Nehammer as an EIB director: Postschacher or chance for Austria?

Nehammer as an EIB director: Postschacher or chance for Austria?

On April 1, 2025, it became known that former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was nominated by Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer for a directorate position at the European Investment Bank (EIB). This nomination represents an important step for Austrian representation in the EIB, since Austria is now the turn of sending a representative to the management committee. The position is currently vacant, and Austria could nominate Nehammer as the successor to Wilhelm Molterer, who was Vice President of the EIB from 2011 to 2015, the Kleine Zeitung .

The EIB plays a central role in the financing of projects that contribute to strengthening the European economy and infrastructure. It awards loans in several key areas, including climate protection, ecological sustainability, digitization and social infrastructure. In combination with other EU institutions, EIB supports innovative and sustainable projects. Through its consulting services, the EIB also helps with the search for new financing instruments and the optimization of the use of EU funds, as described on the website of European investment bank

political reactions

The nomination Nehammer not only met with approval. The FPÖ expressed concerns and criticized the decision as a "postschacher". FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker also criticized the Nehammer Chancellery, which was associated with record debts. Hafenecker calls for a careful review of the personnel decision and a serious search for personnel, reports News Pravda .

The EIB management committee consists of nine members and is occupied one after the other by the EU member countries. A nomination right is currently falling to Austria, which also makes the position of Nehammer remarkably remarkable. While the discussion about the nomination and the political reactions continue to it, it remains to be seen how the selection process will develop and whether Nehammer can ultimately take over the post.