2019/2126(INI) Financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report 2019
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2020/04/22
Lead committee dossier:
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2020/04/22
Progress: Awaiting committee decision
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | BUDG |
CORMAND David ( Verts/ALE)
|
WINZIG Angelika ( EPP),
HEINÄLUOMA Eero ( S&D),
HOJSÍK Martin ( Renew),
KUHS Joachim ( ID),
VAN OVERTVELDT Johan ( ECR),
PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios ( GUE/NGL)
|
| Committee Opinion | ECON |
EICKHOUT Bas ( Verts/ALE)
|
Joachim SCHUSTER ( S&D),
Manon AUBRY ( GUE/NGL),
Dragoş PÎSLARU ( RE),
Frances FITZGERALD ( PPE),
Jessica STEGRUD ( ECR)
|
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54
Legal Basis:
RoP 54Events
2020/04/22
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
2019/12/17
EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2019/10/24
EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
2019/10/24
EP - Referral to associated committees announced in Parliament
2019/07/23
EP - CORMAND David (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in BUDG
2019/07/18
EP - EICKHOUT Bas (Verts/ALE) appointed as rapporteur in ECON
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 99 |
2019/2126(INI)
2019/12/12
ECON
99 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social and innovation ambitions; stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions,
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Stresses the need to minimise the risk of crowding out the private sector by focusing on long-term financing otherwise unavailable to EIB clients on the markets, or by greater risk-taking while preserving the high credit standing of the EIB, namely by supporting the financing of projects that would not be financed otherwise, in particular innovative start-ups and SMEs; supports the EIB’s approach of helping to mobilise private capital by means of loans and guarantees; points out furthermore that the added value of EIB financing also consists in providing technical advice and capacity-building in order to help projects to become investment-ready;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1 a. Welcomes the fact that in 2018 the EIB Group invested €23.3 billion in SMEs and mid-caps and supported 374 000 smaller companies; considers that supporting SMEs must remain a fundamental objective for the EIB and urges to place greater emphasis on financing SMEs in order to reduce the funding gap for these companies;
Amendment 13 #
1 b. Notes that the EIB’s Investment Report for 2019 highlighted the fact that Infrastructure investment is stuck at 1.7% of EU GDP, the lowest in 15 years in Europe; strongly encourages the EIB to continue in its efforts to further support investment for a more sustainable and competitive European economy;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1 b. Emphasises that the EIB’s financing activities are no substitute for productivity-enhancing structural reforms and sustainable fiscal polies in the Member States;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission President-elect to turn sections of the EIB into a climate bank, and the commitments from the EIB President to increase the share of EIB financing for climate action and environmental sustainability to at least 50 % by 2025 and to align all EIB financing activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement by the end of 2020; calls on the Commission to present an ambitious new European Sustainable Investment Plan, including additional financial commitments, as soon as possible, and to fully support the EIB in its sustainability ambitions; calls on the Commission to consider the different economic situation and capacity ofthe Member States and work out some kind of preferential treatment or an extended transitional period for the Cohesion countries, so that the transition to aclimate neutral economy does not result in an unbearable burden for them;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission President-elect to turn sections of the EIB into a climate bank, and
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission President-elect to turn sections of the EIB into a climate bank, and the
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social and innovation ambitions; notes the European Fiscal Board in its review of the two and six pack legislation stressed that the current EU fiscal rules do not prevent severe cutbacks in public investment; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to review those rules; calls on the Commission to pay special attention in its legislative proposal to this issue raised by the European Fiscal Board and to make sure the EU fiscal rules supports the future efforts of the EIB to increase the levels of public investment in the EU; moreover stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions, more risk-
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission President-elect to turn sections of the EIB into a climate bank, and the commitments from the EIB President to increase the share of EIB financing for
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission President-elect to turn sections of the EIB into a climate bank, and the commitments from the EIB President to increase the share of EIB financing for climate action and environmental sustainability to at least 50 % by 2025 and to align all EIB financing activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement by the end of 2020 and the principles of the upcoming EU Green Deal; calls on the Commission to present an ambitious new European Sustainable Investment Plan, including additional financial commitments, as soon as possible, and to fully support the EIB in its sustainability ambitions;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Underlines the important role of the public sector in delivering on the investment targets announced by the new European Commission to unleash €1 trillion of funding for investment in green transition over the next decade; calls, therefore on the EIB to increase technical support and long-term financing for municipalities and public enterprises and increase the funding quota of the EIB for all eligible public projects supporting the green transition up to 75%;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Stresses that the EU and its Member States do not invest sufficiently in combating climate change, nor in the digital revolution and public services, a fact that represents a threat to ecological transition and income inequality in Europe;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 b (new) 2 b. Calls on the Member States to create a ‘golden rule’ on public spending for investment on the social and environmental transition towards a sustainable, carbon-neutral economy, including on projects co-financed by the EIB, thereby excluding these from the calculation of national public deficits;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 c (new) 2 c. Welcomes the decision taken by the Board of Directors of the EIB to end financing for most fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021 and to gradually increase the share of its financing dedicated to climate action and environmental sustainability, to reach 50 % of its operations as of 2025; highlights, that, in line with the EIB's future lending policy, exceptional financing for gas as transitional energy can be possible if it is used in combination with renewables, as a bridging technology to replace coal, where no other alternatives exist, when safeguards to avoid lock-in effects are put in place, and when steps are taken to ensure that the emissions trajectory remains in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement; stresses that financing for renewable energies has to be the priority;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Stresses that in order for the EIB to be co
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Stresses that in order for the EIB to become the EU’s climate bank, it should stop all financial support to fossil fuel projects by the end of 2020, and align all its activities, including EIF operations, with the Paris Agreement’s goals; calls on the EIB to make decarbonisation commitments a condition for companies to receive EIB support; calls on the EIB to apply the EU taxonomy framework, once it has been formally adopted, as a benchmark for its climate and environmental investments; calls on the EIB to develop a credible methodology to measure, disclose and achieve ‘Paris alignment’ of its financing operations; stresses the importance of the projects planned to be financed or cofinanced by the EIB being compatible with the national climate targets linked to the implementation of COP21;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability,
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Stresses that in order for the EIB to become the EU’s climate bank, it should stop all financial support to fossil fuel projects by the end of 2020, and align all its activities, including EIF operations and energy strategy, with the Paris Agreement’s goals and the EU Green Deal; calls on the EIB to make decarbonisation commitments a condition for companies to receive EIB support; calls on the EIB to apply the EU taxonomy framework, once it has been formally adopted, as a benchmark for its climate and environmental investments; calls on the EIB to develop a credible methodology to measure, disclose and achieve ‘Paris alignment’ of its financing operations;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Stresses that in order for the EIB to become the EU’s climate bank, it should
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Stresses that in order for the EIB to become the EU’s climate bank, it should stop all financial support to fossil fuel projects, including investment in gas, by the end of 2020, and align all its activities, including EIF operations, with the Paris Agreement’s goals; calls on the EIB to make decarbonisation commitments a condition for companies to receive EIB support; calls on the EIB to apply the EU taxonomy framework, once it has been formally adopted, as a benchmark for its climate and environmental investments; calls on the EIB to develop a
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Urges the EIB and the Member States to ensure that, throughout the phase-out process, regions where the local economy and employment are highly connected to fossil fuels and lacking adequate financing are compensated with substantial investment in training and alternative economic opportunities which guarantee high quality clean jobs, thereby ensuring a smooth transition, where no one is left behind; takes the view that consistency and coordination with other EU financing instruments in this regard will be crucial;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Highlights the need to proactively support areas where jobs are currently dependent on high emitting industries, where new green jobs are needed; calls on the EIB to support a just transition for high carbon emissions regions and communities;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobili
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social and innovation ambitions; stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions, more risk- taking by the EIB may be necessary in parallel to increasing equity and the development of expertise in innovative funding instruments; calls for adequate capitalisation of the EIB to allow for the use of innovative instruments in the financing of projects with substantial potential sustainability, social and innovation gains; calls on the EIB to intervene when there are specific market failures, such as the financial crisis and difficulties in accessing finance for SMEs and innovators;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability and social objectives; calls on the Commission to ensure that InvestEU’s sustainability-proofing methodologies are fully consistent with the EU’s sustainability objectives; regrets the EIB has been funding projects that resulted in human rights violations; stresses some weaknesses have been identified in how the EIB handled complaints filed with the Complaints Mechanism; calls on the EIB to undertake systematic human rights impact assessment prior to funding a project;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability and social objectives; calls on the Commission to ensure that InvestEU’s sustainability-proofing methodologies are fully consistent with the EU’s sustainability objectives; points in this context to the importance of carrying out thorough ex-ante and ex-post assessments in order to ascertain that works are sustainable and will provide real added value in economic, social, and environmental terms;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability and social objectives;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability, geographical coverage and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability and social objectives; calls on the Commission to ensure that InvestEU’s sustainability-proofing methodologies are fully consistent with the EU’s sustainability objectives;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobilising EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability and social objectives; calls on the Commission to ensure that InvestEU’s sustainability-proofing methodologies
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Calls the EIB to commit to strengthen its policy against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance; welcomes the new non-cooperative jurisdiction and tax good governance Policy and the use of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions as one of the list of reference; however stresses some weaknesses remains in the NJC policy and do not prevent the EIB to fund again projects that are related to tax havens and contributing to unfair taxation; urges the EIB to develop mechanisms to avoid fuelling tax dodging; calls the EIB to not finance or to use its mandatory relocation clause for any operation that uses entities either subject to zerotaxation or less than 50% taxation rate compared to the country of implementation of the project, including hybrid entities; urges the EIB to no tmake any use of entities for which a hybrid mismatch is possible especially if it can benefit from preferential tax regimes, including intellectual property transfers or license agreements in low-tax jurisdictions or if the entities arenot covered by Controlled foreign corporation rules and/or withholding taxes;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Is concerned by the conclusions of the EU Court of Auditor’s special report 03/2019; highlights that the special report found that some EFSI support just replaced other EIB and EU financing, and that part of the finance went to projects that could have used other sources of public or private finance; further notes that it estimates that additional investment attracted by EFSI were sometimes overstated and most investments went to a few larger EU 15 Member States with well-established national promotional banks; calls on the EIB to follow up on the conclusions of the special report;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Emphasizes the key role that EIB plays in EU’s objective to compete in global economy through enhanced innovation and further adoption of digital technologies; calls on the EIB to further promote and provide financial support for investment in digital technologies, digital skills of employees and entrepreneurs, digital infrastructure and capacity- building for entities that require support throughout the digitalization process;
Amendment 5 #
1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB)
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Welcomes the EIB's decision to continue to support cohesion and convergence policy objectives, including in the form of structural projects aimed at mitigating the effects of inequality, for example in countries and regions still facing development difficulties, including those resulting from the EU's new climate policy; calls for the EIB's priorities to be broadened to include effective cohesion policy;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the EIB to reduce its financing for projects such as hub airports, as these investments run counter to the planned greening of the EIB;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Takes note of the results of the EIB investment report 2019/2020 with regards to the SMEs and mid-caps finance; stresses the need to develop increased efforts and methods to facilitate access to finance for SMEs and mid-caps across the EU territory and welcomes in this sense the EIB role in the SMEs window budget guarantee of the InvestEU Fund; calls on the EIB to continue and improve its work to tackle barriers to the entry and growth of young SMEs, mid- caps, start-ups and scale-ups and the disparities across countries in the external financing for EU small businesses;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Recalls that EIB funding should provide additionality to projects that would otherwise not be financed and support projects in line with EU goals in areas where markets fail to invest, to provide long-term financing as well as to encourage investments especially in regions and sectors where it is most needed;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4 c. Points out further that additionality of EIB financing also consists in providing technical advice and capacity-building in order to help projects to become investment-ready and ensure quick mobilization of resources, often faster than in the private sector;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 d (new) 4 d. Insists on the need to reduce the uneven geographical distribution of the EIB’s financing and guarantee a strong focus on less developed regions that are not properly reached by EIB financing, since economic and social cohesion in the EU is one of the EIB’s objectives; welcomes in this regard the EIB’s announcement to establish an Energy Transition package to provide extra support to those Member States presenting more challenging transition problems;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 e (new) 4 e. Calls on the Commission to ensure that InvestEU’s sustainability-proofing methodologies are fully consistent with the EU’s sustainability objectives;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 f (new) 4 f. Calls on Member States to proceed with reforms of the EIB governance structure in order to ensure more democratic scrutiny of its operations, allow the European Parliament to have a substantial say in its investment strategy and ensure adequate oversight, where appropriate, by national parliaments;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 g (new) 4 g. Takes the view that, for the EIB to become the EU’s Climate Bank and play a role in the just transition, it needs to advance mechanisms to better incorporate the input from various stakeholders, such as climate experts, trade unions and NGOs along its investment strategy;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability; calls for making the EIB more accountable towards the European Parliament by creating a dedicated sub- committee to monitor EIB operations and provide political guidance to the EIB; calls for the EIB to participate to the ECON dialogues with a mandatory series of hearings.
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls the EIB to review its framework for anti-corruption fight to improve cooperation with European authorities, especially OLAF and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and to make it mandatory for the EIB to report potential fraud cases to national authorities; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability.
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations including to develop a responsible tax policy to avoid the non-transparent and unintended use of tax havens via investments in private equity funds as has been documented by the 2016 Counter Balance report1a, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability. _________________ 1aCounter Balance 2016: The dark side of EIB funds: How the EU’s bank supports non-transparent investment funds based in tax havens.
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls on the EIB to further communicate and promote through their liaison offices in the Member States its instruments to national and local public and private actors; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability.
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability; calls the EIB to require a public country by country reporting to its clients without waiting for the outcome of ongoing discussion at the EU level.
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability. Calls for funding for the EIB to be conditional on the EIB taking appropriate measures to improve transparency and accountability;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, which operations are contributing to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals, the EU Green Deal objectives and the SDGs; its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social, economic and innovation ambitions; stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions, more risk-
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Welcomes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the EIB and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency(JICA) on 26 September 2019, which will allow for further co-financing and co-investment to be undertaken in developing countries. This collaboration reinforces the important strategic partnership between the EIB and JICA in supporting projects in third countries, which address global issues;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Supports the commitment made by the EIB, under the third Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)strategy, which covers the period 2018-2021, to increase women in senior officer level to 50% by 2021; and calls on the EIB to ensure they meet their objective of obtaining the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE)Certification in the next 12 months;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Calls on the EIB to continue working in collaboration with like-minded partners to address global issues;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5 a. Requests additionally that an outside review of the cost effectiveness of the EIB’s investment efforts during the last ten years be carried out, not least from the perspective of whether and how the EIB’s operations created significant value added that was directly relevant to the European Union’s growth and consolidation policies.
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Maintains that the EIB should ensure that local communities and citizens affected by its operations are properly consulted and have access to an independent, efficient complaint procedure;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls for monitoring of established projects to be fundamentally reformed to make the EIB more accountable, democratic and transparent, and for the establishment of a system to monitor the intermediaries through which the EIB passes;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5 b. Is appalled by recent reports linking EIB-financed projects in infrastructure, energy, and other development activities with human rights abuses and threats to the safety and wellbeing of human rights defenders; welcomes the attention that the EIB has devoted to integrating human rights into its operations, but calls on the EIB to step up this approach by putting in place robust human rights due diligence, ensure consultation of affected communities, grant information and enable a safe and participatory process, namely through contractual clauses;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Calls for mechanisms to be put in place to ensure that public money cannot enrich corrupt systems either within or outside of the European Union, as happened with the MOSE project; calls for the establishment of a better framework for the EIB's anti-corruption work and for stronger internal anti- corruption mechanisms; declares this is particularly necessary given the EIB is likely to play a major role in the European Green Deal;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social and innovation ambitions; stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions, more risk- taking by the EIB may be necessary in parallel to increasing equity and the development of expertise in innovative funding instruments; calls for a
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Reiterates its call for the EIB to apply more stringent tax transparency standards; points to the need to make the granting of direct and indirect loans subject to publication of tax and accounting data country by country and to the sharing of beneficial ownership data on the beneficiaries and financial intermediaries involved in financing operations, with no possibility of exemption.
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5 b. Considers that the EIB should maintain its leading role in the establishment of EU financing mechanisms for third countries and specifically developing countries, while ensuring that the interests of local entrepreneurs who wish to establish local companies, often small companies primarily aimed at contributing to the local economy, are given priority in EIB lending decisions;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5 b. Acknowledges that the EIB has lent over €118 billion to projects based in the United Kingdom since its accession in 1973; however notes that during 2019, the EIB approved €395million in loans to projects in the United Kingdom, a steep decline from €7.7billion in 2015;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 c (new) 5 c. Is concerned about reports linking EIB investment with fraud and corruption in Member States, despite zero tolerance policy of bank; calls on the EIB needs to devise an anti-corruption action plan to enable stronger controls by the Board and ensure that adequate resources are destined to independently monitor and control projects, assess and mitigate risks;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 c (new) 5 c. Calls on the EIB and the European Investment Fund to increase their investment in breakthrough innovations in order to bring out and promote European companies working on the subject, while having recourse to ringfencing measures to limit exposures to these risks;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 d (new) 5 d. Calls on the EIB to step up its due diligence obligations in line with EU Anti- Money Laundering legislation, and provide a complete regulatory framework to allow the Bank to effectively prevent involvement in illegal activity and ensure a proper sanctioning regime for failure to comply with EU law;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 d (new) 5 d. Underlines the important role played by the EIB, which, as the Union's bank, is the only international financial institution fully owned by the Union's Member States and guided by its policies and standards;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 e (new) 5 e. Requests the EIB to strengthen its advisory activities and, in collaboration with the Commission, Member States and official national financial institutions, to address systemic weaknesses that prevent some regions or countries from taking full advantage of its financial activities;
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 e (new) 5 e. Takes the view that project contracts should clearly foresee pull-out possibilities in case of serious mismanagement and/or corruption claims;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 f (new) 5 f. Notes that the capital increase coming from the increased contributions by Romania and Poland compensates only marginally the reduction in the capital of the EIB due to the departure of the United Kingdom; underlines that to preserve the EIB’s ability to achieve its policy objectives, the aforementioned capital shortfall should be fully compensated;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social and innovation ambitions; stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions, more risk- taking by the EIB may be necessary in parallel to increasing equity and the development of expertise in innovative funding instruments; calls for adequate
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 f (new) 5 f. Takes the view that European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) should in the future have the mandate to prosecute criminal activity with regards to EIB funds in the EU Member States which are members of the EPPO;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 g (new) Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 g (new) 5 g. Stresses that the EIB must pay particular attention to financing in the innovation and infrastructure sectors, where the investment gap is particularly high;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 h (new) 5 h. Notes that almost one third of the EIB's financing is denominated in US dollars, which exposes the EIB to possible sanctions from the United States; calls on the EIB to start phasing out its dollar- denominated financing;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 h (new) 5 h. Calls on the EIB to enact stringent standards on financial intermediaries by determining specific benchmarks to select intermediaries in light of tax, transparency, environmental and social concerns;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 i (new) 5 i. Invites the EIB to work with small market players and community cooperatives to consolidate small renewable energy projects and thus enable them to meet the conditions for EIB financing;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 j (new) Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 k (new) 5 k. Stresses the need to speed up work on the establishment of a capital markets union, which would allow the EIB to focus on gaps that need to be filled in the event of market failures or to provide financing for high-risk projects;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 l (new) 5 l. Calls on the EIB to step up its communication efforts; considers it essential that it engage in dialogue with EU citizens in order to better explain the objectives of its policies and thus provide a concrete example of the Union's contribution to the daily lives of its citizens;
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 m (new) 5 m. Wishes that a person appointed by Parliament may sit as an observer member on the EIB's Board of Directors in order to ensure a better transmission of information and needs between these two institutions;
source: 644.953
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History
(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)
2020-01-09Show (1) Changes | Timetravel
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2020-04-22T00:00:00New
2020-04-01T00:00:00 |
2020-01-07Show (3) Changes | Timetravel
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2020-03-30T00:00:00New
2020-04-22T00:00:00 |
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Rules of Procedure EP 57
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2019-11-13Show (1) Changes | Timetravel
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2019-11-06Show (1) Changes | Timetravel
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2019-11-05Show (1) Changes
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