Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s digital and competition chief, has joined the race to head the European Investment Bank (EIB), multiple media reports have indicated.
The bank’s current president, Werner Hoyer, is set to step down at the end of the year after serving two terms and, as Politico noted, the mooted move would make Vestager the first female head of the EIB. “I am pleased that the Danish government have put forward my name to be vetted as possible candidate for the position as president for the European Investment Bank,” Vestager said in a statement.
She then confirmed her availability, according to Politico. According to Irish newspaper The Independent, meanwhile, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said Vestager should step down from her current post in order to avoid any conflicts of interest.
If Vestager were to take over the role of EIB president, it could mark a change of direction and something of a comeback. In April, Politico ran an interview with her regarding her life post-Brussels. In that, Vestager said she was not thinking about what would happen after the 2024 European election. The tone of the article implied Vestager’s career was winding towards its end.
Climate awareness bond
Elsewhere this week, the EIB has launched a Climate Awareness Bond, based on the Swedish krona. That bond, according to the bank, will be backed by blockchain. “Today the EIB priced its first ever SEK1bn [€85m] digital Climate Awareness Bond (CAB) using so|bond, the sustainable and open digital bond platform built on blockchain technology launched by Crédit Agricole CIB and SEB in April 2023,” it continued.
“The platform uses a new type of blockchain validation logic, the Proof of Climate awaReness (PoCR) protocol, which enables an energy consumption comparable to non-blockchain systems and incentivises participating nodes to continually improve the environmental footprint of their infrastructures.”
The bank added: “More specifically, each node will be remunerated for its efforts according to a formula linked to its environmental impact evaluated with the Life Cycle Assessment ISO standard: the lower the environmental footprint it is, the larger the reward will be.”
The bond has a maturity date of two years and a coupon of 3.638%, paid annually in arrears.
