Brussels, 23/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The idea behind a proposal adopted by the European Commission on Thursday 23 May is to boost the European Investment Bank's lending capacity to improve the fight against climate change, support pre-accession countries and countries to the south and east of the EU. The new legislation will cover the period from 2014 to 2010 and will be examined by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers before being formally adopted next year.
The proposal envisages the provision of an EU budgetary guarantee for up to €28 billion of EIB financing operations outside the EU, out of which €3 billion would be optional and possibly activated after a mid-term review. It also provides for the addition of Myanmar to the list of countries eligible to receive EIB loans under the EU budgetary guarantee.
The legislative proposal should allow the EIB to further support EU external policies, including enlargement, neighbourhood and development cooperation. Olli Rehn, EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, said: “This proposal is about ensuring the EIB is fully able to support the EU's international goals over the coming seven years. In particular, we want the EIB to play an important role in the global fight against climate change and in supporting the economic development of countries aiming to join the EU and of our southern and eastern neighbours”.
The following three high-level objectives for financing across all eligible countries will be carried over from the 2007-2013 budgetary guarantee: a) local private sector development, including support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); b) development of social, environmental and economic infrastructure; and c) climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Commission proposes to further focus the EU budgetary guarantee on the highest value-added EIB financing operations, in particular within pre-accession region and European Union's southern and eastern neighbourhood. Moreover, the climate change dimension of the EU budgetary guarantee to EIB financing operations outside the EU would be reinforced. (OL/transl.fl)