The European Investment Bank is the European Union's nonprofit long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome 1957. As a "policy-driven bank" whose shareholders are the member states of the EU, the EIB uses its financing operations to bring about "European integration and social cohesion".
Although about 90 percent of projects financed by the EIB are based in EU member countries, the bank does fund projects in other countries. There are currently 150 countries outside of the EU—non-EU South-Eastern European countries, Mediterranean partner countries, ACP countries, Asian and Latin American countries, Russia and other eastern neighbours of the EU. According to the EIB, in these countries, the institution works to implement the financial pillar of the union's external cooperation and development policies: private sector development, infrastructure development, security of energy supply, environmental sustainability.
The EIB is an international financial institution, a publicly owned bank. Its owners are the member states of the European Union, who subscribe to the Bank's capital – EUR 232 billion. As shareholders the member states are represented on the Bank's main independent decision-making bodies – the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors.
Read more about European Investment Bank: History, Mission, Strategy, Corporate Policies, Governance, Controversial Projects
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