Activities of Notis MARIAS related to 2016/2099(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Annual report on the control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank for 2015 - Annual report on the financial activities of the European Investment Bank (debate) EL
Amendments (45)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to Protocol (No 1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union,
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the EIB, which markets itself as ‘the EU bank’ and is incorporated and governed by the Treaties and relevant annexed Protocol, must live up to this particular status, which entails particular rights and responsibilities; observmeasures to boost growth and employment in the EU Member States; stresses that the bank ishould playing a key role in implementing an ever greater number of financial instruments leveraging on EU budgetary funds;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Looks forward toAwaits the results of the Commission’s mid-term review of the external lending mandate for the European Investment Bank (EIB); underlines that the EIB is operating under a development mandate and therefore needs to work in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
- having regard to Protocol (No 2) to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes theConsiders that apparently there has been an increase in transparency and accountability due to the EIB’s Results Measurement (ReM) Framework; asks that a random sample of the nearly 400 projects that have gone through ReM assessment at appraisal be reassessed after completion by independent experts; asks that the results of this ex-post evaluation be reported to the EP;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital Β
Recital Β
Β. whereas decarbonising transport is a major challenge, and significant reductions in CO2 emissions from transport are needed if the EU is to achieve its long-term climate goals; whereas congestion and air pollution are major problems in developing urban mobility and the EU should promote alternative forms of transport and public transport;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates its cCalls on the Commission to establish a framework for annual reporting by the EIB on its operations outside the EU as regards compliance with the general principles guiding the Union’s external action; considers that the optional additional amount for the EIB should be released only if progress on such reporting is achieved;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. ConsidersDeplores the fact that the information currently made available to citizens and to the budgetary authority on financial instruments lacks completeness, timeliness and exploitability for making informed decisions on budgetary allocations, future EU financial rules and the future EU financial framework; expects the EIB to contribute actively to the EU budget’s legibility, given its unique expertise and position;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EIB is considered toshould be the ‘financial arm of the EU’ and the key institution for sustaining public and private investments within the EU, its role being stillshould have been more essential since the start of the financial crisis in 2008;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas in 2015 the EIB invested EUR 14 billion in transport projects that willare expected to benefit 338 million passengers per year and save 65 million travel hours per year;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the EIB’s role inStresses the need to strengthen the EIB’s role in public-sector and local private-sector development; points out that the EIB’s support for microfinance was particularly successful, with jusneeds to be increased despite the fact that EUR 184 million microcredits sustaininged 230, 500 jobs in microenterprises, while close to EUR 3 billion loans to SMEs and midcaps have proved much less effective, sustaining only 531, 880 jobs; points out that the leverage ratio of microfinance investment vehicles was also considerably higher than that of private equity funds; points out that microcredits have a strong gender perspective, generating twice as many jobs for women as for men; asks the EIB to devote more resources to microfinances; regrets that the EIB has not supported any microfinance institution outside the ACP region and demands that similar microfinance support be provided to all other developing countries where the EIB is active;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. UnderstandsDeplores that fact that that the current EIB ‘Resilience’ initiative, the future EU External Investment Plan and the revision of the EIB external mandate cannot be entirely coordinated, as swift answers are needed in times of crisis; insists, however,; insists on the coherence and streamlining of all EU external action financial instruments; expects in particular the updated regional technical operational guidelines or any future equivalent document used to link EU objectives and EIB external action to be more detailed than hitherto;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Is concernedDeplores the fact that the EIB’s funding may be biased in favour of larger enterprises by targeting the number of jobs sustained (which includes pre-existing jobs); asks that the EIB target and report not only jobs sustained but also jobs created bythrough its funding activities; stresses the need for the EIB to strengthen SMEs in the EU Member States;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the EIB to establish a new, responsible taxation policy and to transpose good governance requirements in its contracts with all selected financial intermediaries in line with the ‘External Strategy for Effective Taxation’; reiterates that the EIB should improve the quality of information on ultimate beneficiaries and prevent transactions with financial intermediaries that have a negative record in terms of transparency, fraud or corruption, or are registered in offshore financial centres or tax havens.; notes, moreover, that the EIB has to make productive investments in the primary sector, infrastructure, research and innovation in the EU Member States, the primary aim being to reduce massive unemployment in countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the bank must retain a strong credit standing and must remain selective in its operations, taking into account not only the high volumes and returns of the investment but also the development targets of different sectors, with emphasis on Member States of the EU such as Greece that have fallen into poverty because of the austerity policies of the troika;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity ofExpresses the need to increase the Investment Plan for Europe from EUR 315 billion to EUR 630 billion; underlines, however, that it should not lead to a reduction in well-functioning sources of transport infrastructure funding;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the EIB to implement immediately all investment projects and SME funding agreements only in those countries that respect human rights and freedom of the press;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Commends Stresses the need for further EIB’s engagement in favour of SMEs, such as the new facilities for financing European and Latin American/Caribbean SME trade activities;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Points out that measures to achieve the objectives of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds to enhance SME competitiveness and promote employment, research, innovation and growth should be implemented immediately;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. RegretsDeplores the fact that the EIB’s report on its extra-EU activities is completely silent on volume and number of non-performing EIB loans; asks that the EIB provide the EP with an annual overview of payment deferrals and losses incurred in its sustainable development funding; asks that this information be structured by type of funding and region.;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that the EIB's primary objective should be to reduce the very high unemployment rates in countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy and to boost growth in these countries.
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Encourages the EIB to continueCalls on the EIB to support sustainable, safe, climate-friendly and innovative transport; underlines that it ismust be the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that an innovative and effective economy needs advanced infrastructure and that transport infrastructure should be among the priorities, with a special focus on innovative multimodal infrastructure solutions such as short multimodal tunnels or bridges in sparsely populated areas or local communities; at the same time, infrastructure in the road transport sector should be strengthened in order to reduce road accidents;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the EIB should help address regional inequalities on the basis of financing sound investment projects; whereas, in particular, the EIB should devise additional ways of sustaining the economic development of countries that have had to apply a stabilisation programmesuch as Greece and Portugal that have been hit by the austerity measures of the troika;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the EIB should tackle youth unemployment by equipping young people with the required set of skills and provide access to finance linked to the employment of young people especially in southern European countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy which are facing very high unemployment rates;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the importance of geographical balance in investments with EIB involvement, and expects the EIB and the Commission to deliver appropriate technical and administrative assistance to project preparation in countries in southern Europe, such as Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy etc. that need it;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. StressesDeplores the fact that the current crisis has significantly weakened potential growth in the European economy and that one of the main factors is the decline in public and private investment in the EU, to approximately 18 % below 2007 levels; in extreme cases such as Greece and Portugal the declining public and private investment has reached alarming levels and, according to the OECD, gross national income (GNI) has declined by 65 % in Greece and by 35 % in Portugal from 2007 levels, and at the same time unemployment rates are still high;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to develop new common EU regulations on the use of innovative financial instruments such as public-private partnerships or project bonds;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls onUrges the Commission and the EIB to support investment in sustainable urban mobility in order to reduce the air pollution and congestion in European cities;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of the Member States of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation and digitalisation;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that the EIB uses a wide range of products, such as loans, guarantees, project bonds and public- private partnerships to support public and private investment in transport; stresses that it is important to coordinatincrease various types of EU funding in order to ensure that EU transport policy objectives are met.
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the stability of the EIB lending signed in 2015 (EUR 77.5 billion, after EUR 77 billion in 2014); points out that, while the figure complies with the target announced in the EIB Operational Plan 2015-2017, the current context should encourage the bank to adopt more ambitious objectivesincrease lending immediately;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. WelcomNotes the fact that the EIB was able to deliver the commitment entered into with its shareholders of at least 180 billion in overall investment;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. WelcomStresses the fact that in 2015 the EIB provided EUR 1.35 billion for investment in projects across Greece; notes that the EIB has provided more than EUR 12 billion for investment in Greece since the beginning of the crisis, but without achieving the expected results in the field of development;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the EIB to increase indirectly its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- starting their economies;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that investment financing should be increased in the industrial sector, especially where exports are concerned, because without agiven that there has been no considerable increase in exports the probability of a successful conclusion to an adjustment programme will be diminished;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Supports the emphasis that should be placed by the EIB on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with 37 % of the new lending granted in 2015 (EUR 28.4 billion); welcomes in particular the factnotes that the EIB operations helped to create and sustain 4.1 million jobs in Europe’s SMEs and midcaps (+13 % as compared to 2014); recalls that SMEs are the backbone of Europe’s economy, providing 85 % of all new jobs, and that supporting them must remain a fundamental objective of the bank;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the startExpects the results of the start of operation of the EFSI, the governing legislation governing which entered into force in July 2015;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Particularly welcomStresses the fact that total investment in EFSI approvals amounts to EUR 115.7 billion, which is equivalent to 37 % of the original target value (EUR 315 billion) and should be increased;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Points out that effective cooperation with the National Promotional Banks (NPBs) can help the EIB to select the best projects in each Member State, which will result in further development;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Emphasises that the EIB should continuimprove its programme ‘Skills and Jobs – Investing for Youth’ and carry on investing in human capital in order to equip young people with the necessary set of skills to provide them with access to finance linked to the employment of young people in SMEs and midcaps;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes the growingNotes the involvement of the EIB with climate change, which was related to 50 % of the projects approved in 2015; climate finance totalled EUR 20.6 billion, the largest ever annual amount invested in it by the EIB;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. AskUrges the EIB to continue its action to tackle the refugee crisis by financing emergency projects in countries of destination and making long-term investments in the refugees’ countries of origin;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Asks the EIB to continue its social housing project lending in order to cope with the large number of refugees in the EU Member States , especially in Greece and Italy;