Opening Speech by Governor Carlo Monticelli at CEB's Joint Meeting (Warsaw, Poland 16-18 March 2026)

As prepared for delivery

Minister of Finance and Economy of Poland, Mr Dománski,
Director-General of Human Rights and Rule of Law at the Council of Europe,
Chairpersons and Members of the Governing Board and Administrative Council,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

Dziękuję ! [jen-koo-yeh]. Thank you for your warm welcome to Warsaw – or Warszawa [Warshava] as you say here in Poland.

It is a true pleasure to hold our Joint Meeting in this great city for the first time, especially as we celebrate the CEB’s 70th anniversary. Since joining in 1998, Poland has become a vital partner of the Bank. Your economy is now one of the most dynamic in Europe, with rising living standards, low unemployment and narrowing inequalities. This positive trend reflects Poland’s strong commitment to investing in social infrastructure and ensuring access to public services.

As Europe’s social development bank, the CEB is proud to have supported this transformation. From education and healthcare to housing and environmental protection, it has approved some 80 social projects in Poland since accession, totalling over 8 billion euros.

To cite an example from 20 years ago, the City of Warsaw became the first municipality in any European transition economy – which in the main the CEB refers to as Target Group Countries – to receive a bank loan for social investment.

The results are visible today – the extension and modernisation of hospitals such as Bielański [bjɛˈlaɲ.ski] Hospital, for instance, and the popular Warsaw Museum of Modern Art, which we look forward to visiting later this week. These projects opened the door for us to work more closely with local authorities, which are vital partners in delivering our mission.

More recently, CEB has also helped Poland cope with the effects of Russia’s aggression against neighbouring Ukraine. Indeed, its largest loan to date – €450 million – was extended to Poland for expenditures incurred to support people fleeing across the border.

Such examples very much reflect our historical mission, showing how our unique Bank helps members address both long-term goals and sudden crises.

However, we all know there is much more to do to foster and safeguard the inclusive, open societies that underpin Europe’s character and strength.

Making this point here today in Poland has a particular poignancy. At the Council of Europe Summit held in Warsaw in 2005, Heads of State and Government gave new energy to the CEB’s role in supporting social cohesion, democracy and the rule of law.

Now, 21 years on, Europe faces a confluence of grave and potentially destabilising challenges: war on our soil, threats to the global rules-based order we had long thrived on, not forgetting such issues as technological upheavals, climate change and ageing populations. Such fundamental challenges strain our social fabric, with the most disadvantaged suffering the most.

But be in no doubt: the CEB remains firm in its mission, determined to help its members navigate these unusually troubled times.

Our Strategic Framework 2023-2027, which crossed its midpoint last year, is on track. We are reaching the most vulnerable, expanding our operations in Ukraine, providing more resources to bolster Target Group Countries, and responding with speed and agility to disasters.

The 36 projects completed in 2025 alone have created or maintained nearly four hundred thousand jobs, reached over six hundred thousand direct beneficiaries, and are expected to serve some twenty-six million people.

These projects have tangible positive impacts on people’s lives. But rather than hearing this from me, let’s turn to the beneficiaries on the ground, in our special video:

[VIDEO SCREENING] https://youtu.be/IAQ0RC52n2U

I am sure that, like me, you feel inspired by these real human stories. They remind us that while we cannot underestimate the difficulties ahead, we can overcome them, together.

Collaboration matters. As the financial arm of the Council of Europe, the CEB actively harnesses this deep institutional relationship. Its partnerships with the European Union and donors help ensure that our social investments reach the most disadvantaged.

Our collaboration with other multilateral development banks, or MDBs for short, has grown much stronger too. The CEB chaired the Heads of MDBs Group in 2025 for the first time. It used this opportunity to underscore with peers just how central social investment is for sustainable growth, jobs and resilience.

Collaboration bolsters our influence among investors too. Thanks to our closer ties with the International Capital Market Association, for instance, the CEB is better placed to nurture the growing trend of leveraging market value to promote social values, notably through our pioneering Social Inclusion Bonds.

Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude:

Our social mission is more vital today than ever. And the CEB is stronger and more determined than ever to act as a bulwark for its member countries and their people. For if 70 years have taught us anything, it is this: for Europe to flourish, we must invest in people, for people.

Thank you.