InvestEU kickstarts €250 million of investment in affordable social housing, skills and social enterprises under agreement with Council of Europe Development Bank

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The InvestEU Investment Committee approved a new guarantee, bringing the total of operations financed by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and backed by InvestEU to five. With this, the overall amount of the InvestEU guarantee approved for CEB projects has reached €80 million.

The CEB projects are expected to mobilise €252.5 million in financing for affordable social housing, education and training, as well as microfinance and social enterprise finance sectors. These five operations benefit from the InvestEU guarantee agreement that the European Commission and the CEB signed in November 2022.

Among the five operations, there is a framework that will make €100 million in CEB financing backed by the InvestEU programme available to provide microfinance and support social economy organisations across the entire European Union.

The other four supported projects are:

• “Social Finance” (Ireland): The latest approved CEB operation will benefit the Social Finance Foundation (SFF) in Ireland, by providing €20 million InvestEU-backed financing for community and voluntary organisations and social enterprises, mainly located in rural areas. Established in 2007 by the Irish Government, SFF relies on a unique funding model to mobilise public and private funding for the benefit of the social good.
• “Education and integration of young people” (France): Fondation Apprentis d’Auteuil will use €13.5 million in CEB financing backed by the InvestEU programme for the renovation and expansion of its Saint-Philippe education campus in Meudon, in the Hauts-de-Seine region, to upgrade it to modern safety, accessibility, energy-efficiency and functionality standards. The Foundation provides social assistance and child protection services in France.
• “Social and affordable housing” (Spain):  Institut Català de Finances will use €100 million in CEB financing backed by the InvestEU programme for the acquisition and construction of affordable social housing with a focus on low-income, socially vulnerable people including migrants, persons who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness, and victims of domestic and gender-based violence.
• “Social work education and training” (Spain): In addition, €19 million in CEB/InvestEU-backed financing will enable Fundació Pere Tarrés to provide quality education and training for social workers and disadvantaged children and youth through the construction of a new building in Barcelona.

Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “We face immense investment needs over the coming years in order to achieve our common EU objectives, which include building a strong social Europe. And InvestEU is an invaluable tool to support progress in this direction, fostering and sustaining businesses and jobs, including in the social economy. I’m proud that thanks to this agreement, we are strengthening our cooperation with the Council of Europe Development Bank, supporting growth and social inclusion.”

Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, said: “Affordable housing is an acute problem in many parts of the EU. This InvestEU partnership with the Council of Europe Development Bank will bring much needed investment in affordable social housing, as well as funding for social enterprises, voluntary and community organisations”.

Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank, Carlo Monticelli, said: “The CEB is pleased to have hit today’s important InvestEU milestone. This confirms, yet again, the importance of the Bank’s social mandate and illustrates concretely how our long-standing partnership with the European Commission can provide vital financing for Europe to respond to today’s formidable social challenges.” 

Background

The InvestEU programme will provide the EU with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It will also help mobilise private investments for the EU’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund will be implemented through financial partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budgetary guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank, whose unique mission is to promote social cohesion in its 43 member states across Europe. The CEB finances investment in social sectors, including education, health and affordable housing, with a focus on the needs of vulnerable people. Borrowers include governments, local and regional authorities, public and private banks, non-profit organisations and others. As a multilateral bank with an excellent credit rating, the CEB funds itself on the international capital markets. It approves projects according to strict social, environmental and governance criteria, and provides technical assistance. In addition, the CEB receives funds from donors to