Spain: EIB and the Regional Government of Galicia sign €300 million loan agreement to finance investments in education, innovation, energy transition, social services, and digitalisation

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• Deal is first tranche of €495 million loan for the Regional Government of Galicia in Spain to co-finance investments under the EU programme of regional development funds.
• Investments to propel green and digital transitions in Galicia, build its competitiveness and help bring more and better services to citizens.
• Agreement promotes economic, social, and territorial cohesion, one of the EIB Group’s strategic priorities.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a loan for €300 million for the Regional Government of Galicia in Spain (Xunta de Galicia) to co-finance investments in education, sustainability, the energy transition, social services, and digitalisation in the region. The credit is the first tranche of a total approved loan of €495 million for the Galicia region under the Operational Programme for 2021-2027 of EU regional development and cohesion funds, especially the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Just Transition Fund.

The investments will fuel the twin green and digital transitions in Galicia, strengthen its competitiveness and help provide citizens with more and better public services.

The loan will be used to finance projects in areas including education; training and professional development; research, development, and innovation (RD&I); support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps; environmental sustainability and waste management; sustainable transport; and the energy transition.

Investments are foreseen in digital health, the decarbonisation of companies through energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy, business projects with strong focus on innovation, programmes for the integration of people at risk of social exclusion in the labour market, and educational projects for curricular diversification and equality.

The agreement highlights the EIB Group’s commitment to economic, social, and territorial cohesion, as all actions under the accord will occur in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, considered by the EU as a transition region under EU Cohesion Policy. Supporting a modern cohesion policy that meets current economic, social and demographic challenges is one of the eight core priorities of the EIB Group, approved by its shareholders and set out in the EIB Group 2024-2027 Strategic Roadmap.

This loan comes on top of several existing financing arrangements between the EIB Group and the Regional Government of Galicia, including financing granted in 2023 for the construction of a new public university hospital complex in A Coruña, and other recent partnerships to finance multisectoral projects under the previous Operational Programme of EU funds for 2014-2020.

Background information

European Investment Bank

The ElB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by the Member States. It finances sound investments to pursue EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality.

In 2023 the EIB Group – made up of the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) – reported total financing signatures in Spain of €11.4 billion, around €6.8 billion of which went to climate action and environmental sustainability projects. The EIB Group signed a total of €88 billion in new financing in 2023.