The European Investment Bank allocated €1 billion to the Spanish railway sector in 2025.

MadridMore than 1 billion euros. That's the investment that the European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing arm for EU projects, allocated in 2025 to the state railways, which are now under scrutiny following the tragic accidents in Adamuz and Gelida. triggers of a virtually unprecedented service and reputational crisisOf this amount, €250 million was part of an agreement signed in December to improve the commuter rail fleet (specifically, 101 trains), as detailed by the president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and former Spanish Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, this Monday. In fact, this is the first tranche of a €500 million loan that will be fully disbursed in the future, she explained. The data was released on the same day that the EIB detailed its investment in Spain for 2025, as well as its global investment plans. The institution reiterated that it invests based on the "demands" of its member states. In the case of the transport sector as a whole, it allocated €1.5 billion, representing 13.6% of the total investment in Spain: €11 billion throughout 2025, to which must be added an additional €2.9 billion from the Resilience Fund linked to European anti-pandemic funds. In total, investment in Spain represents 14% of the EIB's overall budget in 2025.

"[Rail] will continue to be one of the most important areas of investment," stressed Calviño, who emphasized the EIB's commitment to sustainable transport, both in terms of infrastructure.

Strengthening the electricity grid

Also, coinciding with the anniversary of the massive power outage that left the Iberian Peninsula without electricity, the EIB allocated a record investment to improve Spanish electricity grid...as well as interconnections with Europe. Specifically, the interconnection between France and Spain. Throughout 2025, €1.9 billion was allocated to electricity transmission and distribution networks, as well as to strengthening renewable energy storage capacity, the Achilles' heel of the ecological transition. "One out of every two euros invested in Spain's electricity grid comes from EIB financing," Calviño emphasized.  

Calviño highlighted that, of the total investment the EIB allocated to Spain last year, 50% went precisely to the green transition. "We are the Climate Bank," Calviño stated at a press conference this Monday.

More money for defense

Finally, the EIB has fulfilled the member states' wishes: to invest in defense and security. In Spain's case, it allocated €500 million. It's worth recalling that European leaders agreed to amend the EIB's treaties so that it can finance primarily military projects without requiring a civilian component, as was previously the case.