[17] The EIB has been criticised and caused controversy for various actions and inactions of its own (or projects it funded), including: insufficient stakeholder consultation, lack of organisational transparency, climate change response, defence and promotion of vegetarian and vegan values, tax avoidance, and staff harassment.

The EIB lends to both the private and the public sector through various financial products: Financing is the Bank's main activity, it also provides guidance on how to utilise additional sources of investment.

[22] The European Investment Bank provides long-term loans, typically up to 50% of a project's overall cost, for the public and the private sector, and for small and medium-sized businesses through intermediated lending partners.

[27] These investments, which are a relatively recent addition to the bank's work, tend to be smaller than its previous limits on the size of its deals, because they are aimed at startups and growth companies.

[31] By offering guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises or mid-caps, the Bank covers a portion of possible losses from a portfolio of loans and sets the ground for additional financing.

Prior to a funding agreement with the EIB or other investors, future clients can make use of the bank's expertise in the fields of financial structuring, procurement and regulation, or impact assessment, e.g. regarding a project's implications on climate change.

These instruments leverage public funding to attract additional private investments, contributing to EU policy objectives like economic growth, job creation, and social cohesion.

[4] The bank funds projects in the areas of; climate, environment, innovation and skills, infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprises, cohesion and development as well as crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

The European Investment Bank has provided financial resources for both economic impacts of the pandemic and for health-related emergencies, the search for a vaccine against COVID-19, and solutions to slow the spread of the virus.

[67] European Union companies are eligible to seek financing from the Pan-European Guarantee Fund if they have financial issues due to the economic implication of the COVID-19 pandemic but could have been able to secure loans under pre-crisis circumstances.

It finances projects that; limit global warming to 1.5 °C by the end of the decade, fight environmental degradation, stop biodiversity loss and address inequalities caused by climate change.

[82] The EIB supports infrastructure projects involving; sustainable transport; energy efficiency, urban development, digital networks, social housing and key public buildings, cultural heritage and water and wastewater management.

The EIB prioritises projects addressing inequalities by providing jobs and education, public infrastructure and services, a sustainable environment across the European Union.

[90][91][92][93] In 1962 the Bank was authorised to finance projects also outside the European Community (EC), which was created in 1957 by six Member States - Italy, France, West Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

[95] In 1968 the EIB moved from Brussels to Luxembourg City, opened an office in Rome and adopted the global loan facility for small and medium-enterprises (SME) financing.

[96] The growing economies among the Member States of the European Community at the end of the 1950s and through the 1960s meant that the countries themselves were able to finance their infrastructure development, which lead to the EIB playing a supporting role.

The ERDF was created to provide financial support for the development and structural adjustment of regional economies, economic change, enhanced competitiveness as well as territorial cooperation throughout the EU.

In 1987 the Bank began focusing more on loans to finance small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as 'innovative' companies, telecommunications and urban transport initiatives among EC members.

[100] After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the bank started to finance projects in former Soviet states, lending to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

[101] In 2000 the EIB Group was created and the European Investment Bank became the majority shareholder of the EIF, the specialist arm for providing risk capital.

The bank continued providing infrastructure and policy support to the European Union, as well as contributing to achieving the Lisbon summit's stated objective of making Europe a high-technology and knowledge-based economy.

In the same year the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus entered the European Union, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and Croatia in 2013.

As part of the European Guarantee Fund (EGF) to tackle the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic the Bank made available €200 billion of additional financing.

[105][68] The bank is funding both efforts at containing the economic effects of the crisis as well as healthcare related projects which; address immediate health-related emergencies, research vaccines and mechanisms to limit the spread of the virus e.g.

In 2004, the British human rights organisation Article 19 issued a memorandum in which it accused the EIB of failing to meet international (including EU) standards on openness.

"[123] A 2011 report by the CEE Bankwatch Network accused the EIB of a lending policy that failed its responsibility to further the EU goal of cutting carbon emissions.

[131][132][133][134] In 2014, eleven NGOs demanded the release of an EIB report into allegations of tax fraud by the Swiss commodity trader Glencore in Zambia related to the Mopani Copper Mines.

There were concerns that EIB had been slow to implement recommendations raised by its own audit committee, which aimed at improving the risk management and project selection.

Its tasks include combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and supporting a corporate culture that is based on ethical values and professional conduct.

[185] The European Investment Bank publishes a wide range of reports, studies, essays, surveys and working papers aimed at professionals and the general public.