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The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. EFE
Spain and 18 Other European Countries Urge EIB for Increased Defence Funding

Spain and 18 Other European Countries Urge EIB for Increased Defence Funding

The joint letter, initiated by the Finnish Prime Minister, calls on the institution led by Nadia Calviño to play a much more significant role in Europe's rearmament.

Olatz Hernández

Viernes, 31 de enero 2025, 11:15

Just a day after the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Nadia Calviño, presented the institution's 2024 results, 19 member states - including Spain - have sent a joint letter to the institution urging it to increase its investments in Defence. The letter, initiated by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, is signed by more than two-thirds of European countries and includes major players such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, calling on the EIB to play a much more significant role in Europe's rearmament, at a time when NATO and Donald Trump are urging the bloc to increase its Defence spending.

This Thursday, Calviño highlighted that the EIB invested 1 billion euros in Defence in 2024 and expects to double that figure this year, reaching 2 billion. When asked if the institution plans to increase that figure, Calviño ended the debate by stating that the EIB "is not a Ministry of Defence." The EIB's ability to finance Defence projects remains limited, despite the institution's decision in May 2024 to waive the requirement that dual-use projects (military and civilian) derive more than half of their expected revenue from civilian use, which opened up possibilities for allocating more funds to the Defence industry, provided the projects have a credible civilian use.

The nineteen signatory states now suggest that the EIB should "re-evaluate" the sectors it excludes, such as the traditional Defence industry, and increase the share of funds allocated to military projects. The letter also proposes issuing bonds exclusively for Defence, following the model of clean transition bonds already issued by the entity.

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