a
what was at stake
b
green position
c
what we achieved
d
what we did not achieve

Granting an EU guarantee to the EIB against losses under loans and guarantees for projects outside the EU

In 2008, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that the European Parliament must have a say on the foreign investment guidelines of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's public bank.

This gives European citizens new influence over what happens with taxpayers' money.

NGOs have pressed the EIB and the Commission to raise awareness about problematic investments by the EIB, e.g. its collaboration with commercial banks and other investors using tax havens.

Such joint investments, in raw materials for example, risk undermining EU development policy goals or climate objectives.

 

What was the Greens' position?

The Greens believe that the EIB must fully respect EU policy objectives and be held accountable for its activities.

Therefore, we are calling on the Commission to draw up annual reports on the EIB's activities.

We want the EIB to end all cooperation that involves the use of tax havens.

The EIB needs global guidelines that prioritise development and the fight against climate change.

We want the bank to increase its proportion of projects promoting the reduction of CO2 emissions and to phase out any projects that are detrimental to the achievement of EU development and climate goals.

 

Did other MEPs accept the Greens' position?

We successfully amended the text, ensuring that environmental criteria are included in the EIB's new guidelines.

We also mustered sufficient support for stricter provisions governing financial intermediaries, the use of tax havens and transparency.

 

Which points did the Greens lose?
However, the support we raised was insufficient to make the EIB even more transparent: our amendments designed to ensure public access to EIB project evaluation reports, including assessments of stakeholders' respecting of environmental, social, development and human rights criteria were rejected.
Reference(s)
Committee:BUDG

Procedure:Ordinary legislative procedure

Reference(s):2010/0101(COD)

Lead MEP:Ivailo Kalfin (S&D)

Green MEP responsible:Helga Trüpel

Voted:13/10/2011

Staff contact:Tom Köller (Email)

Outcome of the vote
Below you find the results of the final vote in plenary. How did the political groups vote? What about national delegations? And what was the position of your MEP?