Inside EIB’s critical meetings and USAID’s controversial shutdown

This Week in Global Development · Mar 5, 2026 · 24m

This week, we are reporting from the European Investment Bank’s annual meetings in Luxembourg to better understand the direction in which the institution is heading. We dig into the agenda as Europe continues to balance defense and development spending.

EIB President Nadia Calviño says the bank is “carrying the flag of development.” This comes as the bank pledged $1 billion for electrification in Africa, strengthened its commitment to health and gender, and launched its third Gender Action Plan.

During the conversation, we also discuss the messy USAID closeout process. Despite hundreds of…