General Information

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is an international financial institution based in Paris. The CEB has 43 member states which are the Bank’s shareholders. All countries - members of the Council of Europe are eligible to join the CEB, however Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Monaco and United Kingdom are not members of the Bank. In 2023 Ukraine became the CEB's 43rd member state.

By providing financing and technical expertise for projects with a high social impact in its member coutries, it actively promotes social cohesion and strengthens social integration in Europe.

The CEB represents a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe. It participates in financing of social projects, responds to emergency situations and helps to improve the living conditions of the most disadvantaged groups of population.

The CEB contributes to the implementation of socially oriented investment projects through three sectoral lines of action, namely:

• Sustainable and inclusive growth
• Integration of refugees, displaced people and migrants
• Climate change: development of adaptation and mitigation measures

 France, Germany and Italy are the largest shareholders. Poland holds 2,342 percent of the total shares (i.e. remains the 11th largest shareholder). 

The Bank's governance structure

Carlo Monticelli (an Italian citizen) was elected Governor of the CEB and took up his five-year term of office on 18 December 2021.

The Governor (equivalent to the President) is responsible for the external representation of the Bank, its operational activities and the implementation of its financial policy. In overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Governor is assisted by the Vice-Governors.

The Governing Board

Is composed of a Chairperson and one representative from each member country, usually at the rank of Ambassador to the Council of Europe. Poland is represented on the CEB's Governing Board  by Jerzy Baurski, Ambassador Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Poland to the Council of Europe.

The Administrative Council

Consists of a Chairperson and one representative for each member state (usually from the ministries of finance or economy). The Administrative Council exercises the powers delegated to it by the Governing Board, defines and supervises operational policy and approves investment projects submitted by the governments. It votes on the Bank's operating budget. Its Chairperson is elected by the Governing Board.

The current Chairperson of the Administrative Council is Ms Wioletta Barwicka-Lofthouse (Poland).

The involvement of the Council of Europe Development Bank in Poland

Poland joined the CEB in 1998. Since then, the Bank has approved loans to Polish entities in the total amount exceeding EUR 6 billion. Among the beneficiaries are: local governments, financial institutions, MSMEs as well as the State Treasury. In June 2022 the CEB granted Poland the largest loan in its entire history - EUR 450 million to suport the Ukrainian citizens fleeing their country due to an armed conflict on their territory, by refinancing of the expenditures from the 'Aid Fund' set up in the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (a Polish development bank). 

The latter category includes one currently implemented project

The Flood Protection Project in the Odra and Vistula basin - The total value of the project is EUR 1.2 billion. The project is co-financed by CEB (EUR 300 million) and World Bank (EUR 460 million) loans and with the participation of EU funds, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and the state budget.

Bank's website, tenders, career opportunities

Internet website 

CEB Tenders 

CEB Career opportunities