2016/2099(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)

-1. Welcomes the EIB's development mandates in the ACP region when operating Under its External Lending Mandate; underlines that the focus of EIB's activities should be to have a positive impact on the achievements of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that the EIB, which markets itself as ‘the EU bank’ and is incorporated and fully governed by the Treaties and relevant annexed Protocol, must live up to this particular status, which entails particular rights and responsibilities; observes that the bank is playing a key role in implementing an ever greater number of financial instruments leveraging on EU budgetary funds for the benefit of the Member States and that these resources should be used to support the real economy;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Highlights the need for the EIB to ensure that, together with its clients, sound public consultations take place at project level, including via the application of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC); urges the EIB to consider extending the FPIC to all affected communities in land and natural resource-based investments;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Considers~~Deplores 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 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Welcomes the adoption of the EIB External Lending Mandate Climate Strategy in December 2015 and the commitment to increase the share of climate-related projects to 35% of its investments in developing countries by 2020; calls on the EIB to ensure this is supported by robust eligibility criteria for climate action and that climate considerations are also mainstreamed into all EIB operations outside of Europe;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Considers that the role of the EIB after the entry into force of the European Fund for Strategic Investments has been greatly enhanced and welcomes in this respect the proposal to extend EFSI beyond the initial foreseen period;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Is concerned whether financial support provided by the EIB to investment funds is trustworthy, because many of them are located in tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions. So it shows lack of transparency and a potential conflict of interests; calls for a binding moratorium on the use of private equity funds;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Expects the EIB to continue to work with the European Commission and Member States in order to address systemic shortcomings that prevent certain regions or countries of taking full advantage of EIB's financial activities;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Reminds that for other financial intermediaries used by the EIB (commercial bank in particular, as well as microfinance institutions and cooperatives), in order to ensure a high level transparency, the bank should ensure that intermediated loans are subject to the same transparency requirements as other types of loans;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Understands 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~~notwithstanding actual requirements and guidelines, as swift and effective answers are needed to situations arising in times of crisis; insists, however, on the coherence ~~and~~, streamlining and coordination 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 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Welcomes the EIB’s role in~~Stresses 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 jus~~needs to be increased despite the fact that EUR 184 million microcredits sustain~~ing~~ed 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

3. ~~Understands~~Deplores 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 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls EIB to support direct equity participation in local companies which are judged able and likely to support wider development goals through their work in a transparent and accountable way;

Amendment 15 #

Marco ZANNI, Marco VALLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls for a review of the EIB mandate so as to target EU resources more effectively;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Is concerned 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)~~Welcomes the fact that in recent years the EIB has placed greater emphasis on supporting SMEs; Is concerned that the EIB’s funding may be targeted more towards the number of jobs sustained; asks that the EIB target and report not only jobs sustained but also jobs created by its funding activities;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Expects that in the context of the revision of its external mandate, both arms of the budgetary authority will agree on an ambitious level of the allocation for the Eastern Neighbourhood region taking into account that the ceiling in the Eastern Neighbourhood will be reached as of mid-2017 and the EIB may not be able to continue lending in the region for the entire period of the ELM;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Is concerned~~Deplores 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 #

Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Intends already to dedicate particular attention when examining the above-mentioned legislative proposals to new indicators for projects providing strategic response addressing root causes of migration, as views appeared to diverge up to very recently, about what those root causes are;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Is concerned 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 decent jobs sustained but also jobs created by its funding activities;

Amendment 18 #

Marco ZANNI, Marco VALLI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Recalls that the European Investment Bank is the largest foreign financier in Turkey and that, following the opening of the accession negotiations in 2004, the EIB stepped up its lending operations to that country and some EUR 23 billion has been made available over the past decade; regrets the fact that, despite the persistent economic crisis in the EU, Turkey currently ranks first among EIB recipient countries outside the EU, with about 3.5 % of total EIB loans (2015); calls for financing to be made more conditional on respect for human rights and freedom of expression;

Amendment 19 #

Enrique GUERRERO SALOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls in this connection on the EIB to ensure that companies participating in projects co-financed by the EIB shall be required to adhere to the principle of equal pay and pay transparency and to the principle of gender equality as set out in Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation.

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
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 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)

-1a. Stresses that the EIB should continue to pay strong attention to the Human Rights impacts of its operations and to reinforce its due diligence at project level in this regard; calls on the EIB to act in strict compliance with the EU treaty obligations, including Article 21 TEU on principles of EU external action, and to ensure its policies and operations are in line with the EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan for Human Rights and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
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; observ~~measures to boost growth and employment in the EU Member States; stresses that the bank ishould play~~ing~~ a key role in implementing an ever greater number of financial instruments leveraging on EU budgetary funds;

Amendment 20 #

Enrique GUERRERO SALOM

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Furthermore, when deciding which projects to finance, the EIB shall take into account the corporate social responsibility measures taken by candidate companies;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Welcomes the fact that the European Commission's 2016 External Strategy for Effective Taxation reminds that European legislation prohibits EU funds from being invested in entities in third countries which do not comply with international tax transparency standards and asks the EIB to transpose good governance requirements in their contracts with all selected financial intermediaries; supports the Commission's claim that the EIB needs to go further than the current transparency requirements to ensure fair tax competition; calls therefore on the EIB to establish a responsible taxation policy in 2017, starting from the review of its policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions (NCJ policy) in cooperation with the European Commission;

Amendment 21 #

Marco ZANNI, Marco VALLI

Draft opinion
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 regisconsider withholding funding from financial intermediaries until effective assessment criteria have been established to avoid tax avoidance and tax evasion and the use of offshore financial centres or tax havens, bearing in mind also the numerous problems that have previously arisen in terms of transparency, fraud or corruption in this connection; calls on the EIB also to ensure bettered in ~~offshore financial centres or tax havens~~formation regarding ultimate beneficiaries and introduce a suitable transparency register for that purpose.

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Stresses the need for increased visibility of the bank's involvement in project financing to various projects stakeholders, in particular outside the European Union, which is crucial for local citizens to be aware of their right to appeal and lodge complaints at the Complaints Mechanism Office and the European Ombudsman;

Amendment 22 #

Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Deplores that many EIB´s investments funds are located in tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions; calls, therefore, the EIB to enhance the transparency of its operations through financial intermediaries and implement effective measures to tackle tax evasion and tax dodging on its operations aligned with EU country-by-country reporting requirements for private banks and transnationals;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
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 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls the EIB to take into account the European Court of Auditors report on the effectiveness of blending on external cooperation[1], which calls to "ensure that the allocation of grants is based on a documented assessment of the added value resulting from the grants in terms of achieving EU development"; [1] http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocu ments/SR14_16/SR14_16_EN.pdf

Amendment 24 #

Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the EIB to swiftly assess and apply the provisions of the EU anti- tax avoidance directive adopted by the Council on 12 July 2016 as well as the revised administrative cooperation directive adopted by the Council on 25 May 2016;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Asks the EIB to ensure that all companies and financial institutions involved in its transactions disclose information regarding beneficial ownership of any legal structure directly or indirectly related to the company, including trusts, foundations and bank accounts;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
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 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Recalls that the international private financial sector should not be used by the EIB as a primary vehicle for channelling development funding to local and indigenous private companies. Due to the screening financial intermediaries, both ex-ante and ex-post would absorb too many resources without necessarily generating a positive outcome. It could divert capacity from trying to directly support local public and private sectors in line with a development logic of mobilising domestic resources and capacities;

Amendment 27 #

Louis MICHEL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls the need to support local SME projects pursuing sustainable and long-term investments and providing employment in the fields of innovation, R & D and energy efficiency;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Regrets~~Deplores 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 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Regrets that many of the private equity instruments the EIB is using as financial intermediaries are located in tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions and also regrets the lack of transparency regarding beneficial ownership information; reiterates its previous call to the bank to reinforce its due diligence activities so as to improve the quality of information on ultimate beneficiaries and to more effectively prevent transactions with financial intermediaries with a negative record in terms of transparency, fraud, corruption, organised crime, money laundering and harmful social and environmental impacts or registered in offshore financial centres or tax havens which resort to aggressive tax planning;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note that the 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; Calls the EIB to introduce coherent measures in line with the most recent developments at EU level, such as the country-by-country reporting requirements for private banks and multinationals;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that the EIB, ~~which markets itself~~ as ‘the EU bank’ ~~and is~~, being incorporated and governed by the Treaties and relevant annexed Protocol, must live up to this particular status, which entails particular rights and responsibilities; observes that the bank is playing a key role in implementing an ever greater number of financial instruments leveraging on EU budgetary funds;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
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 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses the need for the Resilience Initiative of the EIB to reach a high level of transparency in its operation and to focus on high quality projects with enhanced development impact and genuine additionality.

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls the EIB to ensure not supporting clients which are engaged in harmful tax practices;

Amendment 33 #

Bogdan Brunon WENTA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines the important role to be played by the EIB under the EU's proposed External Investment Plan in building more resilient economies that tackle root causes of poverty; stresses that EIB initiatives have to focus particularly on young people and women, with increased investment in socially important sectors like water, health and education – and stepping-up of support for entrepreneurship and the private sector;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Underlines the important role to be played by the EIB under the EU's proposed External Investment Plan in building more resilient economies that tackle root causes of poverty; stresses that EIB initiatives have to focus particularly on young people and women, with increased investment in socially important sectors like water, health and education – and stepping-up of support for entrepreneurship and the private sector;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls the EIB to do a better job supporting responsible corporate tax practices and not only representing a tool to trigger investments, claiming often that it has the capacity to improve the environmental, social and integrity standards of its clients;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the EIB's renewed external lending mandate for 2014-2020, which provides an EU guarantee covering the EIB's external operations up to EUR 30 billion; Considers that the EIB as the financial arm of the EU must play its part towards achieving targets set through the UN Sustainable Development Goals; calls for the post-2015 development agenda to be given special attention in the review of the mid-term external lending mandate of the EIB in 2016/2017;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls on the EIB to focus its attention closely on developing countries, particularly those suffering from conflict and extreme poverty, and urges the EIB to continue to actively promote sustainable growth in developing countries; calls on the EIB to work alongside the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance long-term investments in the service of economic development; welcomes the fact that EU grants are increasingly blended with EIB lending in order to achieve better project results in developing countries;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes the~~Considers 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 4 #

Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Takes the view that the EIB bears responsibility in the strikingly low take-up of the current MFF "off-the-shelf" instruments, and corresponding under implementation; reminds of the numerous calls on EIB to catalyse and facilitate best practice dissemination throughout Member states in particular through the relevant national promotional banks and institutions which represent a mayor tool for a coordinated EU response to the low level of investment;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Considers that all EIB activities should clearly contribute to the fulfilment of the Agenda 2030 and the development effectiveness agenda; regrets that ex-ante and ex-post assessments of supported projects according to non-financial criteria like development, environmental, human rights, gender and social aspects of the projects are hardly existing on the contrary to other major public banks; recalls that the EIB is for example still financing non-renewable energy projects;

Amendment 5 #

Eider GARDIAZABAL RUBIAL

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Recalls the agreement[1] by the European Parliament and the Council to address the issue of the treatment of the European Investment Fund's dividends in the framework of the next revision of the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union or, at the latest, in the context of the interim report on the achievement of the objectives set therein, to be delivered by Commission by 31 December 2016 ; [1] Stated in annex to the Decision of 2014 on the participation of the European Union in the capital increase of the European Investment Fund

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Calls on the EIB to develop its capacity to assess projects according to their impact on the Agenda 2030 and to report on project selection according to key criteria like contributions of the projects to sustainable development, including social, gender and environmental criteria;

Amendment 6 #

Ivan JAKOVČIĆ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers 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; feels that it is particularly necessary to set up ‘information channels’ leading to regional and local government bodies so that they can receive higher-quality information in a timely manner on financial possibilities;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Calls on the EIB to align its support to projects in line with beneficiary countries' development priorities;

Amendment 7 #

Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers 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; calls on the EIB to develop its transparency policy by duly taking into account the decisions of the European Ombudsman;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Welcomes the current work of EIB to develop a gender strategy; emphasises the overriding importance of supporting the role of women in the labour markets;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that the information currently made available to citizens and to the budgetary authority on financial instruments ~~lacks completeness,~~is inadequate and lacks timeliness and real exploitability for making informed decisions on budgetary allocations, future EU financial rules and the future EU financial framework; expects the EIB to contribute actively and effectively to the EU budget’s legibility for the benefit of the Member State citizens, given its unique expertise ~~and~~, know-how and key position;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Recalls the importance of EIB lending outside the EU to be fully consistent with EU development framework, aligned with FTEU Article 21 and 208, the SDGs and Development Effectiveness Principles, including additionality, the recipient country ownership, alignment with recipient country developing strategies, as well as transparency requirements;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that the information currently made available to citizens and to the budgetary authority on financial instruments ~~lacks~~could be improved in terms of 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;

source: 589.126

2016/10/17 TRAN 82 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas transport is the largest sector in which the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been active since its foundation, with more than a trillion euros invested in transport projects since 1958, but a great deal of effort still needs to be made; whereas it is hoped, in particular, that the projects will be able to facilitate the completion of the TEN-T global network;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. 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 and sea pollution are major problems in developing ~~urban~~all forms of mobility;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. 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 p~~roblems in developing urban mobility~~ublic health problems;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas in 2015 the EIB invested EUR 14 billion in transport projects that will benefit 338 million passengers per year and save 65 million travel hours per year, and whereas since 1993 the EIB has been increasing the amount of TEN-T lending through financial instruments;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas in 2015 the EIB invested EUR 14 billion in transport projects that ~~will~~are expected to benefit 338 million passengers per year and save 65 million travel hours per year;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital C

C. whereas in 2015 the EIB invested EUR 14 billion in transport projects that will benefit 338 million passengers per year and that should make it possible to save 65 million travel hours per year;

Amendment 15 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcom~~Notes Commission President Juncker’'s plan to increase the capacity of the Investment Plan for Europe from EUR 315 billion to EUR 630 billion~~; underlin~~. Stresses, however, th~~at it should not lead to a reduction in well-functioning sources of transport infrastructure funding;~~e subpar functioning of EFSI as during the first year of operations 92 per cent of all investment has concentrated in EU-15 countries whilst only 8 per cent has reached the EU-13 countries and that to date 10 Member States, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, had operations only under the SME Window (SMEW) of EFSI;1a __________________ 1a EIB independent evaluation report "Evaluation of the functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments" (http://www.eib.org/infocentre/publication s/all/evaluation-of-the-functioning-of-the- efsi.htm)

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the plan to review the Regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments announced by Commission President Juncker~~’s plan~~, which aims to increase the capacity of the Investment Plan for Europe from EUR 315 billion to EUR 630 billion until 2022; underlines, however, that it should not lead to a reduction in ~~well-functioning sources of transport infrastructure funding;~~effective sources that are indispensable to the appropriate funding of transport infrastructure, such as subsidies under the Connecting Europe Facility.

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of 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; hopes, in particular, that the funding removed from instruments such as the Connecting Europe Facility to the benefit of the European Investment Fund will be restored;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Is concerned at Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of the Investment Plan for Europe from EUR 315 billion to EUR 630 billion, although this plan has not proved sufficient to solve the problems of entrepreneurship, especially in economically weak countries; underlines, however, that it should not lead to a reduction in well-functioning sources of transport infrastructure and services funding;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of the Investment Plan for Europe from EUR 315 billion to EUR 630 billion; underlines, however, that it should not lead to a reduction in the number and amount of well-functioning sources of transport infrastructure funding; stresses the need to complete the TEN-T core network by 2030;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas transport is the largest sector in which the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been active since its foundation, with more than a trillion euros invested in transport projects since 1958 and with the EIB providing funding for projects which will contribute to achieving the EU’s objectives both within and beyond its borders;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcom~~Deplores Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of 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 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of 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 and highlight the importance of balanced allocation of funds between regions;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of~~Expresses 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 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of 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 sustainable transport infrastructure funding;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Notes that Commission President Juncker’s plan aims to increase the capacity of 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 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Welcomes~~Notes the adoption of Commission President Juncker’s plan to increase the capacity of 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 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Believes that as only 8 per cent of EFSI investment to date has reached the EU-13 countries, the current functioning of EFSI is contrary to the Fund's Regulation which states that EFSI should contribute to strengthening of the Union's economic, social and territorial cohesion. Further believes that the concentration of capital in the EU-15 countries and underserving of EU-13 countries widens social and economic disparities between the EU's Western and Eastern regions; notes that such disparities are fuelling brain drain and emigration of youth from the EU's poorer Member States towards the Western EU countries which, in turn, puts extra pressure on the former countries' social safety nets; further notes the growing discontent in Western EU countries to changes in their labour market structures, caused by immigration from the EU's poorer Member States, which often results in Western EU countries' governments adopting changes to their social legislation which are de- facto discriminatory in their nature;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Notes that many Eastern EU countries still lack major transport infrastructure and thus full integration within the EU Single Market. Thus believes that EFSI has so far been largely unhelpful in facilitating the Eastern EU countries' full integration within the Single Market;

Amendment 28 #

Merja KYLLÖNEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, ~~safe,~~ climate-friendly, safe and innovative transport; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links; stresses the need to reform the principles of funding so that it is possible to target the promotion not only of infrastructure but also of progressive transport services and environment-friendly means of propulsion, which in turn will alleviate the capacity problems of the transport system and reduce damage to the environment;

Amendment 29 #

Dominique RIQUET, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Pavel TELIČKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, safe, climate-friendly and innovative transport; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links, and to connect secondary and tertiary nodes to TEN-T infrastructure, including multimodal nodes;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas ~~transport is the largest sector in which the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been active since its foundation, with more than a trillion euros invested in transport projects since 1958;~~, with more than a trillion euros invested in the transport sector thanks to the support of the EIB since its foundation in 1958, this is the sector in which the EIB has been most active.

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, safe, climate-friendly and innovative transport; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links and particularly the cross-border regional abandoned or dismantled rail connections;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, safe, climate-friendly and innovative transport, in addition to transport for passengers with reduced mobility; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, safe, climate-friendly, technologically advanced and innovative transport; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support ~~sustainable, safe, climate-friendly and~~ innovative transport; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide ~~sufficient~~appropriate funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, safe, climate-friendly and innovative transport; underlines that it is the European Parliament’s priority to provide sufficient funding for projects with European added value~~, including the cross-border transport link~~ for the benefit of all citizens of the Member States;

Amendment 36 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Encourages the EIB to continue~~Calls 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 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Encourages the EIB to continue to support sustainable, safe~~, climate-friendly~~ and innovative transport; underlines that it is the European ~~Parliament~~Union’s priority to ~~provid~~ensure sufficient funding for projects with European added value, including the cross- border transport links;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the EIB, in its financing of transport projects, to take into account and seek synergies with tourism in order to promote its development and competitiveness in the EU;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
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 4 #

Draft opinion
Recital A

A. whereas transport is the ~~largest~~most heavily funded sector in which the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been active since its foundation, with more than a trillion euros invested in transport projects since 1958;

Amendment 40 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG

Draft opinion
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; believes that the EIB investments should contribute decreasing unemployment and better life quality of EU citizens;

Amendment 41 #

Draft opinion
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;~~solutions.

Amendment 42 #

Merja KYLLÖNEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Believes that an innovative and effective economy needs an advanced transport system and infrastructure and that t~~ransport infrastructur~~hese should be among the priorities, with a special focus on innovative multimodal ~~infrastructure~~transport solutions; s~~uch as short multimodal tunnels or bridges in sparsely populated areas or local communi~~tresses the need to develop project evaluation procedures so as to ensure that funding targets projects which will improve readiness to meet environmental and climate objectives;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
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 a strong switch towards short multimodal tunnels ~~or bridg~~, bridges or ferries in sparsely populated areas or local communities;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Believes that an innovative and effective economy needs advanced, modern and high-quality 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;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
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 EU's Eastern regions as well as innovative multimodal infrastructure solutions such as short multimodal tunnels or bridges in sparsely populated areas or local communities;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
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 and multi-operable tunnels or bridges in sparsely populated areas or local communities;

Amendment 47 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
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;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Underlines the need for European investment policy to pay more attention to horizontal issues, particularly as regards future means of transport, which will require the simultaneous and coherent development of alternative energy and telecommunications networks.

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Believes that the EIB must be more reserved about taking part in the funding of colossal and dubious transport infrastructure projects, such as the Lyon- Turin railway, and should instead concentrate on the funding of infrastructure that is more modest, more useful and much less costly;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
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 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. URegrets that according to the EIB's report the EFSI, the European Commission's flagship investment scheme favoured mainly the richest 15 member states; therefore 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 that need it;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. UHighlights the large disparity between the number of investment projects financed in western and eastern EU countries, and therefore 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 that need it;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
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 53 #

Dominique RIQUET, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
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 that need it; stresses the importance of including local and regional authorities in this process;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines the importance of ~~geographical balance in~~a distribution of investments with EIB involvement that is balanced in proportion to the Member States’ GDP, and expects the EIB and the Commission to deliver appropriate technical and administrative assistance to project preparation in countries that need it;

Amendment 55 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines the need for greater consistency between the projects supported by the EIB under EFSI and the projects that meet European priorities (European added value).

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers that in order to ensure more equal geographical balance and geographical diversification of investments as well as to reach the currently underserved EU-13 countries, a set of specific conditions and criteria that reflect the EU transport policy priorities and goals shall be established for transport infrastructure projects; also blending of CEF grants with EFSI financial instruments shall be facilitated as a way to leverage additional funding; notes that within the context of EFSI, many for-profit transport infrastructure projects are contrary to the EU´s Transport policy objectives to shift transport to more environmental friendly modes; believes that the above situation can only be changed if the share of certain transport mode projects is limited - - e.g. by limiting road transport project development to only countries eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund as well as to cross-border projects;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses the need to ensure good coordination between the relevant actors, such as exists between the EIB, the Commission and the Member States, in the use of various sources of funding;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
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;~~deleted

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

~~5. Calls on the Commission to 5. develop new common EU regulations on the use of innovative financial instruments such as public-private partnerships or project bond~~Warns against the trend whereby investment funds based on public-private partnerships are replacing the EU's conventional funding mechanisms and within the context of EFSI are partly funded using money that has previously been earmarked for other purposes; Notes that as EFSI has thus far been incapable of contributing towards the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion, the EU's structural funds are still the main funds capable of serving the EU's cohesion policy aims;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas decarbonising transport is a major challenge, and significant reductions in CO2 and other relevant greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions from transport are needed if the EU is to achieve its long-term climate goals; whereas congestion, space use, noise and air pollution are major problems in developing urban mobility;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
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, without socialising the losses and privatising the profits;

Amendment 61 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG

Draft opinion
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 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Calls on~~Supports the Commission in its attempt to drev~~elop new common EU regulations on~~ise the current Financial Regulation, and in particular its provisions concerning the use of innovative financial instruments such as ~~public-private partnerships or~~ project bonds;

Amendment 63 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the importance in combating climate change of the goals set by COP 21 with regard to road, rail and inland waterway transport; underlines that the financial means should be available to bring about a modal shift from road to rail and waterborne and inland waterway transport; insists also that attention should be paid to investment in clean power for transport; proposes, to this end, increasing the capacities of financing tools that are specialised for this purpose, such as the European Clean Transport Facility (ECTF);

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the importance in combating climate change of the goals set by COP 21 with regard to transport; ~~underlines that the financial means should be available to bring about a modal shift from road to rail and waterborne and inland waterway transport;~~ insists also that attention should be paid to investment in clean power for transport;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the importance in combating climate change of the goals set by COP 21 with regard to transport; underlines that the financial means should be available to bring about a modal shift from road to rail and waterborne and inland waterway transport; insists also that attention should be paid to investment in clean power for transport; emphasises the use of sea corridors;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the importance in combating climate change and protecting biodiversity of the goals set by COP 21 with regard to transport; underlines that the financial means should be available to bring about a modal shift from road to rail and waterborne and inland waterway transport; insists also that attention should be paid to investment in clean power for transport;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Stresses the importance in combating climate change of the goals set by COP 21 with regard to transpor~~Notes the conclusions of the COP 21 summit; underlines that the financial means should be available to bring about a modal shift from road to rail and waterborne and inland waterway transport; insists also that attention should be paid to investment in clean power for transport;

Amendment 68 #

Merja KYLLÖNEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Stresses the importance in combating climate change of~~Recalls the goals set by COP 21 with regard to transport; underlines that the financial means should be available to bring about a modal shift from road to rail and waterborne and inland waterway transport; insists also that attention should be paid to investment in clean power for transport;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. whereas ~~decarbonising~~lowering emissions in the transport sector 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~~are needed; whereas congestion and air pollution are major problems in developing urban mobility;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Emphasises that investments should be based on minimising external costs, including those caused by climate change, and thus reducing the challenges for public budgets of the future;

Amendment 71 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the EIB to support investment in sustainable urban mobility in order to reduce the air pollution and congestion in European cities; calls, in this sense, on the local and regional authorities to develop urban and interurban mobility;

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the EIB to support investment in sustainable urban mobility, i~~n order to reduce the air pollution and congestion in European citie~~deally based sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs) with proper criteria on reducing congestion, climate change, air pollution, noise and road accidents;

Amendment 73 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Calls on~~Urges 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 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the EIB to support investment ~~in sustainable~~aimed at less- polluting urban mobility in order to reduce the air pollution and congestion in European cities;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the ~~Commission and the~~ EIB to support investment in ~~sustainable~~ urban mobility in order to ~~reduce the air pollution and~~improve mobility and reduce congestion in European cities;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Notes that in order to reduce the burden imposed on taxpayers and the public finances in general for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure, public-private partnership type transport infrastructure projects should generally be based on user-pays principle;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
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 coordinate various types of EU funding and not to promote PPP type Funds at the expense of Structural Funds in order to ensure that EU transport policy objectives are met. across all of the EU;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
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 coordinate various types of EU funding in order to ensure that EU transport policy objectives are met in the most effective way possible.

Amendment 79 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that the EIB uses a wide range of ~~produc~~financial instruments, such as loans, guarantees, project bonds and public- private partnerships to support public and private investment in transport; stresses that it is important to coordinate various types of EU funding in order to ensure that EU transport policy objectives are met.

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Recital B

B. 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 protecting human health;

Amendment 80 #

Dominique RIQUET, Pavel TELIČKA, Matthijs van MILTENBURG, Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Draft opinion
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 ~~coordinat~~increase various types of EU funding in order to ensure that EU transport policy objectives are met.

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Underlines the importance of optimising the Union’s investment policies by harmonising the various investment support tools (EFSI, ESIFs, CEF, projects bonds, the various funds, etc.); calls for a coordination structure to be set up between the EIB and the Commission in order to optimise the joint use of these various tools on a project-by- project basis so that loans, subsidies and guarantee mechanisms can be mixed for the same project under the best possible conditions.

Amendment 82 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Believes that transparency and access for citizens to information on the financing plans and structures are essential for a good basis of resonance and acceptance of the projects by the citizens;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
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 and environmental goals; whereas congestion and air pollution are major problems in developing urban mobility;

source: 592.188

2016/10/18 INTA 35 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Looks forward to the results of the Commission’'s mid-term review of the external lending mandate for the European Investment Bank (EIB); u~~nderlines that the EIB is operating under a development mandate and therefore needs~~rges the Commission to ensure that the projects financed by the EIB are in line with the EU policies and respect the European interests and underlines the need for the EIB to work in line with the UN’'s Sustainable Development Goals in its capacity of financial arm of the EU;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Calls on the EIB to improve the degree of transparency and access to information both for Parliament and other institutions and for citizens, in particular as regards the contracting and subcontracting system, as well as access to financial data relating to EIB-funded projects;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Reiterates that all EIB activities should take account of the need for detailed and constant stakeholder involvement as well as the highest levels of transparency. It is essential that the funds provided by EU Member State governments be subject to the highest standards regarding effectiveness and accountability;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Calls on the EIB to pay greater attention to the impact its operations have on human rights and labour rights, and to further develop its policy on social standards into a human rights policy in the area of banking; suggests, for this purpose, the inclusion of human rights benchmarks in its project evaluations

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. CWelcomes the fact that the EIB's quantitative targets for climate-related actions are well on track; suggests to introduce stricter qualitative criteria on what is counted as climate action, for example to lower emission thresholds to 350g CO2/kWh so that only the most efficient fossil fuel power plants are given support; calls on the EIB to design ambitious action plans under its new climate strategy, in order to strengthen its position as a leader in the climate field, especially an ambitious time-table in the phasing out of all support for fossil fuels;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Calls on the EIB to design ambitious action plans under its new climate strategy, in order to strengthen its position as a leader in the climate field~~, especially in the phasing out of support for fossil fuels~~ and achieve a more competitive, secure and sustainable energy system in line with the 2030 Energy Strategy;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the EIB to ensure that companies participating in projects co- financed by the EIB shall be required to adhere to the principle of equal pay and pay transparency and to the principle of gender equality as set out in Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation; also calls for EIB decisions on project financing to take into account action by candidate companies in the field of corporate social responsibility;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Recommends focusing lending operations on smaller-scale, off-grid decentralised renewable energy projects involving citizens and communities, and integrating the Energy Efficiency First principle in all EIB policies and operations;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the EIB’s Crisis Response and Resilience Initiative for Europe’s southern neighbourhood and the Balkans; calls for this initiative to lead to genuine additionality as regards current EIB activities in the region;deleted

Amendment 18 #

Marielle DE SARNEZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Welcomes the EIB~~’s Crisis Response and Resilience Initiative for~~'s commitment to tackle the phenomenon of forced migration and to take action in countries particularly affected by the migration crisis, including strengthening humanitarian action and providing support for economic growth, the construction of infrastructure and job creation; welcomes, in this regard, the EIB’s Crisis Response and Resilience Initiative, which aims to increase the volume of aid for countries in Europe’s southern neighbourhood and in the Balkans by EUR 6 billion; calls for this initiative to lead to genuine additionality as regards current EIB activities in the region;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Recalls that the SME's are the backbone of the European economy and stresses that access to finance is one of their most pressing challenges; Calls in this respect on the EIB to improve effective access to funding for SME's, including through trade facilitation programmes and initiatives such as the European Progress Microfinance facility;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Looks forward to~~Takes note of 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~~; strongly supports, therefore, the Commission's conclusion in the mid-term review that the EIB needs to work in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Considers that the EIB contribution to SME support programmes in trading partner countries in the EU's eastern and southern neighbourhood should serve primarily to help SMEs participate in value chains in Europe;

Amendment 21 #

Marielle DE SARNEZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the EIB to rapidly implement the ‘Migration for ACP countries’ package and insists that funded projects focus as a priority on the prevention of forced migration in the sub- Saharan region

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the EIB to continue improving the communication with the financial intermediaries so that the latter can better inform the beneficiaries of the EIB financing opportunities at their disposal; welcomes in this regard the recent established mechanism whereby lending institutions using EIB funds to finance a project must send a letter to the beneficiary explicitly stating the use of EIB financing;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Welcomes the EIB's financing activity in the area of infrastructure and transport as these projects significantly increase the potential of trade and can have a leverage effect in the internationalisation of SME's, especially in regions with geographical disadvantages;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Commends the EIB’s engagement in favour of SMEs, such as the new facilities for financing European and Latin American/Caribbean SME trade activities; suggests the establishment of more pro- active SME and micro-enterprise policy requirements for intermediary banks disbursing EIB funds; suggests further improvements in transparency with regard to the assessment of the local economic and social impact of the EIB's intermediated loans;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
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 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Underlines that more must be done by the EIB to ensure that SME finance is geared at ensuring that these firms can integrate into global supply chains. This is especially important for SMEs in those countries which have preferential trading regimes with the EU so that preferences can be taken advantage of, providing valuable opportunities for economic growth and job creation;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to set up a European External Investment Plan (EEIP) which aims at tackle root causes of migration, by contributing to the achievement of the sustainable development goals and in this regard is looking forward to seeing the EIB play a significant role, in particular by providing additional financing to private-sector beneficiaries.

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Calls on the EIB to draw up a strategy for remedying the fact that SMEs, when they are based in a country in which the economic and banking context is unfavourable, have difficulties in gaining access to project financing;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls on the EIB greatly to strengthen the arrangements for providing technical assistance and financial expertise to local and regional authorities before projects have been approved, in order to improve accessibility and involve all Member States, especially those with a lower success rate in terms of projects approved;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Looks forward to~~Awaits 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 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Urges that EIB funds are directed not only towards SMEs, but also towards sensible infrastructure development, the lack of which in many partner countries can act as a serious impediment to the growth in trade and their people's ability to buy and sell goods and services into the EU;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for a political debate involving Parliament on the EIB´s envisaged cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. (AIIB); notes with concern that so far the AIIB governance structures do not foresee adequate involvement of shareholders in project financing decisions and that publically available project documentation lacks any detail on the fulfillment of the environmental and social measures that the AIIB requires from its lenders; regards it as important that the EIB advocates higher transparency and social and environmental performance standards in its cooperation with other development banks, as a condition for any capital involvement;

Amendment 32 #

William (The Earl of) DARTMOUTH

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Calls for a political debate involving Parliament on the EIB´s envisaged cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and that the EIB continues to build links with the African and Asian Development Banks, so that synergies can be established and possible pooling of resources achieved in order to ensure that the activities of these institutions are not in competition, but work together to ensure that creation of prosperity for all; .

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the EIB to publish detailed information on its website about decisions on the selection of projects to be financed, with particular reference to the reasons for rejection of projects submitted, the outcome of in-house investigations, the selection, supervision, and assessment of its activities and programmes, based on clear measurable indicators, and the methods used for, and the findings of, ex ante assessments and ex post reports for every project financed;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Deplores that the European Investment bank is placed in Luxembourg - in terms of GDP per capita the richest country in the EU - and stipulates that the European Investment Bank commence a review to relocate the headquarters of the European Investment Bank together with its over 2,000 employees away from Luxembourg to a less well-off country.

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6a. Calls on the EIB, taking into account the insufficient project generation capacity in the public and private sectors and the lower borrowing capacity in some Member States, and with a view to reducing the investment shortfall in the EU, to consider an approach whereby contributions made on a one-off basis to EIB-funded projects by Member States, whether by a Member State as such or by national promotional banks classified in the general government sector or acting on behalf of a Member State, would qualify as one-off measures within the meaning of Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/971aand Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 14971b;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Takes note of the positive fact that in some regions the volumes of funds allocated at mid-term represent a high percentage of the regional ceiling; regards this as an indication that a more precise targeting on the Union priorities in order to improve the response to external policy objectives, for example in response to the migration crisis, is possible and desirable

Amendment 5 #

Marielle DE SARNEZ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Considers it necessary for EIB external action to be consistent with the EU's political objectives;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Reiterates its call 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; supports the conclusion of the mid-term review that the EIB's Regional Technical Operational Guidelines should, in close cooperation with the EEAS, be updated in order to better reflect the EIB's alignment with Union priorities; calls on the Commission to use this update for establishing the bases for EIB reporting on Art. 21 TEU compliance; considers that the optional additional amount of 3 Mrd Euro for the EIB should be released only if progress on such reporting is achieved;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Reiterates its call 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 and welcomes any further initiative by the EIB to enhance transparency and ensure that stakeholders are duly consulted; considers that the optional additional amount for the EIB should be released only if progress on such reporting is achieved;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Reiterates its c~~Calls 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 9 #

Daniel CASPARY

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Reiterates its call 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;

source: 592.259

2016/10/24 ECON 314 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
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 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)

- having regard to the approval by the European Parliament of the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union of 4 October 2016,

Amendment 100 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that an increase in EIB lending activity could be achieved through better diversification of its product range, including greater use of public- private partnerships (PPP) and other innovative instruments in order to better address market needs; while recognizing that new products often require additional governance tools to ensure their suitability for public investment vehicles;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes the fact that in 2015 the EIB provided EUR 1.35 billon 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;deleted

Amendment 102 #

Michał MARUSIK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Welcomes the fact~~Is saddened that in 2015 the EIB provided EUR 1.35 billion for investment in projects across Greece; notes that the EIB has contributed more than EUR 12 billion ~~for investment~~ to rescuing Greece since the beginning of the crisis;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Welcom~~Stresses 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 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. ~~Welcomes the fact~~Notes 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; points out that the spending took place with a lack of transparency and in parallel to the adjustment programmes and therefore obfuscates the real costs of the crisis;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes 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; emphasises that expanding the EIB’s financing activities is no substitute for consolidated budgets and structural reforms in the Member States;

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls once again on the EIB to refrain from using the Project Bond initiative or any other financial instrument to fund the Passante di Mestre motorway project, currently under investigation for tax fraud, corruption and the infiltration of organised crime; in that connection, calls on OLAF to carry out the necessary investigations into the link between the project and the allegations;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Calls on the EIB to increase its investment activity with regard to decrease the dangerous imbalances in the EU, by supporting projects to member-states which are either under Financial Assistance Programme, or suffer from high-levels of poverty, youth unemployment and deindustrialization;

Amendment 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Notes with concern that the EIB has financed the construction of Line 4 of the Milan Metro, allocating roughly EUR 300 million to the project, for which five anti-Mafia orders were issued in the subcontractor companies; calls once again on the EIB to refrain from financing in any way projects infiltrated by criminal groups and to put funding for such projects on hold as a precautionary measure while investigations are under way;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

~~8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump-starting their economies;~~deleted

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

- having regard to the letters sent by the European Ombudsman to the EIB on the 22nd of February 2016 and 22nd of July 2016,

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

~~8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump-starting their economies;~~deleted

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- start~~ing~~ their economiesc recovery and transition to a sustainable economy;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- starting their economies; takes the view, however, that the Member States hardest hit by the decline in investment should focus more closely on implementing structural reforms and consolidating their budgets and on creating conditions conducive to investment, paying particular attention to alternative financing instruments;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- starting their economies; welcomes the fact that the EIB has responded to the sovereign debt crisis by expanding its activities significantly and has substantially increased its investment activity in the countries worst affected;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- starting their economies; stresses that this should be in terms of both financial support and capacity-building in order to help projects to become investment-ready;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- starting their economies; Stresses the importance of regional development, and calls on enhanced dialogue and cooperation with regional and local authorities;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- starting their economies whilst ensuring they still adhere to EIB criteria for sound investment returns;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
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 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that investment financing should be increased in the industrial sector, especially where exports are concerned, because without a considerable increase in exports the probability of a successful conclusion to an adjustment programme will be diminished;deleted

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that investment financing should be increased in the industrial sector, especially ~~where exports are concerned, because without a considerable increase in exports the probability of a successful conclusion to an adjustment programme will be diminished~~in the interest of creating quality jobs and strengthening the industrial base in those countries suffering from higher rates of unemployment;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

- having regard to Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union,

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses th~~at investment financing should be increased in the industrial~~e importance of investment in innovative sectors, especially where exports are concerned, because without a considerable increase in exports the probability of a successful conclusion to an adjustment programme will be diminished; Calls on the EIB to act in a market conform way so as to create an equal level playing field for other investors

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Stresses that investment financing should be increased in the industrial sector, especially where exports are concerned, ~~because without a~~given that there has been no considerable increase in exports ~~the probability of a successful conclusion to an adjustment programme will be diminished~~;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Suggests that the EIB facilitates the direct purchase of EIB bonds by EU citizens and residents, through the opening of an online sale system in its website, and through its commercialization by Member States NCBs, postal services and other suitable providers;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls for financial support to be given to indigenous energy sources in order to overcome Europe's high level of external energy dependency and ensure security of supply;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Points out that it is important to fund projects that intensively use labour to maximise the impact in terms of job creation;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Calls on the EIB to provide detailed information on the direct and indirect jobs created by every project funded;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)

9c. Calls on the EIB to step up the assessment of projects;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an comprehensive assessment of the potential effect that ~~Brexit might have on its financial status and activities;~~ the withdrawal of the UK as a shareholder may have on its financial status and activities, including considering whether any future arrangements should be made to its own governance structure that might allow non-EU member states to become shareholders of the EIB;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an assessment of the potential effect that ~~Brexit~~the UK's decision to leave the EU might have on its financial status and activities; calls on the EIB to urgently speak to the UK government to ensure the much needed certainty for UK based projects which are currently in receipt of EIB funding or in the process of applying, invites the EIB to investigate and outline the various possible relationships the EIB might have with the UK following the UK's decision to leave the EU;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the EIB ~~is considered to~~should be the ‘financial arm of the EU’ and the key institution for sustaining public and private investments within the EU, its role ~~being still~~should have been more essential since the start of the financial crisis in 2008;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an assessment of the potential effect that ~~Brexit~~the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union might have on its financial status and activities;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an assessment of the ~~potential~~ effect that Brexit ~~might~~will have on its financial status and in particular its activities;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an assessment of the potential effect that Brexit might have on its financial status and activities; invites the EIB to present an assessment of the effect that the withdrawal of a Member State from the euro area might have on its financial status and activities;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an assessment of the potential effect that Brexit might have on its financial status and activities; underlines the necessity for the EIB to take Brexit into account when engaging in long term commitments;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Invites the EIB to present an assessment of the potential effect that Brexit might have on its financial status and activities; as well as a country-to- country report;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 – indent 1 (new)

- Takes the view that the EIB should continue to dedicate the majority of its funds to supporting economic, social and territorial cohesion;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the EIB to further enhance transparency and access to information both internally, for the European Parliament and other institutions, as well as for the public, especially regarding the contracting and subcontracting system, the results of internal investigations and the selection, monitoring and evaluation of activities and programmes, on the basis of clear and measurable indicators, as well as the methodology and results of the ex-ante impact assessment and ex post reporting for each project financed, provided that no sensitive business information is involved;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls for the EIB to establish a subsidy programme with a view to supporting training and research activities, promoting European history and culture, and driving entrepreneurship, financed by means of a portion of its annual surplus;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Welcomes the fact that EIB Group supports the Commission´s stance on aggressive tax avoidance structures and notes that further to the EIB´s own safeguards, the deployment of public funds managed by the EIB under mandate is also subject to control by the European Court of Auditors ;

Amendment 139 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Urges the EIB to make the fight against tax evasion and/or avoidance one of its priorities; calls in this regard the EIB to end cooperation with intermediaries, countries and jurisdictions that do not comply with OECD and EU tax standards;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the EIB is considered to be the ‘financial arm of the EU’ and the key institution for sustaining ~~public and private~~ investments within the EU, its role being still more essential since the start of the financial crisis in 2008;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Draws attention to the fact that the EIB is required to make sure that its transparency policy is consistent with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Urges the EIB to collect precise data on the tax payments resulting from its investment and lending operations, especially on taxation of corporate profits;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Considers that the EIB should be not only a financial institution but also a knowledge and good practices bank;

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. encourages the EIB to make both direct funding and funding via intermediaries contingent upon the disclosure of both country-by-country tax- relevant data along the lines of the CRD IV provision for credit institutions, and beneficial ownership information; to this end, calls on the EIB to establish a new responsible taxation policy, starting from the review of its policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions (NCJ policy) in 2015;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Calls on the EIB to study the viability of creating a European savings account with capital intended to finance investments in the circular economy, the recycling industry, renewable energy and biofuels, non-fossil fuel-based alternative transport methods, the bioeconomy, the bioindustry and biomass, green building, bioplastics and organic farming;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Calls on the EIB to review and enhance its non-transparent and uncooperative jurisdictions policy (NCJ) as soon as possible; believes that it should anticipate the release of the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions which is expected by the end of 2017;

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Stresses that the EIB should establish a new responsible taxation policy, starting with its policy on non- cooperative jurisdictions (NCJ policy) in cooperation with the European Commission;

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Notes that all projects funded by the EIB, including those funded by financial intermediaries, are published on the EIB´s website and are subject to high accountability standards;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Encourages the EIB to expand its analytical work, research programme and range of empirical studies and publications;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Calls the EIB to provide more elements on the outcomes of projects completed; calls in this context on the EIB, in conjunction with project partners, to produce a set of results from each project completed which assesses the effectiveness of EIB funding;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the EIB is considered to be the ‘'financial arm of the EU’' and the key institution for sustaining public and private investments within the EU, and thus to strengthen European integration, its role being still more essential since the start of the financial crisis in 2008;

Amendment 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Suggests that the EIB enhance its sectoral analysis capacities;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)

10d. Recalls the EIB to develop more stringent rules on conflicts of interest and clear, strict and transparent criteria for public-private partnerships receiving funding;

Amendment 152 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Supports the emphasis 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 fact that the EIB operations helped to create and sustain 4.1 million jobs in Europe’s SMEs and midcaps (+13 % as compared to 2014)Notes the significant increase in indirect financing operations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which today represent one third of all the bank’s activities, with 37 % of the new lending granted in 2015 (EUR 28.4 billion); notes with concern the highly opaque character of such operations and the fact that they are carried out through speculative investment funds geared towards maximum short-term profit, which is entirely at odds with the objective of supporting the real economy and SMEs; recalls that SMEs are the backbone of Europe’s economy, that they provid~~ing~~e 85 % of all new jobs, and that ~~supporting them must remain a fundamental objective of the bank;~~ more effective, direct, and transparent funding mechanisms should therefore be identified;

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
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 fact~~notes 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 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Support~~Notes the emphasis 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); ~~welcom~~notes in particular the fact 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 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Strongly supports the emphasis 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 fact 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 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Given the strategic role of SMEs in defining the level of employment, takes the view that the EIB should also devise a strategy to increase the financing of SMEs in countries with adverse economic and banking environments; believes that particular attention should also be paid to competitive very small enterprises in need of financing; believes that this strategy should include the reinforcement of administrative and advising capacities to provide information and technical support to SMEs in developing and applying for finance;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the EIB has also an important role to play outside the EU through its external lending initiatives;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Reminds that more than 90% of EU SMEs are microenterprises providing almost 30% of employment in the private sector; microenterprises are more vulnerable to economic shocks than larger firms and may remain underserved in credit provision; believes that in the domain of access to finance, the EIB could emphasise bridging possible funding gaps for microenterprises through financial instruments and products such as microfinance facilities and guarantees;

Amendment 161 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is of the opinion that the EIB should take special care to ensure that the network of financial intermediaries that it has developed remains trustworthy and is in a position to finance dynamic and competitive SMEs in an effective way; welcomes the greater emphasis that the EIB is placing on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises; calls on the EIB to cooperate more closely with regional public institutions with a view to optimising the financing possibilities for SMEs;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is of the opinion that the EIB should take special care to ensure th~~at the network of financial intermediaries that it has developed remains trustworthy and is in a position to finance dynamic and competitive SMEs in an effective way~~e reliability and maximum transparency of the network of financial intermediaries, checking that they are not involved in tax avoidance or abuse, corruption, money laundering, organised crime or terrorism, and that they are in a position to finance SMEs in an effective way and in accordance with EU environmental and social standards;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Is of the opinion that the EIB should take special care to ensure that the network of financial intermediaries that it has developed remains trustworthy and is in a position to finance dynamic and competitive SMEs in an effective way; stresses the need to tailor investment programs towards small-scale projects in order to ensure the participation of SMEs;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

~~14. Welcomes the start of the EFSI, the legislation governing which entered into force in July 2015; underlines that the success of the programme is dependent upon its swift implementation;~~deleted

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Welcom~~Notes the start of the EFSI, the legislation governing which entered into force in July 2015; ~~underl~~stresses the subpar functioning of EFSI as during the first year of operations 92 per cent of all inves ~~that the success of the programme is dependent upon its swift implementation;~~ tment has concentrated in EU-15 countries whilst only 8 per cent has reached the EU-13 countries and that to date 10 Member States, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, had operations only under the SME Window (SMEW) of EFSI; notes that after the first year of operations, 63 per cent of EFSI financing signed under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window (IIW) went to only three Western EU Member States, thus exceeding the geographical concentration limit of 45% as set within the Fund´s Strategic Orientation;1a __________________ 1aEIB independent evaluation report "Evaluation of the functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments" (http://www.eib.org/infocentre/publication s/all/evaluation-of-the-functioning-of-the- efsi.htm)

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the start of the EFSI, the legislation governing which entered into force in July 2015; underlines that the ~~success of the programme is dependent upon its swift implementation~~programme is failing to ensure the quality, additionality, economic and social benefits and sustainability of the projects financed;

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Welcom~~Notes the start of the EFSI, the legislation governing which entered into force in July 2015; ~~underlines that the success of the programme is dependent upon its swift implementation;~~

Amendment 168 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Welcomes the start~~Expects the results of the start of operation of the EFSI, the governing legislation ~~governing~~ which entered into force in July 2015;

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Deplores the fact that the list of projects chosen to receive funding under the EFSI includes infrastructure installations with serious environmental impact and dubious additionality, such as biorefineries, steelworks, regasification and gas storage facilities and motorways; regrets that in many cases the EIB has not followed up on reports from local authorities, interested communities and civil society of violations of environmental and social legislation by funding beneficiaries and by the projects financed, disclaiming any responsibility for carrying out the necessary investigations; calls on the EIB to withdraw funding whenever suspected environmental violations and damage to society or to local communities emerge, keeping in mind the precautionary principle;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the growing volume of EIB activities and its importance to support the EU policies;

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

~~15. Particularly welcomes 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);~~deleted

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Particularly welcom~~Notes 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); believes, however, that as only 8 per cent of EFSI investment to date has reached the EU-13 countries, the current functioning of EFSI is contrary to the Fund's Regulation which states that EFSI should contribute to strengthening of the Union's economic, social and territorial cohesion. Further believes that the concentration of capital in the EU-15 countries and underserving of EU-13 countries widens social and economic disparities between the EU's Western and Eastern regions; notes that such disparities are fuelling brain drain and emigration of youth from the EU's poorer Member States towards the Western EU countries which, in turn, puts extra pressure on the former countries' social safety nets; further notes the growing discontent in Western EU countries to changes in their labour market structures, caused by immigration from the EU's poorer Member States, which often results in Western EU countries' governments adopting changes to their social legislation which are de-facto discriminatory in their nature;

Amendment 172 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Particularly welcomes the fact that total~~Notes the fact that, in September 2016 total expected investment in EFSI approvals amounts to EUR 1~~15.7~~05 billion, which is equivalent to 373 % of the original target value (EUR 315 billion) but only 66 billion or 20% has been signed meaning that, even if the optimistic multiplier effect materialises, disbursements are disappointingly slow despite the fact that last year the EIF agreed with the Commission and the EIB to use EFSI to front-load the roll-out of existing EC or EIB mandates through the SME window;

Amendment 173 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. PIs particularly ~~welcomes~~concerned by the fact that total investment in EFSI approvals amounts only to EUR 115.7 billion, which is equivalent to 37 % of the original target value (EUR 315 billion), despite its strong impact on the resources available for the EU budget and the evident doubling of its credit activity with traditional EIB lending, without ensuring any further additionality;

Amendment 174 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Particularly welcom~~Stresses 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 175 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Particularly welcomes the fact~~Notes, in particular, 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); notes in this connection that considerable EFSI support for energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects has only been made possible by cutting ordinary EIB investments in the sectors in equal measure, thus suggesting that the majority of EFSI loans have not complied with the principle of additionality; takes the view that EFSI funding should be allocated on top of normal EIB investments;

Amendment 176 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Particularly welcomes the fact that total investment in EFSI approvals amounts to EUR 1~~15.7~~38,3 billion, which is equivalent to 37 44% of the original target value (EUR 315 billion) when this report is being drafted with the figures growing; so far, 361 transactions have been approved in 27 of the 28 Member States;

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Particularly welcomes 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); Invites the EIB to do more to ensure additionality in the selection of projects under EFSI and make all efforts to improve geographical coverage of projects and their contribution to sustainable and smart growth;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Deplores the fact that EFSI funding is largely concentrated in the transport and energy sectors, which, combined, account for more than 60 % of the total projects funded, to the detriment of other key sectors in the fields of research, development and innovation, human and environmental capital, and energy efficiency, which, combined, account for less than 20 % of the projects approved;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15b. Deplores the fact that as much as 15 % of all EFSI investments in the energy sector have been allocated to projects involving fossil fuels, in particular to regasification and gas storage facilities; calls once again on the EIB to consider seriously the possibility of gradually withdrawing funding for projects involving the production of non- renewable energy;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas a comprehensive and proper parliamentary accountability of EIB should be developed;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls for a wider use of the EIB’s financial instruments, in combination with the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) and EFSI funds, to enhance regional development in the Member States, and underlines that a simplification of the ESIF-EFSI combination is needed; calls for an evaluation of project selection with regard to risk and added European value and for a greater focus on risk in the selection of projects, as stipulated in the EFSI mandate;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls for a wider use of the EIB’s financial instruments, in combination with the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) and EFSI funds, to enhance regional development in the Member States, and underlines that a simplification of the ESIF-EFSI combination is needed; challenge is to maximize the synergies between ESIF and EFSI notably in Cohesion countries;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Deplores the almost total lack of information and disaggregated statistical data on the 93 projects financed thus far, in particular with regard to the expected impact, benefits and additionality of each individual project; calls on the EIB to publish all information about and results of the impact assessments for operations carried out within the framework of the EFSI; calls on the EIB to provide a detailed explanation of the added value and additionality of each project financed and of how each one contributes to the achievement of EFSI objectives and the fundamental long-term strategies and objectives of the EU;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Is very concerned that, in the opinion to the EIB's own Operations Evaluation department and agreed by the EIB's management, the EFSI portfolio after one year of operations is highly geographically concentrated. Under the infrastructure window, 63% of the total amount signed is in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and 91% in EU15 countries and under the SME window, 54% of the amount signed (excluding multi-country operations) is in Italy, France and Germany and 93% in EU15 countries; Calls on the EIB and Commission to proceed urgently to ensure operations are targeted where the gaps in investment, output and employment are greatest;

Amendment 186 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Observes that EFSI portfolio after one year of operations is highly concentrated, notably under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window 63% of total amount signed is in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and under the SME Window, 54% of the amount signed is in Italy, France and Germany; underlines that smaller Member States and peripheral regions have less capacity and financial capability to originate and structure bankable projects; urges the EIB to ensure an adequate geographical distribution of the operations;

Amendment 187 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Is concerned that according to the EIB's own Operations Evaluation department, the EIB believes that the fact that project applications are presented serially to the investment committee, means it cannot fulfil its obligation under the EFSI regulation to use the scoreboard as a prioritisation tool; Believes that not respecting this requirement raises the question as to whether the EU taxpayer- funded Guarantee is being optimally used. Calls on the EIB and Commission to ensure that the IC's modus operandi is changed in order to address the non- compliance with Union law;

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)

16c. Is concerned about the Commission proposal requiring the highest risk-taking tranche of the investment to be covered by ESI Funds instead of EFSI when the instruments are combined; Believes that this leads to legal uncertainty in the use of ESI Funds, and runs counter to the initial EFSI rationale to provide for new risk-bearing capacity for EU investment;

Amendment 189 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)

16d. Welcomes the proposal by the Commission for increased transparency in EFSI 2.0 through the obligation for the Investment Committee to explain in its decisions, made public and accessible, the reasons why it deems that a certain operation should be granted the EU guarantee and through the publication of the scoreboard of indicators once an operation under the EU guarantee is signed; believes that this information should be made available as soon as possible even before it becomes obligatory under revised legislation;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~should selective in its operations, avoiding overtly speculative operations, but should nevertheless expand its credit activity in line with the needs of the European economy and particularly, social and regional cohesion and the development targets of different sectors;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 e (new)

16e. Urges the Commission and the EIB to step-up efforts to develop a robust set of criteria that operationalise appropriately the verification of additionality and to communicate clearly to the European Parliament and other stakeholders in its reporting the grounds upon which major projects are considered to fulfil that requirement;

Amendment 191 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
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; recalls the need for full transparency and to prioritise result-orientation with regard to the involvement of NPBIs in EFSI projects;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
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; warns of a conflict of interests if national development banks point out investment opportunities to the EIB but do not take advantage of them themselves;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Points out that effective cooperation with the National Promotional Banks (NPBs) and equivalent regional financial institutions, as well as a dialogue with the social partners and public authorities, can help the EIB to select the best projects in each Member State;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
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 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Points out that effective cooperation with the National and Regional Promotional Banks (NPBs) can help the EIB to select the best projects in each Member State;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Is worried that in some Member States like Spain, EFSI projects have been used to finance activities of corporations that already have cheap access to the financial markets; believes that these actions have no additionality.

Amendment 197 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Stresses the importance of avoiding geographical imbalances in the EIB’s lending activities so as to ensure broader geographical and sectorial allocation;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)

17b. Believes that TEN-T and TEN-E projects should be taken more thoroughly into account by EFSI as currently some Member States are not investing in them and these are projects with a proven European Added Value.

Amendment 199 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

~~18. Calls for the establishment of investment platforms in order for the Member States to profit rapidly from the EFSI objectives;~~deleted

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to the September 2016 Evaluation of the Functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of the European Investment Bank,

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. ~~Calls for~~Underlines the importance of the establishment of investment platforms in order ~~for the Member States to profit rapidly from the EFSI objectives~~achieve the EFSI objectives; Regrets that they are insufficiently developed;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Warns against the trend whereby investment funds based on public-private partnerships are replacing the EU's conventional funding mechanisms and within the context of EFSI are partly funded using money that has previously been earmarked for other purposes; notes that as EFSI has thus far been incapable of contributing towards the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion, the EU's structural funds are still the main funds capable of serving the EU's cohesion policy aims;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Is extremely concerned at the fact that the EIB is looking into the possibility of funding the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail link under the EFSI, despite this major project being excessively costly, unnecessary and economically, socially and environmentally unsustainable;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Welcomes the developing by EIB its network of local offices (local Hubs), encourages the development of more tailor-made technical assistance at local level, especially in countries in need of investment;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Regrets the lack of transparency of the EIB towards the public,, but also towards the European Parliament in relation to the functioning of the EFSI Scoreboard and its Advisory Hub;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the EIB to achieve a better geographical distribution of the selected projects; underlines the role its local offices can play in this regard;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Underlines that the EIB can play a vital role in promoting the EU Urban agenda for smart, greener and inclusive cities;

Amendment 207 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Calls for an independent evaluation of the additionality of the projects financed under the EFSI as defined in article 5 of the EFSI regulation; regrets that the EIB management committee, in its "Evaluation of the functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)" of September 2016, agrees to this problematic without taking further actions;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4

In~~novation and~~creasing EU competitiveness through innovation and education

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. W~~elcomes~~arns of the risks associated with the strong increase in EIB lending to innovative projects, which stood at EUR 18.7 billion in 2015, as compared to less than EUR 10 billion in 2008; urges the EIB to continue this effort and to focus on the development of technologies for the future such as energy-efficiency transport, the digital economy and new medical treatments for a better life; believes that concentrating on InnovFin and FinTech will attract projects with added value in the Member Stateso deal with economic risks accordingly;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
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 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Welcom~~Notes the strong increase in EIB lending to innovative projects, which stood at EUR 18.7 billion in 2015, as compared to less than EUR 10 billion in 2008; ~~urges the EIB to continue this effort and to focus on the development~~stresses, however, that innovative projects of technologies for the future such as energy-efficiency transport, the digital economy and new medical treatments for a better life; believes that concentrating on InnovFin and FinTech will attract projects with added value n fail to ensure additionally and are overtly concentrated on large projects, rather than diffusing t~~he Member States~~echnological improvements through the economy;

Amendment 211 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. ~~Welcomes the strong~~Notes the increase in EIB lending to innovative projects, which stood at EUR 18.7 billion in 2015, as compared to less than EUR 10 billion in 2008 but is of the opinion that it is still insufficient; urges the EIB to continue this effort and to focus on the development of technologies for the future such as energy- efficiency transport, the digital economy and new medical treatments for a better life; believes that concentrating on InnovFin and FinTech will attract projects with added value in the Member States;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Welcomes the strong increase in EIB lending to innovative projects, which stood at EUR 18.7 billion in 2015, as compared to less than EUR 10 billion in 2008; urges the EIB to continue this effort and to focus on the development of technologies for the future such as energy- efficiency transport, the bioeconomy, the digital economy and new medical treatments for a better life; believes that concentrating on InnovFin and FinTech will attract projects with added value in the Member States;

Amendment 213 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Welcomes the strong increase in EIB lending to innovative projects, which stood at EUR 18.7 billion in 2015, as compared to less than EUR 10 billion in 2008; urges the EIB to continue this effort and to focus on the development of technologies for the future such as energy- efficiency transport, the digital economy and new medical treatments for a better life; believes that concentrating on InnovFin and FinTech will attract projects with added value in the Member States; welcomes the provision of risk financing instruments for start-ups and growing enterprises to fund research and innovation activities;

Amendment 214 #

Mady DELVAUX

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Welcomes the strong increase in EIB lending to innovative projects, which stood at EUR 18.7 billion in 2015, as compared to less than EUR 10 billion in 2008; urges the EIB to continue this effort and to focus on the development of technologies for the future such as energy- efficiency transport, the digital economy, industrial innovation such as robotics, and new medical treatments for a better life; believes that concentrating on InnovFin and FinTech will attract projects with added value in the Member States;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Believes that the EIB plays a key role in developing an "investment culture" across the EU through targeted investments in education and training, in particular in less developed regions;

Amendment 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Notes that digitalisation projects and research & innovation should be at the core of the projects funded by the EIB and especially under the EFSI initiatives;

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the EIB to step up its efforts in developing technical assistance through its advisory hub rather than lending in order to promote the best management practices;

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the EIB to establish as a criteria for funding a project, the creation of stable working places, with full working rights according to the national labour framework;

Amendment 219 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5

~~Tackling youth unemployment~~deleted

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Emphasises that the EIB should continue 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;deleted

Amendment 221 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Emphasises that the EIB should continue 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~~education, skills development and jobs for young people;

Amendment 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Emphasises that the EIB should ~~continu~~improve 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 223 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Takes the view that the EIB should devise ways of relaxing the conditionality for benefitting firms in regions with youth unemployment above 25 %, without calling into question the viability of the projects;deleted

Amendment 224 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 226 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Takes the view that the EIB should devise ways of relaxing the conditionality for benefitting firms in regions with youth unemployment above 25 %, ~~without calling into question~~significantly easing the criteria to assess the vibankability of ~~the~~ projects so as to boost young entrepreneurship and support firm creation;

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Takes the view that the EIB should devise ways of relaxing the conditionality for benefitting firms in regions with youth unemployment above 250 %, without calling into question the viability of the projects; adds that where such flexibility is provided, a conditionality of youth employment must be included;

Amendment 228 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Calls on the EIB to foster the inclusion of investment in human capital in its scope of action, especially in Member States with high levels of unemployment and low rates of productivity;~~deleted

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. CRecalls ~~on the EIB to foster the inclusion of investment in human capital in its scope of act~~that EIB investments in sound investment projects can help fostering social inclusion, especially in Member States with high levels of unemployment and low rates of productivity;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
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, and the contribution of its investments to the wider social good;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Calls on the EIB to foster the inclusion of investment in human capital in its scope of action, especially in Member States with high levels of unemployment and low rates of productivity; calls on the EIB to re-examine its strategic planning programme, given that, despite the provision of funding, unemployment levels in some Member States have risen disproportionately and remain at alarming levels, which could hamper economic convergence in the EU and damage growth prospects and social cohesion in those Member States and regions in the EU;

Amendment 231 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Welcomes that the EIB's support for social housing projects has continuously risen in recent years; calls on the EIB to strengthen its investments in this area to help address the urgent affordable housing needs many European citizens are facing; reiterates in this regard its concerns (as expressed in its resolution of 11 June 2013 on social housing in the European Union) about the restrictive definition of social housing given by the Commission within the field of competition policy;

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Believes that EIB should explore the possibility to put in place programs to incentivize the emission of social investment bonds by local municipalities and corporations with good CSR standards.

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6

~~Climate action~~deleted

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6

Climate ~~action~~change action and the green economy

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)

In 2015 the EIB, after public consultation, published a formal Climate Action Strategy in the direction of helping implementing the Paris Agreement inside and outside the EU.

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Welcomes the growing involvement of the EIB with climate change, which was related to 5027 % of the projects approved in 2015~~; climate finance~~ and totalled in EUR 20.6 billion, the largest ever annual amount invested in it by the EIB; climate and the environment were the focus of almost 50% of EIB approved projects last year;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. 24. Welcomes the ~~growing~~ involvement of the EIB ~~with~~in addressing 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; deplores however that the total financing of fossil fuel projects increased from 2 billion euro in 2013 to 2.5 billion euro in 2015 compared to a decrease in lending to renewable energy with 21%;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the EIB generates a surplus despite not being a profit- maximizing institution;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Welcomes the growing~~Notes 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 241 #

Tibor SZANYI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Welcomes the growing 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; reiterates the importance of moving away from fossil fuels and moving towards renewable energy sources in all financed projects;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Deplores the fact that two thirds of EIB funding allocated to the transport sector under the EFSI has been invested in high CO2-emitting infrastructure projects, in particular motorways and airports; calls on the EIB to refrain from funding infrastructure projects which are not compatible with the EU’s key long- term climate and energy objectives;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Expresses its concern at the fall of financing in renewable energy projects due to the impact of EFSI; stresses the importance of EIB financing in the development of renewable energy capacity and the improvement of energy efficiency in sectors such as industry and transport;

Amendment 244 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls on the EIB to double its investment efforts with a view to considerably reducing its carbon emission levels, and to work on policies leading to more ambitious climate objectives, including objectives in line with the provisions of the climate and energy packet 2030;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Recalls the commitment made by the European Union in March 2015 to reduce its emissions by at least 40% by 2030 following the Paris Agreement (COP21); regrets that 15% of the projects financed by EFSI relate to fossil energy;

Amendment 246 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls for a rapid and complete phase out of lending to fossil fuel projects; expresses its concern about the massive amount of investment in gas related projects, incompatible with the 2 degree scenario;

Amendment 247 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Recalls the need to implement the EIB climate strategy adopted in 2015 and ask for concrete reporting on the implementation of the action contained within this strategy;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Encourages the EIB to increase lending in renewable energy projects;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Encourages the EIB to increase financing to the bio-economy sector, including bio-based industries, biotechnology and the efficient management of natural resources, particularly in crisis-affected Member States and Regions, in partnership with Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), the €3.7 billion Public-Private Partnership on Bio-based Industries between the European Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC);

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the EIB should boost its macroeconomic analysis capacity;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Points out that in 2015 there was just 3.6 billion in energy efficiency efficiency lending by the EIB; Calls for a significant increase; Calls for the recruitment of additional experts on energy efficiency and to step up technical assistance in the field of energy efficiency;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Encourages the EIB to continue its support to initiatives and projects helping the EU to stay a front-runner and to fulfil its own long-standing carbon market ambitions, in line with the Paris agreement;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Regrets the lack of sound and consistent criteria on Emission Performance Standards; calls for better stream-lining of the environmental dimension in the forthcoming revision of project criteria;

Amendment 253 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)

24c. Encourages the EIB to finalise its 'Study on access-to-finance for Bio-based Industries and the Blue Economy'[1] and to propose a concrete action plan for the implementation of the preliminary recommendations of the study: (1) Support market uptake, (2) Raise awareness in the financial community and (3) Create public financial instruments dedicated to biobased industries investment projects; [1] https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy /pdf/summit/day2//2_030.EIB_bioeconom y%20presentation.pdf#view=fit&pagemod e=none

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)

24c. Calls on the EIB to follow the recommendations of the COM and the Waste Framework Directive and to prioritise investment in projects aimed at the top of the waste hierarchy such as waste prevention, waste preparation for re-use and recycling and to phase out investment in end of pipeline infrastructure such as landfills, mechanical treatment plants, incinerators;

Amendment 255 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 d (new)

24d. Calls for the EIB to conduct an audit of the skills of its current members to assess whether there is sufficient experience and expertise in relation to investment in projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, the circular economy;

Amendment 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 e (new)

24e. Urges the EIB to present a comprehensive phase-out plan of its lending for non-renewable energy in order to support European commitments to climate action;

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)

Accountability, transparency and the fight against fraud and tax evasion

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 f (new)

24f. Urges the EIB to act on the European Ombudsman's recommendations concerning proactive disclosure of the minutes of EIB and EIF Boards of Directors' meetings and publication of the details of the Bankʹs plans to progressively develop its Public Register, disclosure of how conflict of interest assessments are performed before members of the Board of Directors and Management Committee are appointed, requiring Board members to request prior authorisation from the ECC before undertaking a new activity and an assessment of whether cooling-off periods of six months for the Board of Directors and 12 months for the Management Committee reflect best practice, particularly given the publicʹs increasing interest in and concern about potential 'revolving door' issues;

Amendment 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 g (new)

24g. Reminds the EIB of the fact that, in 2014, the European Parliament expressed regret at the lack of diversity in the management committee, the board of governors and the board of directors of the EIB, in particular with regard to gender; repeats its call upon the EIB to implement the spirit of the Capital Requirements Directive, Article 88(2) of which obliges banks to 'decide on a target for the representation of the underrepresented gender in the management body and prepare a policy on how to increase the number of the underrepresented gender in the management body in order to meet that target. The target, policy and its implementation shall be made public';

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas the EIB should move towards the development bank model by establishing, among other plans, programme strategies agreed with the Member States and within the framework of the national reform programmes and country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 260 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 h (new)

24h. Deplores the fact that the EIB has failed to follow up on the Parliament's recommendation to refrain from cooperation with financial intermediaries having a negative track record in terms of transparency, tax evasion or aggressive tax planning practices, or use of other harmful tax practices such as 'tax rulings' and abusive transfer pricing, fraud, corruption or environmental and social impacts, or with no substantial local ownership; calls on the EIB to draw up a list of final borrowers in cooperation with the local financial intermediaries and to make all EIB funding via intermediaries contingent upon the disclosure of beneficial ownership information, as is already the case for EFSI operations.

Amendment 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 i (new)

24i. Insists that, where the EIB has provided financing to firms or projects that have broken EU law, that it investigate whether the illegal activities benefited from EIB financing and proceeds to recover all or part of the monies concerned; considers it to be essential that a bank charged with the pursuit of public policy assess the compliance record with EU law of prospective borrowers and refuse financing to firms guilty of significant or repeated offenses.

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 j (new)

24j. Calls on the EIB to provide an explanation of the steps it undertook to safeguard biodiversity on the site of the construction of the S-7 expressway in Poland; takes note that this project, signed by the bank, is subject to the infringement procedure EU Pilot 8130/15 / ENVI. Calls on the EIB to refrain from financing the project unless the project guarantees the protection of biodiversity;

Amendment 263 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 k (new)

24k. Calls for the improvement of the EIB's complaint mechanism notably by improving its accessibility, independency and by increasing resources to deal with the growing number of complaints and their increasing complexity, calls on the EIB to revise its current whistleblowing policy in order to ensure it covers external complaints.

Amendment 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7

~~External lending manda~~deleted

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Recalls that the external policy of the EIB, and in particular the regional technical operational guidelines, should be consistent with the external action goals of the EU as defined in Article 21 TEU; calls for full compliance with the legislation, and in particular the environmental and social standards, of the beneficiary countries;deleted

Amendment 266 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Recalls that the external policy of the EIB, and in particular the regional technical operational guidelines, should be consistent with the external action goals of the EU as defined in Article 21 TEU on respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law; calls for full compliance with ~~the~~EU legislation, and in particular ~~the~~its environmental and social standards, and with international commitments and the legislation of the beneficiary countries;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Recalls that the external policy of the EIB, and in particular the regional technical operational guidelines, should be consistent with the external action goals of the EU as defined in Article 21 TEU and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and regrets that this is not the case in the current operations of the EIB; calls for full compliance with the legislation, and in particular the environmental and social standards, of the beneficiary countries; stresses that EIB funding to third countries should guarantee long- term economic development in the recipient nations;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Notes with concern that Turkey is the primary beneficiary of non-EU EIB funding, itself the primary external funding institution in Turkey, which received roughly 3.5% of all EIB loans granted in 2015; stresses the need to make EIB funding conditional on the upholding of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law by beneficiary countries;

Amendment 269 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas the EIB should step up the assessment of projects financed with measurable impact indicators;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Urges the EIB to ~~improve the~~reinforce the ex- ante and ex-post assessment of the impact of its projects outside the EU, in ~~order~~cluding by developing indicators to enmeasure the~~y are successfully implemented and that they fully comply with the objective of sustainable and inclusive growth~~ social, economic and environmental effects of its own financing operations, in order to ensure that projects generate real added value for sustainable economic, social and environmental development inclusive for local communities;

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Urges the EIB to improve the assessment of the impact of its projects outside the EU in order to ensure they are successfully implemented and that they fully comply with the objective of sustainable and inclusive growth; draws attention, in this regard, for the need to ensure the participation of the affected populations in the decision-making process, the need to ensure wide consultation of relevant stakeholders and the need to act in full compliance of international law and relevant EU and national legislation;

Amendment 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

~~27. Recalls that the technical assistance facility of the EIB is an essential complement to approved financing, especially in the extremely poor countries;~~deleted

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Recalls that the technical assistance facility of the EIB is an essential complement to approved financing~~, especially in the extremely poor countries~~;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Calls on the EIB to take into account the local context when investing in third countries; recalls that investing in third countries cannot be based only on a profit maximisation approach but also aim at generating long-term private sector-led sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty through job creation and improved access to productive resources; believes that the choice of financial intermediaries should be stricter in this regard;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Is concerned about the EIB’s readiness to allocate EUR 2 billion to the construction of the most recent stretch of the TAP (Trans-Adriatic Pipeline); calls on the EIB to refrain from financing in any way this expensive and controversial project as a result of the considerable environmental, financial, seismic, tax and geo-political risks inherent in its construction;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Welcomes the fact that the European Council has endorsed EIB´s initiative to rapidly mobilise additional financing in support of sustainable growth, vital infrastructure and social cohesion in Southern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans countries ( Crisis Response and Resilience Initiative)

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Points out that loans in third countries are key to contributing to the stability and development of countries in North Africa and the Middle East;

Amendment 278 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Is concerned by the lack of information that the EIB discloses on the beneficial ownership and the final money recipients, especially when the financing relies on private equity funds; underlines the issues it raises in terms of transparency and accountability for a publicly-backed institution; urges therefore the EIB to reinforce its due diligence procedure when working with financial intermediaries;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)

27b. Notes that the EIB Resilience Initiative for the Southern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans should be seen as complementing the new Commission´s initiative to set up an External Investment Plan;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EIB should continue to ~~strengthen its efforts to expand its loan activities~~lend only with the greatest business prudence and should not put its creditworthiness at risk;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8

Refugee ~~crisis and migration within~~flows into the EU

Amendment 281 #

Michał MARUSIK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. ~~Asks~~Calls on the EIB to c~~ontinue its action to tackle the refugee crisis by~~ease the financing ~~emergency~~of all projects ~~in countries of destination and making long-term investments in the refugees’ countries of origin~~developed as a response to the refugee crisis that are in breach of human rights;

Amendment 283 #

Bernard MONOT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks the EIB to continue its action to tackle the refugee crisis by fin~~ancing emergency projects in countries of destination and making long-term investments in the refugees’ countries of origin~~vesting in the long term in countries of origin, as that may help their populations to find a future and contribute to lessening economic migrant flows into European countries;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks the EIB to ~~continue~~focus on 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 285 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. ~~Ask~~Urges 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 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks the EIB to continue its action to tackle the migrant and refugee crisis by financing emergency projects in countries of destination and where possible, making long-term investments in the ~~refugees’~~ countries of origin;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks the EIB to continue its action to tackle the refugee ~~crisi~~flows by financing emergency projects in countries of destination and making long-term investments in the refugees’ countries of origin;

Amendment 288 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks 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, particularly projects which can effectively reduce the reasons for fleeing those countries of origin;

Amendment 289 #

Ildikó GÁLL-PELCZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EIB should ~~continue to~~ strengthen its efforts to expand its loan activities in regions with a low level of investment capacity;

Amendment 290 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks the EIB to continue its action to tackle the refugee crisis by financing emergency projects in countries of destination and prioritizing making long- term investments in the refugees’ countries of origin;

Amendment 291 #

Tibor SZANYI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Asks the EIB to continue its action to tackle the refugee crisis by financing emergency projects in countries of transit and destination and making long-term investments in the refugees’ countries of origin;

Amendment 292 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Democratising the EIB

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)

28b. Regrets the on-going activities of the EIB with off-shore and non- collaborative jurisdictions; calls for an in- depth investigation of the activities of the EIB in financing projects or institutions operating in these jurisdictions;

Amendment 294 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 c (new)

28c. Calls for a strengthening of the independence and transparency of the complaint mechanisms of the EIB; stresses the need to ensure resources are available to launch and answer calls for investigation on the planned and current activities of the EIB;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 d (new)

28d. Calls for an in-depth investigation of the role of EIB in the financing of Volkswagen activities linked to the emissions scandals; calls for the participation of EIB director in the EMIS inquiry committee of the European Parliament.

Amendment 296 #

Michał MARUSIK

Motion for a resolution
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;~~deleted

Amendment 297 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Asks the EIB not to continue its social housing project lending in ~~order to cope with~~spite of the large number of refugees in the EU Member States, as the majority of refugees arriving have no prospect of remaining in the EU in the long term and promoting social housing construction would lead to failed investments;

Amendment 298 #

Bernard MONOT

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Asks the EIB to continue its social housing project lending in the Member States in order to cope with the large number of ~~refugees in the EU Member States~~homeless or insecurely housed citizens in the Union;

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Asks the EIB to continue its social housing project lending in order to cope with the arrival of large number of refugees in ~~the~~ EU Member States;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
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 30 #

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EIB should continue to strengthen its efforts to expand its loan activities and reduce administrative burden for applicants;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
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;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Tax Policy 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 be coordinated with the Commission's External Strategy for Effective Taxation, and in particular the common EU list of problematic jurisdictions, so as to ensure that no EIB funding passes through such jurisdictions; calls furthermore 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 302 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Bolstering transparency, governance and the fight against tax avoidance Deplores the fact that the EIB’s transparency policy is still seriously lacking when compared to those of other international institutions, as confirmed by the 2016 Aid Transparency Index; calls on the EIB to publish a breakdown of statistical data on its website for each project financed within and outside the EU, including, in particular, lending operations carried out through financial intermediaries, and to make the results of ex-post and ex-ante impact assessments of each project fully accessible, including a detailed explanation of the indicators and selection and assessment criteria used; calls on the EIB once again to ensure regular publication of the minutes of the meetings of its management and governing bodies;

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Recalls its call for regular structured dialogue between the President of the EIB and the European Parliament to ensure increased parliamentary oversight of the EIB's activities; calls for the signing of an inter-institutional agreement between the EIB and Parliament notably to clarify modalities related to such structured dialogues and the exchange of information, including the possibility for Members of the European Parliament to ask direct questions to EIB President with an agreed timeline for response, as already happens with the ECB President;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Asks the EIB to agree to sign an agreement with Parliament to allow direct written questions by Members to its President, as already happens with the ECB President;

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)

29a. Calls on the EIB not to open or keep bank accounts in tax havens;

Amendment 306 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)

29b. Calls on the EIB to ensure public access to documents concerning the results of internal inquests, reports and audits, particularly when they relate to issues of public interest or projects in which tax abuse or fraud and corruption have been identified, and to make all information fully accessible to Parliament;

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)

29b. Calls on the EIB not to grant loans to companies with bank accounts or offices in tax havens;

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 c (new)

29c. Reiterates its request for information on the contracting and subcontracting system to be made public and easily accessible, and for Parliament access to the associated financial information and documentation to be guaranteed in all cases;

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 c (new)

29c. Calls on the EIB not to allow companies with bank accounts or offices in tax havens to take part in tenders;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the EIB should continue to strengthen its efforts to expand its loan activities in a prudent manner;

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 d (new)

29d. Calls on the EIB once again to improve significantly its policies on non- cooperative jurisdictions, in line with Parliament’s earlier recommendations; stresses in particular the need to make the allocation of direct and indirect loans conditional on the publication of tax and financial data country by country, and on the sharing of beneficial ownership data for the beneficiaries and financial intermediaries involved in the financing operations; insists on the need for the EIB to establish a thorough public list of selection criteria for financial intermediaries, to step up the EU’s commitment to combating tax abuse and to prevent more effectively the risks of corruption and infiltration by criminal groups to which many EIB projects have been exposed;

Amendment 311 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 d (new)

29d. Calls on the EIB not to use financial intermediaries or enter into contracts with financial entities with bank accounts or offices in tax havens to take part in tenders;

Amendment 312 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 e (new)

29e. Welcomes the recent establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between the EIB and the Italian Anti- Corruption Authority (ANAC), whose aim is to step up the fight against corruption through information exchange and mutual technical and operational support; urges the EIB to make the agreement operational as soon as possible in order to improve the prior assessment of the corruption and criminal infiltration risks of the projects selected and thus to prevent EIB-financed projects from becoming embroiled in corruption, as in the case of the Passante di Mestre motorway route;

Amendment 313 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Strengthening transparency and accountability

Amendment 314 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)

30a. Calls on the EIB to implement stringent criteria on conflict of interest, fraud and corruption in order to safeguard public interest;

Amendment 315 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)

30b. Insists on the need to achieve the highest level of transparency and institutional accountability; calls on the EIB to present to the European Parliament the ongoing operations through regular meetings and giving access to information and financial documents;

Amendment 316 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 c (new)

30c. Calls on the EIB to improve the participation of national governments, regional and local authorities; encourages the EIB to facilitate the exchange of best practices and to strengthen the involvement of the EIB's national offices;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the EIB should further enhance transparency and access to information both internally and for the bodies who democratically control the EIB, especially regarding the selection, monitoring and evaluation of activities and programmes

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas the EIB investments should increase in real terms every year, at least while the investment gap caused by the financial and economic crisis is filled;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EIB, as the institution responsible for the implementation of the E~~uropean Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)~~FSI, should also maintain solid financial results and a high quality of asset portfolio as a main priority;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EIB, as the institution responsible for the implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), should ~~maintain~~improve its focus on projects with long term economic benefits that generate much needed quality jobs in order to deliver solid financial results and a high quality of asset portfolio;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EIB, as the institution responsible for the implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), should maintain solid financial results, selecting projects whose financial viability and economic and social benefits have been demonstrated in advance by means of an appropriate independent assessment, and a high quality of asset portfolio;

Amendment 37 #

Krišjānis KARIŅŠ

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EIB, as the institution responsible for the implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), should maintain solid financial results and a high quality of asset portfolio, while ensuring geographic balance;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EIB, as the institution responsible for the heavily leveraged and therefore risky implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), should maintain solid financial results and a high quality of asset portfolio;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB ~~should~~can 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 programme;~~

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 5

— having regard to Articles 15, 126, 175, 177, 208, 209, 271, 308 and 309 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to Protocol No 5 thereto on the Statute of the EIB,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should ~~help address regional inequalities on the basis of~~only financ~~ing~~e sound investment projects; whereas, in particular, the EIB should devise additional ways of sustaining the economic development of countries that have habeen allowed to apply a stabilisation programme;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should help address regional inequalities ~~on the basis of financing sound investment project~~by supporting direct public investment and the development plans of public authorities in peripheral countries, as well as advising on the development of new private projects, particularly by SMEs, in those regions; whereas, in particular, the EIB should devise additional ways of sustaining the economic development of countries that have had to apply a stabilisation programme;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
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 programme~~such as Greece and Portugal that have been hit by the austerity measures of the troika;

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should help address regional inequalities on the basis of financing sound investment projects and those projects which have a strong environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) dimension; whereas, in particular, the EIB should devise additional ways of sustaining the economic development of countries that have had to apply a stabilisation programme;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should, through all its available instruments, 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 the peripheral regions of the EU, including those countries that have had to apply a stabilisation programme;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should help address regional inequalities on the basis of financing sound investment projects without interfering with or replacing pre- existing programs with the same purpose; whereas, in particular, the EIB should devise additional ways of sustaining the economic development of countries that have had to apply a stabilisation programme;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should help address regional inequalities on the basis of financing sound and prudent 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 programme;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
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;~~deleted

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the EIB investments in shoulnd projects can help tackleing youth unemployment by equipping young people with the required set of skills and provide access to finance linked also to the employment of young people;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the EIB should tackle ~~youth~~ unemployment by ~~equipping~~supporting direct public investment and equipping the unemployed, particularly young people, with the required set of skills and provide access to finance linked to the employment of young people;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

- having regard to the Commission Communication of 28 January 2016 entitled "External Strategy for effective Taxation";

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
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 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

~~H. whereas particular consideration must be given to climate change in the assessment and monitoring of all projects;~~deleted

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas particular consideration must be given to ESG criteria and particularly climate change in the assessment and monitoring of all projects;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion is vital to the full development and enduring success of the Union,

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)

Ha. whereas the EIB should have a new responsible taxation policy;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)

Hb. whereas the EIB bonds are the only example of Union debt issuances;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses 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;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that the current crisis has significantly weakened potential growth in the European economy and that one of the main factors is th~~e decline in public and private investment in the EU, to approximately 18 % below 2007 levels~~at the Member States of the EU are only competitive to a limited extent and some are not competitive at all; 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;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Stresses~~Deplores 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 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses 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 in~~come~~ vestment(GNI) has declined by 65 % in Greece and by 35 % in Portugal from 2007 levels;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)

- having regard to the Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub,

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that, on top of a general negative trend in gross capital formation relative to GDP over the last two decades punctuated only by temporary increases associated with credit bubbles, 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 as a result of the lack of concerted fiscal stimulus by MS needed to restore demand and financial markets that are still too fragile to support the real economy through the cycle; 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;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses 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; is greatly concerned about the high unemployment, ongoing poverty and macroeconomic imbalances in some Member States; 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;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a (new)

(a) Recalls the fact that overall investment in the EU decreased over the post-crisis period, with investments in some member-states decreasing from 25% to 60%, building a dangerous environment of investment imbalance in the EU;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Deplores the involvement of the EIB in large-scale infrastructure projects with a serious environmental impact and lacking in real added economic and social value for the local population; calls on the EIB to finance only those projects whose implementation is not environmentally, financially or socially controversial, as demonstrated by a thorough prior assessment and an adequate cost-benefit analysis;

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines that at EU level there are major structural reasons which are increasing the investment gap between Member States; calls on the EIB to boost its technical assistance in order to address low project generation capacity and borrowing capacity in some Member States;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Reminds that the EIB should play a fundamental role in the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy through the Horizon 2020 instrument;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Calls on the EIB to help the Member States to identify fundable projects;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the ~~stre~~improving the~~ning of EU competitiveness~~ levels of EU economic growth and quality employment depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment~~, especially in innovation and digitalisation~~;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that ~~the~~ strengthening ~~of EU~~the competitiveness ~~depends among other things on~~of the Member States would contribute to an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation and digitalisation;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU co~~mpetitiveness~~herence depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation and digitali~~sation~~zation, infrastructure and support of the existing SMEs;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard to the Operations Evaluation publication of September 2016 entitled "Evaluation of the functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)",

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in ~~public and private~~ investment, especially in innovation and digitalisation;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation and digitalisation; underlines in that connection the continued low investment volumes and uncertainty on the financial markets; underlines the importance of wide-ranging additional investments to stimulate growth and employment in Europe and points out the continuing investment gap in comparison to pre-crisis levels;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation and digitalisation; ; Calls for an increase in EIB investment activity in research, innovation, innovative start-ups, energy efficiency and sustainability;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation , the circular economy and digitalisation;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in ~~innovation~~sustainable transport, communications and energy infrastructure, innovation, resource and energy efficiency and digitalisation;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 76 #

Tibor SZANYI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in innovation, research and development and digitalisation;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
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 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in research, innovation and digitalisation;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard to the EIB report on the Evaluation of the functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of September 2016,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Notes the urgent need for the EIB to address the investment gap based on sound economic criteria; calls on the EIB to focus its efforts on more effective and efficient investments combined with attracting and allowing private investment

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Notes with concern the tendency to allocate ever more EU public resources to high CO2-emitting infrastructure projects, motorways in particular; stresses, moreover, that assessments of the viability of such projects are often based on inaccurate and excessively optimistic forecasts of traffic flows and toll profits, thus resulting in significant and unexpected disbursement of public resources to ensure profit for private entities, as in the case of the EUR 700 million allocated to the project for the completion of the Brescia-Bergamo-Milan stretch of motorway, which was found to be financially unsustainable and of dubious economic and social benefit; calls on the EIB to carry out thorough advance assessments of the financial viability of the projects that it funds and to refrain from financing projects at odds with the EU’s long-term objectives of moving towards a CO2-free economy and with the principle of additionality;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Recalls the EIB to give priority to the long-term effect of investments, regarding not only financial indicators but also, above all, their contribution to sustainable development and to a better quality of life by means of further improvements in the field of employment, social standards and the environment;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
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, given the current context ~~should encourage the bank to~~, which is characterised by a lack of lucrative investments, the bank should not adopt any more ambitious objectives;

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Notes with concern 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 objectives;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
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 objectives~~increase lending immediately;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Notes~~Is concerned at 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 objectives, particularly as regards financing of direct public investment;

Amendment 87 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that in 2015, 58% of all EIB-signed projects were allocated to the five biggest economies while the share of the other 23 Member States stood at 32%;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcom~~Notes 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 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the fact that the EIB was able to deliver the commitment entered into with its shareholders of at least 180 billion in overall investment; warns that strains could arise in the future as a result of the risks taken, for which provisions should be drawn up;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)

- having regard to the "EIB Policy towards weakly regulated, non- transparent and uncooperative jurisdictions" of 15 December 2010 and the addendum to the "NCJ Policy" of 8 April 2014,

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that the EIB requires a new increase in capital ~~deserves consideration~~, with the objective of safeguarding it~~he bank’~~s financing capacity for the coming years and enabling continued, sustainable project funding to take place;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that a new increase in capital ~~deser~~should not be givesn consideration~~, with the objective of safeguarding~~ and that the bank’s financing capacity for the coming years will be restricted by the anticipated burdens;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out th~~at a new increase in capital deserves consideration~~e importance of ensuring the efficient and responsible management of resources, with the objective of safeguarding the bank’s financing capacity for the coming years;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Points out that a new increase in capital ~~deserves consideration~~should go ahead, with the objective of safeguarding the bank’s financing capacity for the coming years;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that an increase in EIB lending activity could be achieved through better ~~diversification of its~~and more balanced resource allocation, in the light of unsuccessful undertakings such as the Castor produject ~~range, including greater use of~~in Spain, whose financial failings forced Spanish citizens to pay back EUR 1.4 billion, or the Passante di Mestre motorway project, now under investigation for tax fraud and corruption; recalls that public- private partnerships (PPP) ~~and other innovative instruments in order to better address market needs~~for the funding of projects of public interest are often founded on poor distribution of the financial risks of the investment, to the detriment of the public sector and to the sole advantage of the private sector, and may therefore lead to considerable losses for the public coffers, but with no real added value for society;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that an increase in EIB lending activity could be achieved through ~~better diversification of its product range, including greater use of public-private partnerships (PPP) and other innovative~~ direct credit to public authorities and in developing and advising on new projects from the bottom-up, since small private operators, such as MSMEs and cooperatives, often lack the administr~~uments in order to better address market needs~~ative or financial resources to access finance by the EIB;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that an increase in EIB lending activity could be achieved through better diversification of its product range, including ~~greater use of public- private partnerships (PPP)~~a particular attention to strategic allocation of funding to growth- enhancing and job-creating investments, sustainable and green projects and other innovative instruments in order to better address market needs;

Amendment 98 #