Brussels, 18/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in its General Affairs configurations in Brussels on Monday 18 July, the Council of Ministers of the EU reached a political agreement without debate on the proposal on the guarantee given by the European Union to the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the event of losses resulting from loans to projects carried out outside the EU. This confirms the informal agreement reached with the European Parliament in late June of this year. Amongst other things, it provides for the upper limit on EIB loans to the Mediterranean basin to be increased by €1 billion, a move supported by Philippe Maystadt, the president of the EIB, the European Parliament and High Representative Catherine Ashton in the wake of the Arab spring in Tunisia and Egypt. It also provides a mandate of €2 billion for climate change.
The agreement tops up by nearly €2 billion the EIB's current overall upper limit on loans made outside the EU, on the basis of guarantees given by the EU to the Bank. This sum includes additional support of €1 billion for SMEs and infrastructure in the Mediterranean basin. This brings the upper limit of EIB loans to €29.484 billion, €2 billion of which will be earmarked for projects involving climate action.
The general mandate (not including the climate change mandate) is divided up between the following regional limits and sub-limits: - pre-accession phase countries: €9,048,000,000; - neighbour and partner countries: €13,548,000,000 (including €9,700,000,000 for the Mediterranean countries and €3,848,000,000 for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Russia); - €2,912,000,000 for Latin America; - €1,040,000,000 for Central Asia; - €936,000,000 for South Africa. (O.L./transl.fl)