Activities of Maria João RODRIGUES related to 2015/2127(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on European Investment Bank (EIB) – Annual Report 2014
Amendments (14)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the 2014 EIB Annualctivity Report and the increase by 6.92% to EUR 80.3 billion in the EIB Group’s lending; is very concerned at the increasingbout still very high unemployment, inequality and poverty levels, as well as weak investment in Europe and the continuous uncertainty in the financial markets, also in view of a worsening global economic outlook;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets that overall EU investment in 2013 decreased by 13% compared with the pre- crisis period with investment in some countries decreasing 25% and even by as much as 60% in others, creating a dangerous investment imbalance in the EU; is of the opinion that this constitutes a major challenge for the EIB Group and will require extraordinary efforts from its side for the years to come, as part of an overall EU effort to implement a renewed long-term strategy for sustainable, convergent and inclusive growth;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the urgent need for an increase in EIB lending activityGroup investment activity, including innovative financial instruments with greater additional risk-bearing capacity, and for the improvement of its activity in line with Protocol (No 28) on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the EIB Group to re-examine its strategic planning programme, given the high degree of concentration of funding for the four biggest economies in the EU accounting for more than 45%, and the disproportionate rise in unemployment levels and investment gaps in some other countries which remains at alarming levels, and which could hamper economic convergence in the EU and further damage growth prospects and social cohesion in specific countries and regions in the EU;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes note ofWelcomes the establishment of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and emphasises the need for the EFSI to function in an effective, transparent and fair way, to honour fully the requirement of additionality, and to take into account that priority should be given to projects in strategic sectors, countries in adjustment programmewhere investment gaps have widened most during the economic crisis and regions which have difficulties in attracting funding because of their high risk environment; their geographical or historical disadvantage translates into a higher high risk profile in an economic environment marked by uncertainty; Regrets the selection procedure used to appoint the Managing Director and the Deputy Managing Director and stresses the need to finalise as soon as possible the inter-institutional agreement between the EIB and the Parliament on reporting and on the selection procedure for both positions;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Urges the EIB Group to develop an increased focus on economic and labour market resilience in the context of technological changes, environmental constraints, globalisation and demographic trends; calls on it to prioritise investment operations with high potential in terms of job creation and environmental sustainability, particularly in areas of greatest need, and to expand its cooperation with other development banks in this direction;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the EIB Group to consider strengthening non-financial criteria in its project assessment models, giving greater weight to projects' contribution to sustainable and inclusive development and cohesion in line with Protocol (No 28) on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, while aiming at maximum transparency;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EIB to refrain from cooperating with financial partners with a negative track record and to enforce prevention measures against tax havens, fraud and evasion as well as aggressive tax avoidance; calls for these prevention measures to include ensuring that no EIB funding can go to ultimate beneficiaries or financial intermediaries which make use of tax havens or harmful tax practices;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EIB Group to refrain from cooperating with financial partners with a negative track record, particularly in the field of corporate taxation, and to enforce prevention measures against tax havens, tax fraud and tax evasion as well as aggressive tax avoidance; requests a list of outstanding EIB Group transactions involving counterparts established in jurisdictions featuring on the Commission's list of "top 30" tax havens around the world;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the EIB to adopt an effective and up-to-date Responsible Taxation Policy, to be overseen by a Tax Unit and detailed within an Annual Tax Report; calls for this policy to include regular country tax assessments in order to identify problematic jurisdictions; calls for this policy to involve the EIB actively using its relocation clause and systematically publishing the domicile of funds which benefit from EIB support, as well as the domicile of the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds if they are supported by financial intermediaries;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the EIB Group to re-evaluate the private-public partnerships in terms of their pgrofitabilitywth, jobs and productivity impact for the relevant economies and societies and to examine alternative methods of funding, possiblyincluding through increasing public investments, notably given the present outlook of low long-term interest rates;
Amendment 112 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the EIB Group to further enhance transparency and access to information both internafor the Parliament and other EU institutions as welly ands for the public, especially regarding the selection, monitoring and evaluation of activities and programmes;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Requests the EIB to increase its reporting to Parliament regarding its decisions, progress achieved and the impact of its lending activities within and outside the EU; requests that this include regular reports to the European Parliament and other stakeholders on the implementation of its Non-Compliant Jurisdiction Policy, including the number of applications which have been turned down for failing to comply with this policy, as well as the number of relocations which have been requested and implemented.
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Requests the EIB Group to increase its reporting to Parliament regarding its decisions, progress achieved and the impact of its lending activities within and outside the EU; calls on the EIB Group to engage in deeper dialogue with the Parliament on all its activities within the same scheme for reporting and accountability as set out in the EFSI regulation and to fully comply with the spirit and letter of the EFSI regulation, notably concerning inter-institutional cooperation with the Parliament.