EU finance ministers chose Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Nadia Calviño as the next head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on December 8 in order to reinforce Spain’s influence in the bloc, Euractiv reported.
If confirmed by the EIB board, she will start working at the European Union’s financial arm and the world’s largest state-owned development bank on January 1, according to the EIB.
I am grateful and honored to get the support of my fellow finance ministers.
Calviño will replace 72-year-old German economist Werner Hoyer, becoming the first woman and the first Spaniard to head the EIB. She also noted that the EIB’s role will grow as it finances the green transition and provides financial support for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Under Hoyer’s leadership since 2012, the EIB has increased its capital and lending for clean energy and security investments in Europe, as well as financed the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
Belgian EIB Chairman Vincent Van Peteghem declared:
“We are convinced that Nadia Calviño has all the qualities needed to manage the world’s biggest multilateral bank, channelling much-needed financing to businesses, and supporting investment to boost Europe’s competitiveness and sustainable growth.”
Previously, Calviño had served as economy minister since June 2018, when Pedro Sánchez first became prime minister. However, widely known as a technocrat, she is a career civil servant and not a member of Sánchez’s party.
Spain nominated Calviño for several senior positions from 2019, including chair of the Eurogroup meeting of euro zone finance ministers and head of the International Monetary Fund, which ultimately went to Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva.
After holding senior positions in the Spanish Ministry of Economy, she moved to the European Commission in 2006 and was appointed Director General of the Budget Commission in 2014. She has been chair of the IMF’s steering committee since December 2021.
