Activities of Angelika WINZIG related to 2021/2203(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2021 - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2020 (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2021
Amendments (20)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EIB signed loans for EUR 95 billion in 2021; this is more than any other multilateral bank and a record for the EIB;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Welcomes the EIB’s reaction to the Russian invasion in Ukraine by approving the EIB Emergency Solidarity Package, which consists inter alia of an immediate financial support of EUR 668 million to the Ukrainian authorities by accelerating disbursements under existing loans; calls on the EIB to work on action plans for incentivising EU direct investments in Ukraine as soon as a sovereign and independent Ukraine is re- established after the war;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for an increase in the EIB’s capitalisation to enable more long-term loans and innovative instruments to finance projects with great potential for sustainability, social and innovation gaiinnovation gains in European key policy areas like digitalisation and the green transformation;welcomes that the EIB supported more than 430 000 SMEs employing 4.5 million people in 2021; however calls on the EIB to provide additional growth capital to enable SMEs to scale up their operations;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Applauds the timeliness of the European Guarantee Fund to help mitigate the negative social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; highlights that the volume of approved EGF operations was €23.2 billion by the end of 2021, which is about one third of the volume the EIB invests in a regular year;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the fact that 43 % of lending in 2021 was climate and environment related and applauds the intention to meet the climate lending target in 2022; stresses that the Climate Bank Roadmap (CBR) alone is not enough to ensure alignment with the objective of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C; calls for an immediate halt to carbon markets and offsetting and for all action plans for the implementation of the CBR to be made publicpoints out that without the European Guarantee Fund mandate - that specifically targets SMEs hit by the pandemic – the EIB’s green financing share actually rose to 51%; underlines that irrespective of the strong involvement of the EIB towards achieving the climate neutrality objectives, the institution remains an investment bank and should maintain its focus on supporting projects that deliver growth and job creation;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Looks forward to the CBR’s mid- term review; calls for it to include a solid assessment of less carbon-intensive alternatives and ‘Scope 3’ emissions for each project; expects detailed annual progress reports on the CBR, including the degree to which it is aligned with the Paris AgreementEuropean climate objectives;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the Paris alignment for Counterparties; reiterates its call for exploring possible options for financial intermediaries and not only corporate clients to have decarbonisation plans as soon as possible and by the end of 2025 at the latest, stresses that such new requirements must not go to the detriment of access to finance for SMEs; calls for a focus on the credibility of short-term decarbonisation plans; expects the EIB to systematically check and ensure compliance, in particular as regards ESSF implementation;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the EIB’s climate adaptation plan and the commitment to grow the share of spending on climate action for adaptation to 15 % of the overall climate target by 2025; stresses however that green investments must be viable and the EIB must maintain a high-credit standing (AAA); notes that the climate problem cannot be solved without support of the industry, a large scale change can only be achieved if the industry is taken on board and the necessary incentives are provided for innovative climate solutions;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Expresses, in view of the upcoming review of the energy lending policy, its full support for the statement of President Hoyer: ‘We believe that we have a mission to concentrate on sustainability and achieving the Paris goals with the means of a long-term investor institution.[...] Therefore I don’t see a change in our energy lending policy’; calls for the EIB to retain the possibility to apply stricter criteria than the EU taxonomy and finance fossil-free energy only, and in particular to exclude financing for so- called low-carbon gas, especially for district heating, grey or blue hydrogen and forest biomasfocus on investments in projects that increase the security of energy supply by ways of diversification of energy sources and suppliers as well as reducing the EU's energy dependency from third countries;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Regrets the delays in the transport lending policy review; expects a proposal fully aligned with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement; expects no new loans to be granted that hinder transport decarbonisation or the transition towards zero emission mobiEU's climate policies; expects the EIB to align its transport activities with the new European Green Deal, and with other areas of EU transport politcy;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the updated ESSF standard 4 and calls for its diligent implementation; welcomes the efforts made to strengthen biodiversity risk assessment and due diligence; is concerned, however, at the use of outdated data; expects the EIB to comply with Articles 11 and 191 TFUE and to stop disbursing funds, and, if necessary, withdraw them, if there is evidence or a serious risk of adverse impacts;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Expresses its support for EIB Global; expects full alignment of investments in non-EU countries with intra-EU lending and EU external action, if possible within legal remits established for the financing; calls for public consultation on the strategies linked to EIB Global with a particular focus on the role of recipient countries and specific chapters on human rights due diligence;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets that the new ESSF includes no significWelcomes the new ESSF, which strengthens the risk-based approach antd improvemens more explicit ion humanthe rights protection or procedures to prevent human rights violations; calls for this to be addressed in the statement on human rights; is very concer-based approach concerning environmental and social matters having human rights as a key objective; underlineds that in some cases, the EIB has continued to disburse loans despite clearthe new ESSF requires EIB clients to ensure respect for Human Rights by taking a human -rights abuse-responsive approach to the impact assessment process;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Is very concerned by the decline of transparency at the EIB: in 2010, 96.1 % of all projects were publishedHighlights that all EIB projects are published on the website at the very latest when the finance contract is signed; notes that the overall goal is to publish project information three weeks before Bothey arde approval, falling to only 60 % in 2020; calls for more transparency and accountability, also towards EU institutions, in particular Parliamented by the EIB Board; welcomes however that commercially sensitive projects for EIB clients are not published prior to approval in order to protect their legitimate commercial interests;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Considers the new transparency policy (TP) a major setback; regrets that the EIB has totally ignored Parliament’s very clear demands to improve its TP in line with other financial institutions’ best practices and standards; calls for the TP to be aligned with that of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on mandatory disclosure for intermediaries of projects with high environmental risksTakes note of the recent efforts that have been made by the EIB regarding the new transparency policy (TP);
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls, in this regard, for an ambitious standard for financial intermediaries following stringent tax, transparency, environmental and social standards; calls for the EIB to amend its template for contractual clauses on environmental matters and, accordingly, the contracts with financial intermediaries setting requireEuropean key policy goals; stresses however that such new requirements must not be to the detriments on what environmental information must be collected and publishedf access to finance for SMEs;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Expresses seriouRecognises that recent efforts have been made by the EIB to address concerns at the lack of social dialogue at the EIB, in particular to address concerns about harassment allegations and the working environment; encourages the EIB management to engage in genuine dialogue with staff in order to address their concerns;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Takes note of the new anti-fraud policy; is concerned about the opaque way in which it was adopted;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Is very concerned that, at least once, the EIBCalls for an halt of disburseding funding despite a very clearwhen an EIB Complaints Mechanism report concluding that its environmental and social standards had been breached; calls for any such project to be halted immediatelyes a serious breach of the contractual provisions;