WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/431/Add.3/Suppl.1 
14 April 2005 
 
 (05-1537) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 
OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
 
Supplement  
  
 The following communication, dated 18 March 2005, from the Delegation of the European 
Commission is being circulated pursuant to para graph 1 of the Decision on Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.  
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E
UROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK 
General description 
The European Investment Bank ("EIB") is the deve lopment bank of the European Union.  It is 
owned by the 25 EU member States and is the larges t institution of its kind in the world, measured by 
volume of annual financing activity. EIB has a pproximately 1200 employees, loans and equity 
investments of €247.6 billion, and (from 1 May 2004) s ubscribed shareholder equity of €163.7 billion 
and paid-in equity of €8.2 billion.  
The EIB's mission is to contribute to the po licy objectives of the European Union as laid 
down in its Statutes an in decisions of the European Council. Specifically mandated by its shareholders, the EIB also operates in more th an 120 countries in the framework of external 
cooperation and development policies of the EU. 
 
Beneficiary countries 
 The bank participates actively in the European Union's cooperation policies in favour of some 
150 non-member countries in Africa, Asia, Latin Am erica and the Mediterranean.  Many LDCs are 
beneficiary countries of EIB's operations. 
  The ACP - African, Caribbean and Pacific - countries , which have established a special 
relationship with the European Union through th e successive Yaoundé and Lomé Conventions and 
now the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, signed in  Cotonou in 2000, are the largest group: over 77 
countries (population 600 million). 
  The Bank has been a development partner of most ACP countries for some 35 years, in many for over 40 years.  Under parallel provisions, the EIB also supports investment in 20 Overseas 
countries and Territories (OCT), mainly in the Cari bbean and Pacific, which have constitutional links 
with certain EU Member States. IP/C/W/431/Add.3/Suppl.1 
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 Currently, the EIB is financing projects supporting the development of the ACP countries under provisions of the new ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership, which spells out that "the central 
objective of ACP-EU cooperation is poverty reducti on and ultimately its eradication; sustainable 
development; and progressive integration of the ACP countries in the world economy".  The EIB will 
provide reimbursable development finance alongs ide grant aid from the European Commission. 
 
The Cotonou Agreement's financial paragraph 
European Development Fund 
European Commission European Investment Bank 
 Investment Facility EIB's own resources 
Grant aid Loans/equity/guarantees for 
Investment projects Loans for investment 
projects 
€11,300 million €2,200 million €1,700 million 
 
EIB funding goes to support investment in all key sectors of the economy:  production 
(manufacturing, agro-industry,  horticulture, mining/ quarrying);  transport (airports and air traffic 
control, ports, shipping, railways);  telecomm unications;  water supply and sewerage;  power 
generation and transmission infrastructure;  oil and gas development; tourism and services linked to 
the above.  
EIB deals with the private sector or commercia lly run projects in the public sector, given its 
potential to stimulate governance and growth in  ACP economies and contribute to a competitive 
economic environment. EIB is often associated with divestiture programs and investment to 
modernize and re-equip privatized ventures.  EIB is represented on the A1FH Investment Committee. 
In Asia, where cooperation with multilateral and b ilateral financing institu tions is stepped up, 
the financing of projects of mutual interest rema ins the prime objective of the EIB.  Particular 
emphasis is given to investment projects that comply with one of the following criteria: 
1. subsidiaries of European companies; 
2. joint ventures bringing together European and local firms; 
3. private enterprises holding concessions to invest in and run public services; 4. transfer of European technology and 5. enhancement of the objectives of  the EU cooperation agreements. 
 The following countries are concerned: Brune i, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, the 
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Ba ngladesh, China, India, Macao China, Mongolia, 
Nepal, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, and Yemen.  
Objective(s) and type(s) of incentive given 
Objective l
: promote projects such as direct investment, licensing, franchising, subcontracting, 
etc.: 
• through loans to national firms 
• through several financial incentives to third country  firms: financing or insuring of prospective 
activities, loans, guarantee of loans (under the ACP - IF facility), equity participation and similar 
instruments. 
Objective 2 :  improve access to available techniques and i ndustrial processes, particularly when FDI is 
involved;  or through the setting up of Project Management Unites (Training in the state of the art, 
access to legal and technological information sources).  IP/C/W/431/Add.3/Suppl.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
Objective 4 :  provide training in technology manageme nt and production methods, particularly when 
FDI involved or through the setting up of Project Management Units. 
Objective 5 :  capacity building, particularly when FDI involved or through the setting up of Project 
Management Units.  Eligible enterprises or institutions 
EIB's clients are public and private sector bodies and enterprises: As a rule, the Bank 
normally only lends up to half of the capital required for a project.  
Type of technology transferred 
 
 EIF finances a broad range of projects in energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors.    Typically, EIB supports:  
 - Investment in human capital (schools, universities, laboratories, research centres, 
hospitals, etc.) 
 - Industrial projects in manufacturing (motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, aviation 
equipment, chemicals, etc) 
 - Natural and urban environment schemes (wat er, waste, cleaner air, urban transport 
etc.) 
 - Construction and upgrading of transport in frastructure (rail, air, road connections and 
bridges) 
 - Energy production, transfer and distribut ion (power, gas, heat etc.) as well as schemes 
for more efficient energy use and alternative energy supplies (wind power, etc.)  
 - Telecommunications infrastructure 
 
Functioning in practice 
 There is no standard procedure, official  application form, questionnaire or required 
documentation for a first presentation of a project to the Bank.  Initial contacts to discuss a proposed project can be in any form, by telephone, fax, e-ma il or letter.  For such first contacts, the project 
promoter should provide sufficient information to a llow verification of compliance of the investment 
with E1B's objectives and have a well-developed business plan (e.g. broadly along the outlines of 
http://www.eib.org/Attachments/country/appfun_en.pdf)
. 
  As a follow-up, the Bank will review the prom oter's own comprehensive feasibility studies, 
and make a preliminary assessment of the technical , environmental, economic , financial and legal 
aspects of the project.  This is then followed up w ith a detailed appraisal by an EIB project team, 
consisting of an economist, an engineer and a loan or contact officer within the Bank. 
  The project team will make use of the promot er's and other available reports, analyses and 
documents, and include a visit to the project's ope rating company and the investment's location.  
EIBG forms its own opinion on the basis of availa ble data and documents.  Assuming a satisfactory 
outcome of the EIB review, a loan proposal will be put forward for approval by the Bank's 
Management Committee top the EIB Board of Direct ors, which meets about 10 times a year.  Once 
approved by the Board, the loan facility can be  drawn down in one or a number of installments 
according to the borrower's requirements, usually st arting within 12 months  of the approval date. 
 IP/C/W/431/Add.3/Suppl.1 
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Statistics on the use of the incentive / on the number of supported projects. 
 The list of project and loans, including br eakdown by country, is available on the Bank's 
website:  www.eib.org
 or www.bei.org  
 
Contact 
European Investment Bank 
100, boulevard Konrad Adenauer L - 2950 Luxembourg 
Tel. (+352) 43 79-1 
Fax (+352) 43 77 04 www.eib.org
 or www.bei.org  
 General enquiries may be addressed to: 
InfoDesk-Tel.:+352 43 79 3122, 
Fax: +352 43 79 3189 info@eib.org
 
 Specific enquiries and requests for acces s to documents may be addressed to: 
 
Information and Communications Department 
Secretariat General 100 boulevard Konrad Adenauer  L-2950 Luxembourg Fax: +352 43 79 3191 
infopol@eib.org 
 For questions relating to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP): Brain Schim van der Loeff, +352 43  79 3134, a.schimvanderloeff@eib.org 
 
 For questions relating to Asian and Latin American countries: 
Orlando Arango, +32 (2) 235 00 84, o.arango@eib.org
 
   
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