Research: EIB will create 2.25 million new jobs across the EU by 2020

– Loans and investments from the EIB Group allocated during 2015 and 2016 will contribute to a 2.3 percent increase in European GDP by 2020. Unlike economic growth, which will decline after the initial immediate impact of investments, the structural changes resulting from these investments will be much more permanent. Investments in projects across Europe are expected to stimulate the creation of 2.25 million new jobs, said the President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer, this week in Luxembourg while presenting the results of the latest research on the impact of EIB investments on economic growth and new jobs.

>>> 2016 EIB signed loans of 530 million euros in Croatia

The head of this European bank expressed particular satisfaction with the fact that due to strategic investments from the EIB Group, GDP growth and positive changes in the labor market are expected in sectors and countries that were hardest hit by the crisis a decade ago.

– The results we presented indicate that the Investment Plan for Europe is effective. They also show that EIB investments have a strong and lasting impact. Creating an additional 2.25 million jobs in Europe by 2020 is something we can be proud of. This means we are creating real opportunities in all regions of the European Union, stated Hoyer.

In the research on the impact of investments, the investments of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is a key element for achieving the Investment Plan for Europe, as well as loans from the EIB Group and the European Investment Fund, were included. In the past two years, the EIB Group has supported projects with total investments of 544 billion euros. Of that, 161 billion euros of loans fall under the Investment Plan, which would mean they contribute to GDP growth by 0.7 percent and 690 thousand jobs.

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– The Investment Plan for Europe and EIB loans have helped to kickstart the European economy. The most promising fact is that loans, regardless of whether they were given in good or bad economic conditions, have laid the foundations for long-term growth, stated EIB Chief Economist Debora Rivoltella, adding that the main goal of the bank is to improve the competitiveness of the EU and its prospects for long-term economic growth, and the research confirmed that this will be achieved.

EIB economists collaborated with the associated research center of the European Commission in Seville for the purposes of the research on the effectiveness and impact of investments, and they used the RHOMOLO model for impact assessment.

Let us recall that from 2012 to 2016, the EIB injected a financial boost of 2.4 billion euros into the Croatian economy. During the past year, EIB loans in Croatia reached 530 million euros. Most of this amount (92%) was related to investments in small enterprises, while the remaining amount was invested in infrastructure.