As Europe marks the sombre fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine this Tuesday, the European Commission is set to pivot to action. Well, almost – as Hungary just blocked a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine. But on Wednesday, top EU leaders will formally launch EastInvest, a massive 28 billion lending offensive designed to fortify the EU’s eastern frontier by 2027.
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The high-level unveiling serves as a potent signal of the shifting political gravity within the bloc. EIB President Nadia Calviño will be joined by the prime ministers (PMs) of Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania. The initiative, spanning nine member states from Finland to Bulgaria, acts as a strategic financial shield for the border regions in those countries. It arrives as these areas face a ‘pincer movement’ of heightened geopolitical instability and a debilitating 2.6 per cent population drain since 2016.
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