I would like to thank the European Parliament for the report and the opportunity to present the Commission's views.
For the Commission, 2024 was another year of positive cooperation with our closest partner in delivering on our priorities - the European Investment Bank Group.
The EIB Group continues to play a pivotal role in mobilising private and public capital to reinforce the EU's competitiveness, our open strategic autonomy and economic security.
It remains essential for de-risking capital-intensive, long-term, and innovative projects across Europe and beyond.
At the same time, we encourage the EIB Group to foster higher additionality in its interventions.
This means three things: taking more calculated risk, closing critical market gaps, and helping to reduce our strategic dependencies.
The EU has long-faced a tech scale-up funding challenge.
Our competitiveness and security critically depend on the ability of our innovative startups and scaleups to access capital.
They will require strong support in these efforts, especially those operating in areas such as AI, quantum and other deeptech, but also critical raw materials, and the defence sector.
The EIB Group European Tech Champions Initiative can play an important role.
It is dedicated to supporting Europe's venture capital and private equity ecosystem to address the financing gap experienced by European technology scale-ups.
Now launching its second edition, we expect a wider outreach this time, bringing more Member States as well as institutional and private investors on board, complementing the Commission's ScaleUp Europe Fund.
The EIB is also a major partner for the European Commission in implementing priorities outside of the EU.
On Ukraine, we appreciate the EIB Group's continued commitment to enhancing Ukraine's resilience and supporting its recovery, particularly in the energy sector.
The EIB's engagement will also be critical in the post-war period for Ukraine's reconstruction.
Europe must act now to urgently to enhance its defensive capabilities.
The European Commission therefore very much welcomes the Bank's expanded scope and financing in the area of security and defence.
It is important that the EIB Group aligns its activities in this area closely with the objectives of the SAFE instrument.
The EIB Group's investments in energy security and the green transition remain at the core of its mission.
Given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the resulting surge in energy prices, that work is more important than ever.
To conclude, honourable Members, I believe that the European Commission and the EIB Group must continue our successful collaboration for Europe's benefit.
By closely coordinating our efforts and focusing investment on strategic areas of maximum impact, we can ensure Europe's continued growth, technological leadership and resilience in the face of current geopolitical challenges.
I welcome the Parliament's report that brings important insights and recommendations for the work of the EIB Group.
The EIB Group – Bank and Fund – has been successful in ensuring a balance between being a bank with a public mission and maintaining agility to ensure its attractiveness as a partner for project promoters and to advance our important investment policies, often with private partners.
I am confident we can rely on our productive relationship also in the future.
