[ParlTrack]

Proposal for a decision
Recital 6

(6) The Community's external relations policies have been revised and broadened in recent years. This has notably been the case for the Pre-Accession Strategy, for the European Neighbourhood Policy, for the renewed partnerships with Latin America and South-East Asia and for the EU's Strategic Partnerships with Russia, Central Asia, China and India. This is further the case in relation to the Community's development policies, which have now been extended to include all developing countries. These development policies are one of the pillars of the Community's external relations, affording a solution tailored to the needs of developing countries.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Recital 8

(8) EIB Financing Operations should be consistent with and support the Community's external policies including specific regional objectives and should contribute to the general objective of promoting and consolidating democracy and the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to the observance of international environmental agreements to which the Community or its Member States are parties. In relation to developing countries in particular, EIB Financing Operations shall foster sustainable economic and social development of these countries, more particularly in the most disadvantaged amongst them; their smooth and gradual integration into the world economy; the campaign against poverty; the general objective of developing and consolidating democracy and the rule of law; the general objective of respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms; as well as compliance with objectives approved by the Community in the context of the United Nations and other competent international organisations. By ensuring overall coherence with Community actions, EIB financing should be complementary to corresponding Community assistance policies, programs and instruments in the different regions. Moreover, the protection of the environment and energy security of the Member States should form part of the EIB's financing objectives in all eligible regions. EIB Financing Operations should take place in countries complying with appropriate conditionality consistent with Community high level agreements on political and macro-economic aspects.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Recital 12

(12) EIB financing in the Asian and Latin American countries will be progressively aligned with the EU cooperation strategy in those regions and be complementary to instruments financed by Community budgetary resources. The EIB should endeavour to progressively expand its activities across a larger number of countries in those regions, including in the less prosperous countries. In support of Community objectives, EIB financing in the Asian and Latin American countries should focus on environmental sustainability (including climate change mitigation) and energy security projects, on the goals of Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation as well as the continued support of EU presence in Asia and Latin America through Foreign Direct Investment, and the transfer of technology and know how. Taking into account cost-efficiency, the EIB should be able to work also directly with local companies, in particular in the field of environmental sustainability and energy security. The mid-term review will re- examine the objectives of the EIB financing in Asia and Latin America.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Recital 13

(13) In Central Asia, the EIB should focus on major energy supply and energy transport projects which also serve Community energy interests and are consistent with and support the Community policy objectives of diversification of energy sources and the Kyoto requirements, the goals of Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation and of enhancement of environmental protection. EIB financing in Central Asia should be carried out in close cooperation with the EBRD, in particular according to the terms set out in a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission, the EIB and the EBRD.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Recital 14

(14) To complement the EIB activities under the Cotonou Agreement for the ACP countries, in South Africa the EIB should focus on infrastructure projects of public interest (including municipal infrastructure, power and water supply) and private sector support, including SMEs, as well as on the goals of Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation. The implementation of the provisions on economic cooperation under the EU-South Africa Trade and Development Cooperation Agreement will further promote EIB activities in this region.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Recital 15

(15) With a view to enhancing the coherence of overall Community support in the regions concerned, opportunities should be sought to combine EIB financing with Community budgetary resources as appropriate, in the form of grant support, risk capital and interest rate subsidies, alongside technical assistance for project preparation, implementation or enhancement of the legal and regulatory framework and project standards, through the IPA, the ENPI, the Instrument for Stability, the EIDHR, the EIR, the WCD and, for South Africa, the DCI.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Article 3

1. The consistency of EIB external actions with the external policy objectives of the Community, including the Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation, shall be strengthened with a view to maximising synergies of EIB financing and budgetary resources of the European Union, notably through regular and systematic dialogue and early consultation on: (a) strategic documents prepared by the Commission, such as country and regional strategy papers, action plans and pre- accession documents; (b) the EIB's strategic planning documents and project pipelines; (c) other policy and operational aspects. 2. The cooperation shall be carried out on a regionally differentiated basis, taking into consideration the EIB's role as well as the policies of the Community in each region. The EIB shall contribute, under the terms laid down in its Statute, to the implementation of the measures necessary to further the objectives of the Community's development cooperation policy. 3. An EIB Financing Operation will not be included under the cover of the Community guarantee in case the Commission delivers a negative opinion on such operation within the framework of the procedure provided for in Article 21 of the Statutes of the EIB. 4. The consistency of EIB Financing Operations with the external policy objectives of the Community, including the Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation, shall be monitored in accordance with Article 6.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Article 6 − paragraph 1

1. The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and the Council on the EIB Financing Operations carried out under this Decision. The report shall include an assessment of impact and effectiveness of EIB Financing Operations at project, sector, country and regional level as well as the contribution of the EIB Financing Operations to the fulfilment of the external policy objectives of the Community, including Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation, taking into account the operational objectives of the EIB. It shall also include an assessment of the extent of cooperation between the EIB and the Commission and between the EIB and other IFIs and bilateral donors.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Article 6 − paragraph 2

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the EIB shall provide the Commission with yearly reports of EIB Financing Operations carried out under this Decision and of the fulfilment of the external policy objectives of the Community, including Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation, including cooperation with other IFIs.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

Richard HOWITT

Proposal for a decision
Annex II

~~Mid-term review and t~~Terms of reference for the evaluation of the EIB's external mandate Mid-term review A substantive mid-term review of EIB external financing will be conducted by 2010. This review will draw on an independent external evaluation, which will also be transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council. The review will provide the basis for the decision of the European Parliament and the Council, as to whether and to what extent to release any optional mandate to top up the guarantee foreseen in this Decision, for the period following 2010, as to whether to make other amendments to the mandate, and as to how to ensure maximum value- added and efficiency in the EIB's operations. The Commission will present the mid-term review to the European Parliament and to the Council by 30 June 2010, as the basis for any proposal for the amendment of the mandate. The framework of the evaluation It will include: a. an evaluation of the EIB's external financing activities. Parts of the evaluation will be conducted in cooperation with the EIB's and the Commission's evaluation departments; b. an assessment of the wider impact of the EIB's external lending on interaction with other IFIs and other sources of finance, and of the wider impact of the EIB's external lending on the socio-economic objectives referred to in Article 177 EC in so far as developing countries are concerned. The evaluation will be supervised and managed by a steering committee comprising several 'wise persons' appointed by the EIB Board of Governors, an EIB and a Commission representative. The steering committee will be chaired by one such 'wise person'. The steering committee will be supported by the EIB's and the Commission's evaluation departments and by external experts. These external experts will be selected through a tender process managed by the Commission. The steering committee will be consulted on the terms of reference and on the criteria for the selection of the external experts. The costs of external experts will then be borne by the Commission and will be covered by the budget line dedicated to the provisioning of the Guarantee Fund. The final evaluation report will be submitted by the steering committee, and will draw clear conclusions, based on the information gathered, to inform the decision of the mid-term review as to whether to release the optional tranche for the remainder of the mandate and as to the regional distribution of any additional financing. The scope of the evaluation The evaluation will cover the previous mandates (2000-2006) and the first years of the 2007-2013 mandate, up to the end of 2009. It will examine project financing volumes and disbursements by country as well as technical assistance and risk capital operations. Considering the effects at project, sector, regional and country level, ~~the evaluation will base its conclusions on:~~ a. the in-depth evaluation of the relevance, performance (effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability) of EIB operations against their specific regional objectives as originally set within the relevant Community external policies, including within the Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation, as well as of their value-added (to be conducted in association with the EIB's evaluation unit and Commission services); b. the assessment of consistency with the relevant Community external policies as defined above and strategies and of the additionality and value-added of EIB operations in the first years of the 2007- 2013 mandate in the framework of the specific regional objectives in the 2007- 2013 mandate and of the corresponding performance indicators to be set by the EIB (to be conducted in association with the EIB's evaluation unit and Commission services). In these assessments, value-added of EIB operations will be measured against three elements: support of Community policy objectives (including Community policy in the sphere of development cooperation), the quality of the projects themselves and alternative sources of financing. a. analysis of the financial needs of the beneficiaries, their absorption capacity and the availability of other sources of private or public financing for the relevant investments; b. the assessment of the cooperation and coherence of actions between EIB and the Commission; c. the assessment of the cooperation and synergies between the EIB and international and bilateral finance institutions and agencies.

2009/02/12
Committee: BUDG

10 Amendments of Richard HOWITT related to 2008/0268(COD)

ParlTrack - 2011-2024