The European Investment Bank has existed since the inception of the European Union in the 1950s, but despite its vital role as the EU's lending arm, it has not gained the media attention of institutions such as the European Commission or the European Parliament. That is now changing, however. The EIB is taking on a more high-profile role, financing projects in the fields of security and defence. This is a shift that our guest has referred to as a "seismic shock". Nadia Calviño is the president of the European Investment Bank, and the first woman and first Spaniard to lead the institution. She served as First Vice-President of the Spanish government and Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise until December 2023, in the cabinet of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Asked about the EIB's role in helping the EU to achieve its goals under the ReArmEU defence plan, Calviño replies: "Since I was appointed president, I had a clear idea that we needed to step up our support to Europe's security and defence capabilities. But each institution must play its role. We are not a defence ministry. We can finance large investment projects, which are quite key to the resilience of the European Union, be it in military mobility, research, space or military barracks and facilities. So, since 2024, we started to enlarge the scope and our ambition in this area. We have been visiting the different member states, talking to industry, identifying the gaps and where the EIB can really make a difference. And that is leading us right now to have a robust pipeline of 14 projects and doubling, again, investments in 2025."

Calviño makes it clear, however, that there will not be a radical overhaul of funding criteria in order finance the production of weapons, as some have called for. "We need to preserve our Triple-A rating," she explains. "Our strong Triple-A rating is what allows us to lend the money to the member states, to companies outside the Union, in very favourable conditions: low interest rates, long tenures, 30-year loans, for example. That's what makes projects possible."

We also discuss the EIB's vital help to Ukraine – the bank has provided €2.2 billion to the country since February 2022. "We are probably the most important financing partner for investments in Ukraine," Calviño affirms. "We are helping Ukrainian citizens lead a normal daily life, within the abnormal circumstances around them. We are financing infrastructures to provide clean drinking water in Bucha, the metro and trams in Kyiv, in Lviv, in the main cities, protection for schools, kindergartens, hospitals, also border connections with the European Union."

On the growing political and trade tensions between the Trump administration and the EU, Calviño maintains that "the US has benefited greatly from the WTO, the international rules-based world order, the dollar and free trade. And I think we have a shared interest in continuing to protect this multilateral world order. But the European Union should feel self-confident because we are a trade superpower. We are a technology superpower. We have our values, our strength right now."

For Calviño, making the energy transition a success is a "no-brainer" for Europe. "We need to become much more independent from fossil fuels and increase our energy efficiency. As the European Investment Bank, we are really committed to green investments that represent more than 60 percent of our annual investments in Europe and around the world."

She elaborates: "We have just signed a very important agreement with the Orano producer here in France to reinforce the capacity to enrich uranium and thus reduce dependence on Russia. But we are also investing in grids and interconnectors, and investing in the deployment of renewable energies in France".

Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Oihana Almandoz and Isabelle Romero

'The EU is a trade and technology superpower': European Investment Bank chief Calviño

Talking Europe