Johannes M. BOEHMER

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is a multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate. The CEB’s mission is to promote social cohesion in Europe, defined as “the capacity of a society to ensure the well-being of all its members, minimising disparities and avoiding marginalisation”. The CEB pursues its mission by financing social investment and projects that serve vulnerable people, across three lines of action: Investing in people and enhancing human capital;, Promoting inclusive and resilient living environments;, Supporting jobs and economic and financial inclusion. The CEB is active in the sectors of health and social care, education and vocational training, administrative and judicial infrastructure, historic and cultural heritage, social and affordable housing, urban rural and regional development, natural or ecological disasters, environmental protection, MSME financing, and microfinance. Three cross-cutting themes guide the way in which CEB activities are designed and implemented across all sectors: climate action, gender equality, and digitalisation. The Strategic Framework 2023-2027 serves as the reference framework for the CEB’s activity and sets its strategic directions in light of the operating context. For the period 2023-2027, the CEB pursues three overarching objectives: Respond to evolving social development and inclusion challenges in a flexible manner;, Invest in the assistance and integration of refugees and migrants, in their host communities, and in preparedness for future migratory dynamics;, Support the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of Ukraine’s social sectors.