Accountability of European Investment Bank.How can Hungarian civil society take advantage.

Anna RoggenbuckCEE Bankwatch Network

www.bankwatch.org

European Investment Bank Set up in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome House bank of the EU, a tool for policies financing Owned by 27 EU member states Active in more than 130 countries all over the world Fund: Transport, energy, water, industry, banking, R&D, oil,

mining and gas, telecommunication,health and education, climate change mitigation and adaptation

Annual budget – approximately 70 bilion Euro

Institutional statuts and governance Operational independence - autonomous financial

body, legal personality on Luxembourgish legislation MS Ministers constitute its Board of Governors

(general directives for the credit policy of the Bank, increase the subscribed capital, approve the annual report, approve the rules of procedure)

Board of Directors (27+1) - non-resident, meeting 10 times per year

Management Committee – real decision – making body

How does the EIB work?

Tax

Loan Interest

Interest EIB Bonds

Tax payers

Borrowing Governments (EU and non-

EU)/ Companies

Investors, bond

holders

Member States

Subscribed capital

European Investment

Bank

Working within an institutional setup

Council of European Union

European Parliament

European Commission

European Court of Justice

Court of Auditors

European Ombudsman

OLAF

EIB policies

Core policies: • Statement of Environmental and Social

Principles and Standards (2009)• Complaints Mechanism Policy• Transparency Policy Sectoral policies:• Transport Lending Policy• Energy Policy• Water Sector Lending Policy

Standards of EIB operations1. Procedural standards: EIA, Habitat, IPPC,

Environmental Liability Directive, „Aarhus regulation”

2. Emission standards: IPPC, BAT, Water Framework Directive

3. Ambient standards related to accumulated pollution in air, water and soil

4. Biodiversity: Habitat and bird Directives, Ramsar, Bonn and Bern Conventions

5. Standards on access to information6. EU Chart on Fundamental Rights and UN

Universal Declaration of Human Rights7. Other social standards outside EU

Accountability mechanisms for EIB Complaints Office based on Complaints

Policy European Ombudsman Europan Court of Justice EU Parliament Petition Committee

Why it is worth to use accountability mechanisms? Low cost, quite fast Independence from national administration Compliance and problem solving functions Additional pressure on national administration A good tool to attract media and public

attention Impact on EIB’s policies, their interpretation

and bank behaviour in the future