The first ever academic conference on the European Investment Bank has been successfully concluded in Luxembourg in 2019.
"Deciphering the European Investment Bank: History, Politics, and Economics ", the first ever academic book on the European
Investment Bank has been published by Routledge in June 2022 and is available on Routledge, amazon and other book e-selling sites.
PRESS RELEASES
Luxembourg, 11 July 2019: Hot academic debate on the European Investment Bank at the University of Luxembourg
The University of Luxembourg hosted the first ever academic conference on the European Investment Bank (EIB) since its establishment in 1958, and a hot academic debate on how the EIB contributed to the economic development of the European Union, its evolution as an institution and its future prospects.
Timely just after EIB’s 60th year anniversary, the conference entitled “analysing the European Investment Bank: interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender”, took place at the campus Belval on 10-11 July 2019, and brought together 25 prominent scholars from top universities of 9 EU countries and the USA, with well-known track records on EIB research, from different backgrounds such as economy, history, law and political science.
Questions central to the topic included which political, economic and institutional factors influenced the trajectory of the EIB and its policies, which events can be considered milestones and decisive turning points in this process, which personalities played a relevant role, and how the EIB contributed to the tasks pinpointed by the Treaty of Rome. After World War II, the Treaty of Rome established the EIB Bank to act as the financial institution of the European Union. Today the EIB is the largest, among the international financial institutions, multilateral lending and borrowing institution in the world and provides the EU with long-term financing.
Discussions developed around five distinct areas of research presented at the conference, which included i) historical insights into the EIB’s operation; ii) the institution’s impact in European regions; iii) insights into the EIB’s decision-making; iv) assessing the EIB’s efforts to counter the recent economic crisis; as well as v) the political economy of its action.
The first group of papers presented approached EIB’s operation from a historical angle. That includes: how France influenced the EIB from the first negotiations on its creation in the early 1950s to the present day; how Italy has been EIB’s major borrower ever since the institution’s creation and EIB’s role in the country; how the EIB contributed to the economic development of the Mediterranean Europe and in particular of Italy and Greece.
The second group of paper presentations examined the EIB’s impact on European regions: the study of the political economy of lending allocation decisions and the role of the members of its board of directors; the effects and impact of the EIB operations on regional economic growth and the reduction of disparities in the levels of development between the EU’s regions, in absolute terms and in comparison to the EU Structural Funds; the important role of the EIB in the EU’s promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
The third set of papers presented examined the EIB’s decision-making process: presentation of weaknesses in the EIB appraisal process that render it vulnerable to interference contributing toward the EIB taking credit decisions that can be inconsistent with its lending criteria and standards; explanation of the process of development of EU urban policy and the role played by the EIB, the activity of the institution in the sector and the procedures followed to approve a lending agreement, with a focus on the key criteria to assess the quality of the project to be financed; explanation of the decision-making of infrastructure investments and separation of two critical concepts, the fluctuation of asset price due to the interaction of supply and demand vs. the growth of asset intrinsic value driven by the process of value creation via managerial strategy and policy formation.
The fourth group of papers presented assess the EIB’s efforts to counter the recent economic crisis: distinguish between “economic” risks arising from natural uncertainty relating to investments in certain types of projects or sectors and “financial” risks that are related to financial products or intermediaries themselves, and create the danger of subsidising the profits of private investors, while socialising their risk of losses, as well as the trade-offs between increased leverage and policy steer; explore the main features of the Investment Plan for Europe, highlighting its achievements so far and the pending issues that still appear unresolved in the extension of the plan; supporting the development of the internal market at the peak of the crisis and the legal challenges in the role of the EIB.
The conference was co-organised by the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova, and was sponsored by The Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs, the Institute of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova.
Background information for the editors
After World War II, the Treaty of Rome established the EIB to act as the financial institution of the European Union. Today the EIB is the largest, among the international financial institutions, multilateral lending and borrowing institution in the world and provides the EU with long-term financing, yet only scantly researched by the academic community.
Contact: Dr Helen Kavvadia, Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg, email: helen.kavvadia@ext.uni.lu, tel: +352 4666449386
Luxembourg, 11/7/2019: Hot academic debate on the European Investment Bank at the University of Luxembourg
The Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies of the University of Padova hosted remotely the workshop “Italy and the European Investment Bank" on 10 December 2020.
Some 20 prominent scholars discussed both the borrowing and lending sides of the European Investment Bank’s activity in Italy. They concentrated on the foundational fifteen year period starting with the bank’s establishment in 1958 until the two world economic shocks in the first half of the 1970’s, namely the discontinuation of the Bretton Woods monetary system in 1971 and the first oil crisis in 1973. The workshop studied the EIB activity at tactical, operational and strategic levels. Exchanges developed around the political, economic and institutional factors that impacted and shaped the EIB activity in Italy. They highlighted historical juncture points, interactions among EU member states, influential personalities, indicative investment projects and capital market operations, as well as how the EIB contributed to the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome establishing the bank and the “Protocol concerning Italy” attached to it. Discussions shed light into the synergies between the latter and the Italian development plan for the south of the country, coined as the Vaponi plan for promoting cohesion by creating “poles of development” through a mix of infrastructure and manufacturing investments.
Italy has been playing a decisive role in the bank’s establishment and has been one of its primary beneficiaries. In the period 1958-1973 Italy absorbed on average over 50% of the European Investment Bank’s aggregate lending. Since its establishment in 1958 the bank has provided a total of EUR 236 billion for some 2500 projects in Italy. Delving therefore in issues of their cooperation allows the understanding of the bank’s functioning also beyond the Italian borders and the specific period under review.
The workshop has been co-organised by the University of Padova and the University of Luxembourg. Sponsored by The Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs, the Institute of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova, the workshop was the second leg of the Conference “Analysing the European Investment Bank: interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender”, which took place at the University of Luxembourg on 10-11 July 2019..
Contact: Dr Helen Kavvadia, Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg, email: helen.kavvadia@ext.uni.lu, tel: +352 4666449386
Luxembourg and Padova, 14/12/2021: The first ever academic book on the European Investment Bank is coming up in 2022
"Deciphering the European Investment Bank: History, Politics and Economics", edited by Lucia Coppolaro and Helen Kavvadia is expected by Routledge in June 2022. This edited volume contains a selection of fourteen papers presented at the conference entitled “analysing the European Investment Bank: interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender”, which took place at the University of Luxembourg on 10-11 July 2019.
In a period of global economic and social challenges as a result of the pandemic and climate crises, calls for stepping up the activity of Regional Development Banks (RDBs) are increasingly voiced and the possibilities for strengthening their role is gaining momentum as way to increase economic and social resilience. Against this background, the book contributes to the current discussion for understanding RDBs and finding ways to increase their impact, by using the European Investment Bank (EIB) as a case study. The book can serve therefore policy- and decision-makers, as well as academics.
The book is the result of a joint effort of nineteen prominent scholars, with well-known track records on EIB research, from different backgrounds such as economy, history, law and political science. The book examines the EIB in an interdisciplinary way, and focuses on the bank’s evolution and its future prospects. The book’s chapters provide insights into the EIB’s historical evolution, the institution’s impact in European regions, the bank’s decision-making and an assessment of its efforts to counter the recent economic crisis as well as the political Economy of its action.
A preview of the contents and the contributors, as well as a pre-order facility is available at the Routledge website:
Contact: Dr Helen Kavvadia, Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg, email: helen.kavvadia@ext.uni.lu, tel: +352 4666449386
Padova, 10/12/2020: New focus on “Italy and the European Investment Bank" explored well-rounded historical insights
The Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies of the University of Padova hosted remotely the workshop “Italy and the European Investment Bank" on 10 December 2020.
Some 20 prominent scholars discussed both the borrowing and lending sides of the European Investment Bank’s activity in Italy. They concentrated on the foundational fifteen year period starting with the bank’s establishment in 1958 until the two world economic shocks in the first half of the 1970’s, namely the discontinuation of the Bretton Woods monetary system in 1971 and the first oil crisis in 1973. The workshop studied the EIB activity at tactical, operational and strategic levels. Exchanges developed around the political, economic and institutional factors that impacted and shaped the EIB activity in Italy. They highlighted historical juncture points, interactions among EU member states, influential personalities, indicative investment projects and capital market operations, as well as how the EIB contributed to the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome establishing the bank and the “Protocol concerning Italy” attached to it. Discussions shed light into the synergies between the latter and the Italian development plan for the south of the country, coined as the Vaponi plan for promoting cohesion by creating “poles of development” through a mix of infrastructure and manufacturing investments.
Italy has been playing a decisive role in the bank’s establishment and has been one of its primary beneficiaries. In the period 1958-1973 Italy absorbed on average over 50% of the European Investment Bank’s aggregate lending. Since its establishment in 1958 the bank has provided a total of EUR 236 billion for some 2500 projects in Italy. Delving therefore in issues of their cooperation allows the understanding of the bank’s functioning also beyond the Italian borders and the specific period under review.
The workshop has been co-organised by the University of Padova and the University of Luxembourg. Sponsored by The Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs, the Institute of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova, the workshop was the second leg of the Conference “Analysing the European Investment Bank: interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender”, which took place at the University of Luxembourg on 10-11 July 2019.
Contact: Dr Helen Kavvadia, Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg, email: helen.kavvadia@ext.uni.lu, tel: +352 4666449386