CEB and EIB Group to strengthen co-operation to address social challenges across Europe

PARIS, France (14 October) — The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and the EIB Group (comprising the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund), convened at the CEB headquarters in Paris to explore enhanced collaboration to address growing social finance markets needs across Europe.

The institutions seek to leverage their respective strengths to address Europe's pressing social and financial inclusion challenges. The dialogue centered on the activities that the institutions deploy in areas such as social impact finance, microfinance, social enterprises, education services and their crucial role in in promoting inclusive growth.

As implementing partners of the InvestEU programme – a European Union initiative aimed at addressing investment gaps in key policy areas – the CEB, EIB and EIF are dedicated to coordinating their approaches and scaling up efforts in sectors such as social infrastructure, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), skills and education.

Additionally, the institutions reaffirmed their commitment to continue coordinating their efforts to support social infrastructure and small and medium enterprises in Ukraine, ensuring that displaced populations have access to adequate housing, services, and economic opportunities while keeping providing supports to Ukrainian refugees in the member states.

The institutions will take proactive steps to identify potential synergies for future projects, fostering stronger and more seamless co-operation for a lasting impact on European citizens.

“We are pleased to take this important step toward strengthening ties between CEB and EIB Group at a crucial time for Europe. The CEB brings its unique social mission and expertise in financing impactful social projects to this collaboration. Through synergy and complementarity, while leveraging our specific mandates, our three institutions can make a big difference for the daily lives of European citizens and to contribute to the realization of social Europe,” said Sandrine Gaudin, CEB’s Vice-Governor for Financial Strategy.

“This collaboration is essential to amplifying our shared mission of fostering social cohesion, economic resilience, and environmental sustainability. It showcases the collective strength of working together, combining our resources and expertise to tackle Europe's most pressing challenges. By pooling our resources and expertise, we maximize our impact, driving inclusive growth and sustainable development across the continent,” added EIB's Vice-president Kyriacos Kakouris.

“Our institutions are coming together to strengthen their collaboration. We want our interventions to be more effective for the benefit of Europe's most vulnerable communities and citizens. The EIF and the CEB contribute through their product offering to the development of social investment and this closer relationship will enable us to deepen our convergence in the field of inclusive finance,” explained EIF Chief investment officer Alessandro Tappi.

For further information, please contact

Jelica Vesic, Senior Communication Officer at CEB, +33 6 03 12 57 80, jelica.vesic@coebank.org

Christophe Alix, Communication and media Officer at EIB Group in France, +33 6 11 81 30 99, c.alix@eib.org / press Office: press@eib.org / +352 43 79 84 303

About CEB

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank, whose unique mission is to promote social cohesion in its 43 member states across Europe. The CEB finances investment in social sectors, including education, health and affordable housing, with a focus on the needs of vulnerable people. Borrowers include governments, local and regional authorities, public and private banks, non-profit organisations, and others. As a multilateral bank with an excellent credit rating, the CEB funds itself on the international capital markets. It approves projects according to strict social, environmental and governance criteria, and provides technical assistance. In addition, the CEB receives funds from donors to complement its activities.

About EIB Group

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances sound investments that contribute to EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality. The EIB Group, which also includes th European Investment Fund (EIF) signed a total of 88 € billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2023. These commitments are expected to mobilise around €320 billion in investment, supporting 400 000 companies and 5.4 million jobs.

About EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that target this market segment. In this role, the EIF advances key EU policy objectives including competitiveness, growth, human capital and climate action.