Brussels, 04/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the president and the vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Philippe Maystadt and Wolfgang Roth, presented the EIB activity report for 2004 and affirmed their support for the European Commission's communication which aims to refocus the Lisbon Strategy on growth (EUROPE of 4 February, p;4). Details of the 2004 report of the EIB follow.
The EIB lent nearly EUR 43.2 billion in 2004 to support projects for achieving the EU's objectives and those of the Lisbon Agenda especially. Financing granted in the EU25 amounted to EUR 39.7 billion, including 3.8 billion in the ten new Member States, with EUR 3.5 billion granted outside the EU. Loans for Bulgaria and Romania reached EUR 119 million and the EIB supported development projects up to EUR 461 in the Western Balkans, especially in Croatia. Loans to developing countries totalled EUR 2.9 billion. Nearly EUR 2.2 billion were granted under the Euro-Mediterranean investment and partnership facility (FEMIP) while EUR 440 million in loans financed projects in the ACP countries signatories to the Cotonou Agreement, EUR 100 million were granted in South Africa and EUR 233 million were made available in lending to Asia and Latin America. Furthermore, the European Investment Fund (EIF) - the EIB subsidiary specialised in venture capital and guarantees -invested EUR 358 million in the venture capital fund, which brings the total of its investment portfolio to EUR 2.8 billion. The EIF also provided EUR 1.4 billion in the form of guarantees covering the SME portfolios of financial intermediaries.
The EIB activity report for each sector is made out as follows: (1) investment in favour of economic and social cohesion in the enlarged EU has reached EUR 28.5 billion in the assisted regions - largely among the new Member States - and represents nearly 72% of all EIB loans in the EU25. The transport and telecommunication infrastructures (39% of investment in assisted areas), industry and services (20%), the urban infrastructures (14%) and health and education infrastructures (11%) are the main beneficiaries; (2) in the context of the 2010 initiative for innovation (I2I) launched to support implementation of the Lisbon strategy, EUB loans aimed at supporting training, research-development and innovation exceeded EUR 7 billion (around sixty loans, including 75% granted to the most disadvantaged regions). The EIB considers, moreover, that it is able to achieve its objective of making EUR 50 billion available by 2010 to support the achievement of Lisbon Agenda goals in the context of I2I; (3) investment in the trans-European transport, energy and information networks reached EUR 7.0 billion, including 6.6 billion for transport and 1.3 billion for energy; (4) loans in favour of environmental projects exceeded EUR 10.9 billion, including 1.4 billion in the EU25 and 8 billion in the EU15. The EIB stresses it has reached the target set of devoting 30-35% of the annual total of its loans in the EU25 and in acceding countries to environmental projects. These loans (nearly EUR 6 billion) have largely been used to finance projects relating to urban transport and urban renovation. In accordance with the objective the Union had set itself to increase the share of renewable energy in Community electricity production to 22% by 2010, the EIB pledged during the Bonn conference in June 2004 to do everything possible so that the share of renewable energy in the total of the new electricity generation capacities that it finances within the EU reaches 50% by 2010 as compared to 15% today. Also, in support of Community policy on climate change, the EIB mainly set in place in 2004 the Climate Change Financing Facility (CCFC) which is to provide EUR 500 million in aid to European companies taking part in the Community emissions quota trading system that has been in effect since 1 January 2005; (5) the credits granted by the EIB in aid to development and cooperation, which mainly include financing granted under the FEMIP, reached EUR 3.5 billion.
In order to finance its loans in 2004, the EIB raised nearly EUR 50 billion or consolidated its position on the international capital markets by launching 282 compulsory issues in 15 different currencies. The volume of its loans increased by 19%, and 90% of its resources are issues in euros, dollars and pounds sterling. The EIB, moreover, followed its strategy for the diversification of loan currencies by making issues in 12 new currencies which are essentially those of the new and future Member States. On 31 December 2004, EIB loans reached EUR 265.8 billion and its borrowings 214.8 billion.