FDP politician Werner Hoyer will be at the helm of the European Investment Bank until the end of the year. Now his successor has been chosen: Nadia Calviño will be the first woman to hold this position.
As the successor to the German Werner Hoyer, Spanish Economics Minister Nadia Calviño will head the European Investment Bank (EIB). The finance ministers of the 27 EU states agreed on this, as Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem said today in Brussels. Calviño is the first woman to lead the Luxembourg-based bank. The identity still needs to be formally confirmed.
“Climate Bank” of the European Union
The EIB is the promotional bank of the European Union and belongs to all member states. It is intended to finance investments that contribute to achieving the EU’s political goals. According to its own information, the EIB is the largest multilateral financing institution in the world. Since its founding in 1958, it has invested more than one trillion euros.
The current focus is primarily on climate protection. Outgoing President Hoyer has literally converted the EIB into a “climate bank”: Last year, it granted more than half of its loans for climate protection and energy projects, thereby mobilizing many times more private capital.
The EIB has also recently been heavily involved in supporting Ukraine. Since Russia’s invasion last year, it has provided around 2.3 billion euros for the country, particularly to rebuild important infrastructure.
Hoyer’s mandate expires at the end of the year
Calviño, who is also Spain’s deputy head of government, is due to take up her new position on January 1st. The economist is credited with successfully leading her country’s economy through the Corona crisis.
The 55-year-old said she was “grateful and honored” by the support of her colleagues. The EIB is “the largest public development bank in the world and a key institution for the European economy,” said Calviño. She wants to help the bank play an even greater role in the transition to a climate-friendly economy and in financial aid for Ukraine.
In addition to the independent Calviño, who has headed Spain’s Ministry of Economic Affairs since 2018, the former EU competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, was considered a favorite for the top post. The FDP politician Werner Hoyer took over the top job in 2012. The 72-year-old’s mandate expires at the end of the year.