The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ramirent, a leading Finnish rental group for construction machinery and equipment, have signed a EUR 50mn loan agreement to further modernise and expand Ramirent’s fleet. The agreement was made possible by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, which was launched by the EIB Group and the European Commission to boost the competitiveness of the European economy. The EIB loan underpins Ramirent’s European growth strategy and commitment...

EU and African leaders committed to investing in youth for a sustainable future; Joint EU-AU-UN Task Force to improve the situation on the ground in Libya The 5th African Union - European Union Summit took place on 29-30 November in Abidjan, under the overarching theme of Youth. The Summit brought together leaders from 55 African Union and 28 European Union Member States.  The EU was represented by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the President of the Council...

European Investment Bank (EIB) and Europe’s leading National Promotional Banks are pleased to announce the launch of Marguerite II, a pan-European infrastructure fund with total commitments in excess of EUR 700m; ensuring continued support to key infrastructure investments in renewables, energy, transport and digital infrastructure by the Marguerite platform. Marguerite II, launched today, will continue the important work of the 2020 European Fund for Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure (also known as the Marguerite Fund). Like its predecessor, Marguerite II...

URBIS, for "Urban Investment Support" will help cities plan investments to support their own urban development strategies and get easier access to finance. Cities face particular challenges when it comes to accessing finance. Individual municipal projects, for example in the fields of social inclusion, urban regeneration or energy efficiency, can be too risky or too small for the market. At the same time, funding for integrated urban programmes can also be difficult to access, because they group several small projects...

The Commission has today adopted rules that will make electronic payments in shops and online safer. This will also allow consumers to access more convenient, cost-effective and innovative solutions offered by payment providers. These rules implement the EU's recently-revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) which aims to modernise Europe's payment services so as to keep pace with this rapidly evolving market and allow the European e-commerce market to blossom. Today's rules allow consumers to use innovative services offered by third party...

By François Villeroy de Galhau, Amsterdam, Annual General Meeting of the Foreign Bankers’ Association   Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be in Amsterdam today and to give the keynote speech at your Annual General Meeting. I wish to warmly thank my friend Governor Klaas Knot and FBA Chairman Leonique van Houwelingen for their kind invitation. For a central banker, Amsterdam is a highly significant place, especially because the Bank of Amsterdam, in Dutch the “Amsterdamsche Wisselbank”, which was...

Autumn 2017 Economic Forecast: continued growth in a changing policy context The euro area economy is on track to grow at its fastest pace in a decade this year, with real GDP growth forecast at 2.2%. This is substantially higher than expected in spring (1.7%). The EU economy as a whole is also set to beat expectations with robust growth of 2.3% this year (up from 1.9% in spring). According to its Autumn Forecast released today, the European Commission expects growth to...