InvestEU: European Commission and Council of Europe Development Bank sign agreement to mobilise €500 million in financing for social investments

Today, the European Commission and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) have
signed an InvestEU guarantee agreement worth up to €159 million. This makes the CEB an
InvestEU implementing partner and will mobilise around €500 million in additional loans for
social projects. It represents an important milestone, as this is the first time InvestEU supports the investments of a multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate.
The guarantee agreement, signed today in Brussels by Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and CEB
Governor Carlo Monticelli, will unlock significant investments under the InvestEU “social
investment and skills” and “sustainable infrastructure” windows. This includes social,
affordable and student housing; education, employment, and skills; health care, long-term care and social care; as well as clean and smart urban mobility, water and wastewater services, and flood protection. The portfolio of projects covered by this InvestEU guarantee will also support cross cutting objectives such as gender equality and the social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities. The first operations under the agreement are expected to be approved over the course of 2023. Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “InvestEU is set to play an important role in mobilising the investments needed to achieve the EU’s broader objectives over the coming years. And we have no more important objective than building a strong social Europe. I am delighted that as of today we have the Council of Europe Development Bank as an InvestEU implementing partner, specifically for social investments.” InvestEU provides an EU budgetary guarantee to implementing partners to increase their risk-taking capacity and therefore contributes to mobilising public and private investment for the EU’s policy
priorities.