Europe, the money will support hospital upgrades and health innovation in France, Germany and Sweden, new schools in Finland, France and Slovakia, sustainable farming in Lithuania and Poland, and green and digital infrastructure plus water projects in Spain, Italy and Sweden. Outside the EU, the package backs business finance in Ukraine and a string of Global Gateway projects, including vaccine production in Colombia and South Africa, grid upgrades in Ethiopia, water systems in Gambia and the Solomon Islands, and climate adaptation efforts in Pakistan.
