EC adopts proposal to strengthen EIB lending outside the EU over the next seven years

Brussels, 24-5-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — The European Commission has today adopted a proposal on financing operations in support of investment projects outside the EU by the European Investment Bank (EIB), on the basis of an EU budgetary guarantee. The proposal streamlines the objectives of EIB financing and provides for more focused resources to tackle climate change and to support the pre-accession partners and the EU’s southern and eastern neighbours. The new legislation covers the period 2014-2020 and is expected to be adopted in the coming year.

Olli Rehn, European Commission Vice President for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, said: “This proposal is about ensuring the EIB is fully able to support the EU’s international goals over the coming seven years. In particular, we want the EIB to play an important role in the global fight against climate change and in supporting the economic development of countries aiming to join the EU and of our southern and eastern neighbours.”

The new legislative proposal is accompanied by a comprehensive impact assessment prepared by the Commission services. The proposal envisages the provision of an EU budgetary guarantee for up to EUR 28 billion of EIB financing operations outside the EU, out of which EUR 3 billion would be optional and possibly activated after a mid-term review. It also foresees the addition of Myanmar to the list of countries eligible to receive EIB loans under the EU budgetary guarantee.

The legislative proposal should allow the EIB to further support EU external policies, including enlargement, neighbourhood and development cooperation. The proposal would further strengthen the capacity of the EIB to indirectly support EU development objectives and increase the impact of EIB financing through better alignment with EU policies and coherence and synergies with EU instruments.

The following three high-level objectives for financing across all eligible countries would be carried over from the 2007-2013 budgetary guarantee:

• local private sector development, including support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
• development of social, environmental and economic infrastructure;
• climate change mitigation and adaptation;

The Commission proposes to further focus the EU budgetary guarantee on the highest value-added EIB financing operations, in particular within pre-accession region and European Union’s southern and eastern neighbourhood. Moreover, the climate change dimension of the EU budgetary guarantee to EIB financing operations outside the EU would be reinforced by the introduction of a 25% minimum target of all EIB financed operations over 2014-2020.

The proposal should now be examined by the European Parliament and Council through the ordinary legislative procedure with a view to have a Decision adopted before the current EIB external mandate expires.

Further information:

Link to the Communication and its annexes: COM(2013)293

Current mandate: DECISION 1080/2011/EU

Latest annual report: COM(2012)637 and annexes! SWD(2012)357 and SWD(2012)358