According to fresh analysis released on Friday, July 10, EU nations continue directing billions of euros from the post-pandemic recovery initiative to establish new sovereign investment funds.

Europe now represents 16 percent of worldwide sovereign assets, as these vehicles increasingly target strategic autonomy and stronger industrial performance, per the Sovereign Wealth Funds Report 2026.

The latest expansion of sovereign funds throughout the EU stems largely from a fresh wave of European vehicles seeded with capital drawn from the Covid recovery program, notes the study produced by IE University Center for the Governance of Change and ICEX-Invest in Spain.

Launched in 2022, the recovery program sought to revive EU economies after the severe shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. It delivered a combined €648bn in loans and grants to the EU-27 after each country submitted its national recovery plan to the European Commission.

In January, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez outlined a Spain Grows fund that would allocate €10.5bn from the EU recovery program to attract €120bn in private debt for housing and national security projects, just as the funding window closes at year end.

Spain has become a top European hub for sovereign capital, securing 18 deals worth €6.7bn and ranking second in the EU behind Germany and sixth globally by transaction value involving sovereign wealth funds.

The NextGenerationEU impact stands out clearly, the report states, citing France FOCO run by Cofides and Spain Grows as examples that may trigger another round of European sovereign wealth fund launches from 2026 to 2030.

Separately, the Portuguese government secured parliamentary approval in June for its own sovereign wealth fund initiative.

The study also reveals that AI investments represent one in every three dollars committed by sovereign wealth funds across the examined timeframe.

Unlike traditional sovereign wealth funds financed by oil or mineral surpluses, such as Norway fund valued at $2.1 trillion in March 2026 and exceeding Spain GDP, NextGenerationEU relies solely on debt issued by the EU Commission through bond markets.