00:00The European Investment Bank has announced its largest ever commercial loan dedicating
00:043 billion euros to boosting aerospace giant Airbus. For more on the deal,
00:09Euronews' Marit Gwynne spoke exclusively to the bank's president, Nadia Calvino,
00:13and started by asking her whether this investment was a response to the competitiveness crisis
00:19facing Europe. We are announcing a flagship deal. It's a loan to Airbus, a 3 billion euro loan,
00:27the largest ever to a corporate by the European Investment Bank, precisely to support their
00:33strategic plan in the area of aerospace and also security and defence. I think it's a good
00:38illustration of how Europe is ramping up its capacity and strategic autonomy.
00:42And I must ask you, because recently we saw a major project collapse, essentially,
00:47the Franco-German fighter jet project, because companies couldn't see past their industrial
00:53rivalries and work together towards a common goal. Is that a problem that you see in Europe?
01:00Well, it is an issue, the fact that we're 27 countries, 27 democracies, and obviously,
01:07there are divergent views on many issues. But that's why it's so important to flag this
01:11agreement with Airbus, because Airbus is the great success story of Europe. Profitable company,
01:18a global leader in key areas, aerospace, security and defence. And so that's why I think it is
01:26important to also flag those areas where we are moving in the right direction, as is the case in
01:31this loan.
01:32And it is true that the EIB is shifting its focus more towards defence investments. Do you see that
01:39as the future of your institution moving more into becoming almost a defence bank? And where does that
01:46leave other priorities like energy and green policies and so on?
01:49The European Investment Bank has proven to be flexible to adjust to Europe's changing
01:54priorities. We need to adjust to the new geopolitical context. And we're very strongly aligned with
02:00Europe's policy priorities and the member states that are our shareholders. As you know, the 27
02:05member states. Our governors have endorsed our roadmap, our strategic roadmap, which has three top
02:12priorities. The first one is consolidating our role as the climate bank. Secondly, technological
02:19leadership, supporting innovation and scaling up. And thirdly, security and defence. And we are playing
02:25our role as Europe's financing arm, but also one of the world's largest multilateral development
02:30institutions in these three areas in particular.
02:33Of course, the political rhetoric around the importance of climate policies, climate mitigation
02:40investments has really shifted in recent years. If we were sitting here five years ago, the rhetoric
02:44coming from the Commission here was very different. Do you fear that there's a rhetoric, a discourse
02:50now that says that climate policies and Europe's industrial competitiveness are incompatible?
02:56I think that beyond noise and rhetoric, as you're saying, and not very productive debates, in my view,
03:04the reality is quite stubborn. And the reality is that there is an energy revolution in full swing
03:10in Europe and the world. The reality is that we need to break free from our excessive dependence on
03:16fossil fuels. I mean, the and, you know, more and more often I have the impression that the EIB is
03:22not only
03:22Europe's climate bank, but the world's climate bank, because in many other jurisdictions, maybe they
03:28have a different narrative. But the reality is that private companies are also getting on with it
03:34and investing in the clean transition, because it's not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing
03:39to do. But we did hear you leaders back in February promise this new economic reset, a new economic agenda
03:46by June. That's kind of passed now. And the economic, the global economic outlook is clearly
03:52much more gloomy due to the war in Iran. Do you worry about that broader outlook and what it could
03:58mean for Europe? Well, obviously, the geopolitical context is very complex and the geoeconomic
04:04context is very complicated because all the elements that have underpinned Europe's phenomenal success
04:11since the end of World War II are being put to the test or openly contested and challenged or attacked
04:17by, you know, from many sides. But that, you know, in this context, it is more important than ever
04:24that we have a clear compass, that we keep united, because united we are very powerful. We are, I always
04:31say, we're unstoppable, where we join our forces, European Union countries, and determined, you know,
04:38to pursue this path. And what I see is a strong determination on the side of our leaders to
04:43continue to face those challenges together.
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