Speaking at the joint World Bank and European Commission high-level stakeholder roundtable “Crowding in Private Investments for Jobs & Sustainable Development: maximizing the Job Potential of Innovative Financing Tools”, EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle reaffirmed the predominant place of private sector development in the EU Bank’s business model.

On the margins of the World Bank Group/IMF Spring Meetings, ten International Financial Institutions (IFIs) including the European Investment Bank (EIB) reaffirmed their commitment to preventing sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation, both within their own institutions and in their operations. The meeting was called by the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaag and the British Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt.

EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák joined two events dedicated to resilient and smart cities, organised in the framework of the 2018 WBG/IMF Spring Meetings.

European Investment Bank Vice-President Alexander Stubb led the EIB’s participation in the second conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” in Brussels on 24 and 25 April 2018. The conference, co-chaired by Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Mark Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, also saw 85 high level delegations from the EU Member States, countries of the region, third countries and international organisations participating.

The EIB, acting as a Fund of Funds Manager, signed three operational agreements for the amount of PLN 378m (approx. EUR 85 m. equivalent) with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Poland’s national promotional bank, to support urban regeneration projects in the Polish regions of Pomerania, Mazovia and Silesia.

Iceland must do more to ensure its law enforcement authorities are coordinated and adequately resourced to investigate and prosecute economic and financial crime, including foreign bribery, says the OECD in a new report.

Despite Portugal’s economic and political challenges, it is still committed to improving the environment. The government sees green investment in its stimulus package and green tax reform as part of the solution to the national budget deficit.

Korea tops a new OECD PISA survey that tests how 15-year olds use computers and the Internet to learn. The next best performers were New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong-Kong China and Iceland.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has congratulated Christine Lagarde on her appointment as the IMF’s next Managing Director.

Norway has made significant progress in its efforts against the bribery of foreign public officials in recent years, according to a new OECD report. But more could be done to strengthen enforcement, including by focusing on the confiscation from companies of the proceeds of bribery.