Investment Report 2025/26: Capitalising on Europe's Strengths, Executive Summary (European Investment Bank)

Summary

• The EU single market has underpinned 25% of new investment recorded in the European Union since the 1980s.p.6
• AI adoption accounts for about 12% of the total productivity increase recorded in EU firms since 2019.p.7
• An InvestEU guarantee of €1 delivers €15 of investment in the real economy, and private sources accounted for 70% of resources mobilised.p.8
• The share of EU firms seeing energy costs as a major investment obstacle declined to 41% in 2025, down from 60% in 2022.p.9
• EU cleantech exports grew 42% from 2017 to 2024, while trade among EU countries grew 71%.p.13
• On average, 17% of investing EU firms benefited from policy support in the form of grants or finance on favourable terms.p.16
• Labour productivity in construction has fallen 15% since 2000, making housing less affordable.p.18

Key insights

1. 62% of EU firms say they have to deal with a fragmented EU market when exporting.p.6
2. Removing single market barriers could boost the ratio of firm investment to assets by 10%.p.11
3. Employment rates in 2025 reached historically high levels of 76% of the working-age population.p.8
4. 51% of people living in EU cities say a lack of affordable housing is their most urgent problem, and addressing shortages could increase EU GDP by 1.7%.p.8
5. 90% of EU firms invested in the green transition.p.9
6. Free trade agreements cover some 12.5% of EU exports and could increase exports to the countries involved by 20.6% and total EU exports by 2.6%.p.12
7. Simplification bills would cut companies' administrative burden by 25% overall and 35% for small businesses.p.12
8. Total factor productivity rises 0.34 percentage points per year from big data and AI adoption, translating to a 12% gain.p.14
9. European NATO members are targeting defence and security spending at 5% of GDP by 2035.p.15
10. Companies receiving EIB-funded loans invested 15% more and had 5% higher productivity.p.8