Our goal is to ensure that every euro of our funding delivers results on the ground in Ukraine - Head of the EIB Regional Hub

Interview with Kristina Mikulova , the Head of the Regional Hub for Eastern Europe at European Investment Bank (EIB), based in Kyiv, Ukraine 

Biography:

Kristina Mikulova, PhD serves as Head of the Regional Hub for Eastern Europe, based in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the European Investment Bank. Prior to her appointment in October 2024, she was EIB’s Representative to Lebanon based in Beirut and before that, Senior Policy Advisor in the bank’s Operations Department, focusing on additionality and impact, as well as application of environmental and social standards in EIB projects in the EU and around the world. Passionate about international development, Kristina embarked on this path at the World Bank after obtaining her PhD in social sciences at Oxford University, contributing governance expertise to a variety of projects across Europe and Central Asia. She later re-joined the World Bank as Advisor at the World Bank Board of Directors, overseeing work in Eastern Europe as well as the Mashreq region at the time of the Syrian refugee crisis. Kristina’s native language is Slovak. She speaks Ukrainian and French; she understands Polish and Russian, and she is learning Levantine Arabic.

 Text: Oksana Grishyna

- You have been working in Ukraine for six months now. What was the key factor behind the decision to come to our country during the war? What has impressed you the most here? What were the expectations before arriving?

- I came to Ukraine directly from Lebanon, where I had worked for the last two years as the Head of the European Investment Bank’s Representative Office. I must say, I genuinely love both Lebanon and Ukraine. Both countries are going through difficult times, but I deeply value the experience