EIB Defense Financing: Social Sustainability Standards for EU and Non-EU Developers
A Comprehensive Guide to Eligibility, ESG Due Diligence, and Compliance for Security and Dual-Use Projects
This report examines how the European Investment Bank (EIB) applies its concept of “social sustainability” to financing projects related to security and defence. It analyses the EIB’s binding policies, its operational guidance, and how these intersect with recent shifts in EU security finance. In particular, it addresses five practical questions for project developers: 1) What EIB means by “social sustainability” in the defence context and how that is implemented in due diligence (including human rights and end-use controls); 2) How the EIB distinguishes eligible “protective” defence projects from excluded activities (weapons) under its policies; 3) How ESG screening is reconciled with the EIB’s strategic turn to support European security, including its governance rationale for managing reputational risk; 4) What financing structures are possible for non-EU companies (e.g. US defence primes) seeking EIB funding for dual-use projects in Europe, and which corporate or supply-chain arrangements affect eligibility; and 5) What documentation borrowers must provide to demonstrate “social sustainability” (including export-control compliance, human-rights due diligence, grievance mechanisms, etc.).