EXCLUSIVE: European Investment Bank ready to invest in drone defence
The EIB recently changed its lending rules to allow for military investments
The head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Nadia Calviño has said the EU’s lending arm is ready to invest what could be millions of euros in Europe’s drone defences, in a letter to European Council President António Costa seen by Euractiv.
“We are working on identifying dedicated actions for (…) supporting with urgency initiatives to protect our people, our cities and critical infrastructure against enemy drones”, the boss of the bloc’s multi-billion euro lender EIB writes in the letter, dated 7 October. Another goal: “the construction and reinforcement of critical infrastructure to strengthen the Eastern flank.”
Though she does not name the “Drone Wall” or the “Eastern Flank Watch” pitched by the European Commission by name, her letter clearly indicates the Bank would be ready to put investment in anti-drone measures high on its priority list.Â
Any anti-drone measure would include systems such as radars and sensors, in addition to drones themselves.
Calviño’s proposal comes after EU leaders discussed drone defences at an informal meeting in Copenhagen, and are expected to grapple with the thorniest issues around the Drone Wall concept at their European Council summit 23-24 October, among which is where the funding will come from.
EU countries have different views, with some wanting the EU institutions to come up with additional billions, while others suggest the money should come from national coffers. The Commission has yet to propose new funding options. So far, they have only communicated about options already available to fund large-scale defence projects (cohesion funds, SAFE loans, EDIP’s €1.5 billion, pandemic recovery funds, etc).
With the EIB’s letter, it has brought another option to the table: its loans.Â
This year, the EIB focused 3.5% of its total financing on defence, so around €3.5 billion.
For the future, Calviño wants to increase the amounts. The bank’s leadership will propose to EU finance ministers “an increase of resources assigned to this policy priority in 2026”, the letter reads.
The EIB recently changed its lending rules to allow for military investments. In July, EIB vice president Robert de Groot told Euractiv the Bank was ready to pay for the production of defence equipment too.
“As the European Commission advances its Roadmap for Defence Readiness, we stand ready to contribute our expertise and resources to ensure its successful implementation,” the letter continues.
One rule remains: no weapons, no ammunition.
(cp)
