Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Set up in 1958 by the Treaties of Rome, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has the task of contributing to the balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States of the EU.

The role of the EIB

The European Investment Bank has the task of contributing, by means of recourse to the capital markets and its own resources, to the balanced and steady development of the internal market in the interest of the Union. In concrete terms, the EIB borrows funds on the capital markets and then lends them on favourable terms to projects contributing to the achievement of the EU's objectives. Within the EU, its priorities are to support:

• the development of the least-favoured regions by investing in, among other things, transport infrastructures, health or education;
• small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), via the EIB's programme of loans for SME.
• environmental sustainability, by investing in particular in urban renewal, energy efficiency, and the preservation of natural resources;
• the implementation of the 'Innovation 2010' initiative.
• the development of the trans-European networks (TENs) which are large transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructure networks within the 27 Member States of the EU.
• renewable energy, competitive supply and diversification of energy sources.

Outside the European Union, the Bank also supports the European policies of co-operation and development aid. In this domain, the regions covered are the candidate countries, the partners of the European Neighbourhood Policy, of the development co-operation and of the economic co-operation.

In figures

In 2009, the EIB granted 79.1 billion Euros in loans: 70.5 billion in the Member States of the European Union and in the countries of the EFTA, and 8.6 billion in partner countries outside the EU. The Bank's capital amounts to 232.4 billion Euros. The shareholders are the Member States of the EU.

In practice

The EIB is an institution with a legal personality and financial independence. Within it, the following bodies take the decisions:

• The management committee . This comprises nine members and exercises the executive role. It handles the day-to-day management of the EIB.
• The Board of Governors. This comprises twenty-seven members: in principle the twenty-seven Finance Ministers of the Member States. It defines the Bank's general lending policy, approves the balance sheet and the annual report, authorises the Bank to fund projects outside the EU and decides on any capital increases.
• The Board of Directors presided over by the President of the Bank, this comprises twenty-eight members, twenty-seven appointed by the Member States and one appointed by the European Commission. It approves the lending and borrowing operations and also ensures the proper management of the EIB. The president, or in his absence one of the vice-presidents of the Management Committee, presides over the meetings of the Board of Directors without taking part in the vote.

The Belgian Philippe Maystadt has been president of the EIB and of its Management Committee since January 2000. The central seat of the EIB is in Luxembourg. In addition, the EIB has several offices, both inside and outside the EU.

Want to know more about the European Investment Bank?

Did you know...
that the EIB is not like other banks? In fact, it does not seek to maximise its profits but to support the policies of the EU.