In this interview excerpt, Philippe Maystadt, Belgian Finance Minister from 1988 to 1995, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and External Trade from 1995 to 1998 and President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from 2000 to 2011, describes the circumstances surrounding his appointment as President of the EIB.

In this interview excerpt, Philippe Maystadt, Belgian Finance Minister from 1988 to 1995, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and External Trade from 1995 to 1998 and President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from 2000 to 2011, looks back over his achievements at the head of the EIB, emphasising the initiatives he took to give the EIB a more effective role in supporting projects launched by the European Union. He particularly discusses the introduction of joint projects, especially in the field of research, through the application of the risk-sharing instrument between the European Commission and the EIB.