#52026PC0131Recommendation for a Council Decision Authorising Negotiations on EU Membership in the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)

The European Commission has issued a formal recommendation urging the Council of the EU to authorise the opening of negotiations on the terms and conditions under which the European Union itself — as an institution — would become a member of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The CEB is a multilateral development bank headquartered in Paris that finances social investment projects across its 43 member states, focusing on areas such as affordable housing, education, health infrastructure, and support for refugees and migrants. Currently, individual EU member states are members of the CEB, but the EU as a supranational entity is not. This recommendation proposes to change that by granting the Commission a negotiating mandate to discuss EU accession terms with the CEB. The move aims to align CEB financing activities more closely with EU policy priorities, including the European Green Deal, social cohesion objectives, and support for Ukraine's recovery. If negotiations succeed and the EU joins the CEB, it would strengthen institutional coordination between the two bodies, potentially unlocking larger-scale co-financing of infrastructure and social projects. The EU's membership could also provide the CEB with access to EU budget guarantees and blended finance instruments, increasing leverage for investment across member and candidate states. This document is a preparatory step — a recommendation to the Council — and does not itself create any legal obligations. The Council must formally adopt the decision to authorise negotiations before any talks begin.

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