European Investment Bank

By Tom Nokes / Updated: 13 Aug 2021

The European Investment Bank (EIB), known as the EU’s bank, is owned by the EU’s Member States. The EIB offers finance and expertise for projects that support innovation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), infrastructure and climate action. Lending, blending and advising are the three main instruments utilised by the EIB. Some of the most relevant instruments from the perspective of urban mobility are:

InvestEU

  • Currently, there are 14 different instruments contributing to supporting investment in the EU, the European fund for strategic investments (EFSI) being the main one. The Commission is proposing to build on the success of the EFSI model and benefitting from economies of scale by merging all instruments currently available to foster investment in the EU.
  • The EU budget provides a €26.2 billion guarantee to support strategically important projects across the EU. By crowding in private and public investments, the Commission expects the InvestEU fund to trigger more than €372 billion in additional investment across the EU between 2021 and 2027.
  • InvestEU is intended to support four policy areas:
    • sustainable infrastructure,
    • research, innovation and digitalisation;
    • small and medium-sized businesses;
    • social investment and skills.
  • The InvestEU Portal allows project promoters to reach investors that they may not be able to reach otherwise. The Portal continues the work started under the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) and is the online EU ‘marketplace’ connecting EU-based project promoters to investors worldwide.
  • The InvestEU Advisory Hub will become operational by the end of 2021. It is envisioned as the central entry point for project promoters and intermediaries seeking advisory support and technical assistance related to centrally managed EU investment funds. Managed by the European Commission and financed by the EU budget, the hub connects project promoters and intermediaries with advisory partners, among them the European Investment Bank Group, who work directly together to help projects reach the financing stage. The European Investment Advisory Hub provides funding advice in the meantime.

Safer Transport Platform (STP) – Road Safety Advisory

  • The STP – Road Safety Advisory as hosted by the European Investment Advisory Hub (the Hub), is a gateway to advisory services to support the uptake of funding and financing opportunities for projects that improve road safety.
  • The European Commission has put forward a new and ambitious road safety agenda, which includes a Road Safety Policy Framework for 2021-2030 and a Strategic Action Plan on Road Safety.

Loan Guarantee Instrument for Trans-European Transport Network Projects (LGTT) 

  • The LGTT can partially cover risks in public-private-partnership transport projects.

ELENA

  • ELENA is a joint initiative by the EIB and the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme. ELENA provides grants, mainly to cities and regions, for technical assistance focused on the implementation of energy efficiency, distributed renewable energy and urban transport projects and programmes.
  • The European Commission has allocated a further €35 million towards the initiative with €5 million dedicated to support projects across its sustainable transport portfolio.

FELICITY

European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF)

  • The EEEF aims to promote a sustainable energy market and climate protection by attracting additional capital into climate financing.

InnovFin financing tools

Available under Horizon 2020, this tool covers a wide range of loans, guarantees and equity-type funding.