The European Investment Bank (EIB), established in 1958 by the Treaty of Rome, serves as the long-term lending institution for the European Union and is fully owned by the EU’s 27 Member States. Its headquarters have been in Luxembourg City since 1968.
Over its history, the EIB’s role has expanded significantly beyond its original mandate of financing cross-border and regional infrastructure within the EU. By 1962, the Bank began supporting projects outside the European Community, extending its reach globally. Over the decades, it has provided finance worth more than one trillion euros to projects in more than 160 countries, becoming one of the world’s largest multilateral lenders.
As of 2025, the Bank has set a record annual financing ceiling of €100 billion. Its areas of focus range from climate action and digitalisation, to security and defence, cohesion, agriculture, social infrastructure, and technology leadership. Projects in 2025 include investments in European power grids, solar plants in Romania, water and transport infrastructure in Ireland and the Netherlands, military mobility in Denmark, and education facilities in Finland. Outside Europe, the EIB finances renewable energy in Colombia and sanitation in Tanzania.
A recent example of its evolving activity is a €115 million loan for transforming Denmark’s port of Esbjerg to serve military and offshore wind needs, and a €300 million loan to Austria's Voestalpine for production of cleaner steel.
The EIB remains a central actor in EU policy, operating with around 1,200 staff and continuing to adapt its priorities to the changing needs of Europe and its partners.