Rome, 6 May 2026 – The JEFIC (Joint European Financiers for International Cooperation) High-Level Meeting took place today in Rome at the headquarters of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the network brings together five European bilateral development finance institutions - AECID (Spain), AFD (France), BGK (Poland), CDP (Italy) and KfW (Germany)—which support the public sector in developing countries and emerging economies.

During the event, JEFIC’s 2025 Annual Report was presented, showing €22 billion in new commitments across 160 countries, a 22% increase compared with 2024. Of this total, €19 billion was directed towards the European Union’s Global Gateway priorities, marking an annual increase of over 14%. The network’s activities focused on strategic sectors such as clean energy, infrastructure, education and public services, confirming JEFIC’s role in translating European priorities into high-impact initiatives.

At the High-Level Meeting, two MoUs were also signed between JEFIC, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), strengthening cooperation among European financial institutions engaged in sustainable development. The agreements aim to make collaboration more structured across the entire project cycle, fostering operational synergies, co-financing and co-investments, as well as more systematic dialogue on geographic and sector priorities, through strengthened knowledge sharing, enhanced strategic coordination, and joint advocacy initiatives. Both the EIB and EBRD are part of the Team Europe approach, to which JEFIC members already contribute, with the goal of making the EU’s external action more coordinated, visible and effective, including through closer integration between multilateral and bilateral institutions.

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) also signed JEFIC’s Co-financing Framework Agreement, strengthening its operational role and paving the way for the joint preparation and financing of new development projects.

 The meeting - organised by CDP, which holds the rotating presidency of JEFIC for the current semester - was attended by representatives of member institutions, European institutions and international partners. Proceedings were opened by Dario Scannapieco, CEO of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, followed by a keynote speech by Lorenzo Ortona, Deputy Coordinator of the Task Force for the Mattei Plan for Africa at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. A video message was also delivered by Jozef Síkela, European Commissioner for International Partnerships.

Throughout the day panels focused on the role of Team Europe in achieving strategic development outcomes; the evolution of co-financing instruments in view of the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the Global Gateway strategy; and challenges related to food systems, climate and resilience.

The event concluded with remarks by Carlo Rossotto, Director of Development Cooperation and International Institutional Relations at CDP.

“The High-Level Meeting in Rome and the results presented today confirm JEFIC’s central role as a platform for coordinating Europe’s leading development banks. The €22 billion new commitments reached in 2025 across 160 countries demonstrate the network’s ability to act in a concrete and coordinated manner in support of European Union priorities, starting with the Global Gateway strategy. In this context, the agreements signed with the EIB and EBRD represent a further step towards more structured and effective cooperation among European financial institutions” said Dario Scannapieco, CEO of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, on behalf of JEFIC, which CDP chairs for the current semester.