* * * Good morning, dear Marco1, dear Thomas2 colleagues, presenters and viewers, A warm welcome to this joint webinar organised by the Bank of Lithuania and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Allow me, first of all, to thank the EIB for approaching us with the idea to hold this event. This is indeed a pivotal time to talk about investment.
Investment decisions that we make now will be crucial in both the short and the long run. Let us begin with the short-term implications. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), gross fixed capital formation in the euro area fell by almost 11% last year.