EIB | European Promotional Institutions and European Investment Bank Group to Accelerate Investment and Strengthen Europe’s Competitiveness, Resilience and Security

The leaders of Europe’s largest national promotional banks and institutions BGK (Poland), Caisse des Dépôts – CDC (France), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti – CDP (Italy), KfW (Germany), Instituto de Crédito Oficial – ICO (Spain), and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, whose combined 2025 financing amounts to more than €300 billion, met today in Munich to reaffirm their shared determination to boost investment, competitiveness and resilience across the European Union and build on more than a decade of close cooperation.

In a rapidly changing global environment, the group underscored its commitment to work together to address Europe’s most pressing economic challenges, strengthen competitiveness, close persistent investment gaps and reinforce the EU’s strategic autonomy.

The financial leaders highlighted the essential role public long-term investors play in mobilising private capital and driving long‑term investment aligned with EU priorities.

Strengthened cooperation on strategic priorities

The institutions reviewed progress and agreed next steps in several priority areas:

• Competitiveness: Building on the landmark Draghi report on the future of European competitiveness and the Letta report on the Single Market, as well as recent national analyses, the institutions reaffirmed their determination to support deeper integration, scale up investment in innovation, skills and infrastructure, and improve the business environment for European companies. The institutions and the EIB Group translate this agenda into concrete action through coordinated, long-term financing and innovative instruments.
• Security and defence: Working together to support additional security and defence investment essential to bolster Europe’s security and industrial resilience, including leveraging on private capital to meet the European investments needs in this sector.

Following the agreement reached in Warsaw in June 2025, the institutions are happy to welcome additional institutions joining and reinforcing this cooperation initiative on security and defence: Banco Português de Fomento (Portugal) and the promotional bank of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, NRW.Bank (Germany).

An analysis has been shared for the creation of a Security and Defence Infrastructure Fund with a sizeable amount, supporting critical infrastructure projects to bolster Europe’s security and industrial resilience. This initiative aims at encouraging the development of security and defence infrastructure funds and leveraging private capital to meet the European investments needs in this sector.

• Digital sovereignty: Exploring strategies to strengthen digital sovereignty and implementing concrete actions to ensure technological autonomy and resilience. The institutions agreed to develop a digital resilience index to measure digital dependencies and to strengthen European independence.
• Savings and Investment Union (SIU): Advancing collaboration on market‑based instruments – such as the expansion of the successful European Tech Champions Initiative, improved exit tools, securitisation solutions – and improving complementarity with national initiatives such as KfW’s Germany Fund and BGK’s Future Tech Poland.
• Housing: Building on the European Commission’s Affordable Housing Plan, national promotional banks, and institutions and the EIB Group will intensify cooperation to expand and enhance the financing of housing programmes across the EU.

Background information

About the Caisse des Dépôts Group

Caisse des Dépôts and its subsidiaries form a public long-term investor group serving the general interest and economic development of local areas.

It combines five areas of expertise: social policy (pensions, professional training, disability, old age, health), asset management, monitoring subsidiaries and strategic shareholdings, business financing (with Bpifrance) and Banque des Territoires.

About Cassa Depositi e Prestiti

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is the National Promotional Institution which has been supporting the Italian economy since 1850. The main goal of CDP is to accelerate the industrial and infrastructural development of Italy to boost its economic and social growth. CDP focuses its activities on sustainable development at local level, supporting the innovation and growth of Italian enterprises, also in the international arena. It partners local authorities, in a financing and advisory capacity, to create infrastructures and improve services of public value. CDP also participates actively in international cooperation initiatives to realize projects in developing countries and emerging markets. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is entirely financed by private capital, through the issuing of Postal Savings Bonds and Postal Savings Passbooks, and through issues on national and international financial markets.

About the EIB Group

The European Investment Bank (ElB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion of new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investment union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructures, the EIB Group crowds-in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium size businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilizes private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.

In 2023, the EIF together with six member states (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) launched the European Tech Champions Initiative, a fund of funds to scale-up innovative startups. This initiative has already enabled the creation of 12 13 European venture capital mega-funds and scaled up 38 companies, including 11 unicorns (with more than €1 billion in capital).

Photos of the EIB Group’s spokespeople and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here.

About ICO

Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) is the national promotional bank of Spain, attached to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise. ICO has become a benchmark in financing both SMEs and large investment projects and contributes to sustainable growth by promoting economic activities that, due to their social, cultural, innovative or environmental importance, are worthy of promotion and development. www.ico.es

About KfW

KfW is one of the world’s leading promotional banks. With its decades of experience, KfW is committed to improving economic, social and environmental living conditions across the globe on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany and the federal states. Its financing and promotional activities are aligned with the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and contribute to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world.

About Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) is a Polish development bank, the only such institution in Poland. BGK supports the sustainable social and economic development of the country. Its activities influence job creation, housing construction, infrastructure development and air quality improvement. The bank cares about future generations – it builds social capital, develops entrepreneurship and provides responsible financing. It is present in every region of Poland, as well as abroad – it has representative offices in Brussels, Frankfurt am Main and Kyiv. The bank is involved in the implementation of European Funds in Poland, as well as products financed by the National Recovery and Reconstruction Plan. BGK supports exports and foreign expansion of Polish companies. Through cooperation with business, the public sector and financial institutions, it responds to economic needs.

Compliments of the European Investment Bank – a Premium Member of the EACCNY