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President Hoyer: Overview of 2020 activities

25.01.2021 Share

EIB President Werner Hoyer’s overview of 2020 activities at the EIB Group’s 2021 Annual Press Conference

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the EIB Group press conference, where we provide an overview of our activities in 2020.

Thank you for being here!

This press conference is about what the EIB Group did last year, which means the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, the bank’s subsidiary specialising in financing for small and medium enterprises. I am delighted to be joined by the Fund’s Chief Executive Alain Godard, who will take questions related to the Fund.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a difficult yet crucial year for EU Institutions, a milestone in the long path of the European Project.

EIB ROLE AND TOTAL FIGURES

The COVID-19 crisis meant that many organisations failed to meet their planned business targets for 2020. With the strong support of our shareholders and our partners in the European institutions we have been able to help Europe navigate this crisis.

The EIB Group demonstrated its role as a vital instrument of strategic autonomy for Europe and its Member States.

…A vehicle that allows the Union to act SWIFTLY and with ONE voice;

…A vehicle that does not turn its back on globalisation, but recognises the importance of a strong and competitive Europe in a global world;

… A vehicle that is able to act on all fronts both inside and outside EU borders, recognising the incontestable links between innovation, climate and development;

… A vehicle that strengthens Europe’s place in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, the EIB Group finished 2020 with almost €77 billion in signatures. You have to put this into perspective. That is about half the amount of the EU budget. Of this, close to €13 billion were provided by the European Investment Fund.

Our original target was €73 billion of signatures in 2020. In fact, one year ago we thought Brexit would be our greatest challenge, as we prepared to transform into Europe’s climate bank. We were terribly wrong.

Learn more here: https://www.eib.org/en/press/speeches/president-hoyer-overview-of-2020-activities

Article and photo source: https://www.eib.org/en/press/speeches/president-hoyer-overview-of-2020-activities