Modernizing infrastructure and supporting Ukraine’s economic resilience amid a prolonged war remain key priorities for EU financial institutions.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) serves as one of the main instruments for the long-term financing of these processes, combining the emergency reconstruction of critical facilities with the integration of the Ukrainian economy into the European market. Since March 2026, the EIB’s Ukraine portfolio has been overseen by Karl Nehammer, former Federal Chancellor of Austria (2021–2025). His appointment as Vice-President of the Bank strengthens the political and strategic importance of the portfolio of projects related to Ukraine.
For Nehammer, this is not his first experience of engagement with the country: in April 2022, he became one of the first European leaders to visit the Kyiv region after its liberation. His current visit in late April 2026 was aimed at reviewing ongoing projects and aligning new investment priorities.
Energy Security, Critical Infrastructure, KPIs and Social Housing
You arrived in Ukraine on the anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. Today, the country is facing new challenges in energy and security. How does the Bank prioritize between investments aimed at sustaining Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and long-term development projects?
Being in Chornobyl on this anniversary was a powerful reminder that nuclear safety and security are not issues of the past. The recent attack on the New Safe Confinement shows how real these risks remain today. At the EIB, we do not see a choice between helping the country withstand the current challenges and investing in its future. Our priority is to keep vital systems functioning while making them more resilient.
For example, this winter we helped Naftogaz of Ukraine secure gas supplies through a €350 million EIB loan and an additional €127 million EU grant. This support helped ensure heating for households and the continued operation of essential services throughout the winter. Naftogaz committed to reinvesting an equivalent amount in renewable energy and decarbonization. This reflects our approach in Ukraine: addressing urgent needs today while helping to build a stronger and more resilient economy for tomorrow.
You oversee the Ukraine Facility programme. What key KPIs do you set for the government and municipalities to ensure that financing creates a real economic multiplier rather than simply being “absorbed”?
The Ukraine Facility is a €50 billion EU programme supporting Ukraine’s recovery and its path toward EU membership. Under its investment pillar, EU guarantees enable around €2.6 billion in EIB financing for energy, transport and municipal infrastructure. For us, success and KPIs are measured by tangible outcomes:
- whether people have electricity, heating or water;
- whether damaged infrastructure is functioning again;
- whether public services are becoming more resilient and efficient.
During your visit, you inspected reconstructed schools and hospitals in the Kyiv region and in Lviv. Will the Bank expand direct lending to municipalities — so-called sub-sovereign lending — to accelerate recovery at the local level?
The EIB is already one of the largest investors supporting municipalities in Ukraine. Through our recovery programmes alone, we are helping reconstruct around 500 schools, hospitals, residential buildings and other public infrastructure facilities in more than 150 communities. During my visit, I saw some of these results firsthand, including a reconstructed school in Hostomel and the modernized Lyceum No. 12 in Kovel.
An important example is our district heating programme. Through partner banks such as Ukreximbank, Ukrgasbank and Oschadbank, municipalities can gain direct access to financing for the reconstruction and modernization of heating infrastructure, improvements in energy efficiency and the provision of reliable heating during winter.
Social housing is a critical issue for millions of internally displaced persons and veterans. Which financing model do you consider the most viable for Ukraine — subsidized mortgages, municipal rental housing or state guarantees for private developers?
We are working closely with Ukraine both on housing reform and on investment projects. EIB experts contributed to the development of Ukraine’s new housing policy law and continue to support further housing legislation.
In 2025, the EIB approved a €200 million loan for social housing and secured EU grant support to improve its affordability. The first pilot project, financed through a €50 million EIB loan together with a €50 million EU grant, is expected to be signed soon.
The new housing will meet high European standards, with strong energy efficiency and affordable rents linked to income levels. Over time, Ukraine will need a balanced housing model in which both the public and private sectors play an active role.
Business Support and Risk Insurance
The private sector often points to high investment risks during the war. What new risk-sharing instruments or investment guarantees have you brought to encourage European businesses to enter Ukrainian projects already today?
In 2024, together with the European Commission, we launched a €300 million export credit guarantee programme to encourage European companies to work with Ukraine during the war. The programme reduces risks by protecting businesses against potential losses and giving them greater confidence to export to Ukraine and participate in reconstruction projects.
The guarantees are supported by the European Investment Fund, which is part of the EIB Group. They are provided through national export credit agencies in several EU countries, including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Spain, Slovakia and Slovenia.
In practice, the programme helps maintain a continuous flow of critical exports to Ukraine — from equipment and construction materials to energy equipment and critical technologies. At the same time, it supports Ukraine’s deeper integration into the EU Single Market.
Small and medium-sized enterprises remain vulnerable. Is the Bank considering expanding support for the manufacturing sector to help the country move away from raw-material exports?
Ukraine’s SMEs are the backbone of the economy, and supporting them has long been a key part of the EIB’s activities in the country. We primarily work through local banks, providing loans and guarantees that are then extended to small and medium-sized enterprises in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, energy, logistics and transport.
Since the beginning of the war, the EIB has launched the Ukraine Economic Resilience Facility to help businesses continue operating and investing. So far, €100 million has been channelled through Ukreximbank and €70 million through Ukrgasbank, with another €160 million expected to follow in the coming months.
Together with the European Commission, the EIB Group has also launched the EU4Business Guarantee Facility through eight Ukrainian banks. The programme is expected to mobilize more than €400 million for businesses run by veterans, internally displaced persons, women and young entrepreneurs.
The EIB also supports investment funds. In 2025, we invested €15 million in the Ukraine Phoenix Tech Fund and €50 million in the Amber Dragon Ukraine infrastructure fund. Looking ahead, together with the European Commission, we are developing a European flagship fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction. It will channel private investment into key sectors, including energy, infrastructure, digital transformation and industrial modernization.
Logistics, Solidarity Lanes and Ukraine’s European Future
Your schedule included Kovel and Lviv — strategic hubs on the route to the EU. How high a priority is the development of the Solidarity Lanes — including the modernization of railways and border infrastructure — for integrating Ukrainian logistics into the wider European network?
Connectivity is a lifeline for Ukraine, and the Solidarity Lanes are a key priority for the EIB. We support Ukraine’s transition from the wider post-Soviet railway gauge to the European standard.
Ukraine has already completed the first 22-kilometre European-standard section between Uzhhorod and Chop, and further extensions toward Lviv, Kovel and Kyiv are planned. The EIB is also financing the modernization of railway border crossings with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, as well as the repair of bridges, roads and key highways leading toward the EU borders.
Together with the European Commission and the Government of Ukraine, we are also working on a broader framework to accelerate the integration of Ukrainian logistics with the EU.
Your previous role as Chancellor of Austria gave you significant political experience. How does this help in your current mission — and do you now see Ukraine as a more understandable investment destination?
I first visited Ukraine as Chancellor just nine days after Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region. I visited Bucha and saw the destruction with my own eyes.
Returning four years later, you can already see reconstruction taking shape, and it is important that we continue investing in Ukraine’s future. Since March 2026, Ukraine has been part of my portfolio at the EIB, and I can assure you that it remains one of the Bank’s top priorities.
The EU’s focus is not limited to emergency support. It also includes long-term resilience, reconstruction, logistics and Ukraine’s integration with the European Union. This is how the EIB sees Ukraine’s future: helping the country rebuild better as part of the European family. Ukraine can count on Europe and on the EIB.
Austrian business has traditionally had a strong presence in Ukraine — in banking, insurance and wood processing. Do you see renewed interest from Austrian companies during your mandate?
I would probably look at this question from a broader perspective. The risks associated with the war are real. At the same time, Ukraine’s reconstruction and modernization represent one of the largest challenges in Europe for the years ahead, and we need the private sector to play a major role in this process.
That is why I would encourage Austrian and other European companies to take a close look at Ukraine’s long-term potential and at the needs already emerging in infrastructure, energy, transport, housing construction and industry.
What do you personally consider a successful outcome of this visit — the amount of financing signed or the number of people who gained access to new schools and hospitals?
When I was in Kyiv in April 2022, I saw destruction, shock and enormous uncertainty. This time, what struck me most was that, despite the war, Ukraine is rebuilding and moving forward.
During the visit, we opened reconstructed schools, visited hospitals, and met with veterans, doctors and children adapting to incredibly difficult circumstances. Schools in particular are investments in the future and in children who now have one more reason to stay in Ukraine.
We also signed agreements to support Centrenergo’s green transition and to assist the Government of Ukraine in accelerating the preparation of major reconstruction and infrastructure projects in transport, energy and railways.
