EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 117/147

Wednesday 25 March 2009

EIB and EBRD annual reports for 2007

P6_TA(2009)0185

European Parliament resolution of 25 March 2009 on the 2007 Annual Reports of the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (2008/2155(INI))

2010/C 117 E/25

The European Parliament,

having regard to the 2007Annual Report of the European Investment Bank (EIB),

having regard to the 2007Annual Report of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),

having regard to Articles 9, 266 and 267 of the EC Treaty and the Protocol No 11 on the Statute of the EIB,

having regard to the Agreement Establishing the EBRD of 29 May 1990,

having regard to Articles 230 and 232 of the EC Treaty on the role of the Court of Justice,

having regard to Article 248 of the EC Treaty on the role of the Court of Auditors,

having regard to Council Decision 2006/1016/EC of 19 December 2006 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans and loan guarantees for projects outside the Community (1),

having regard to the Court of Justice's judgment of 6 November 2008 on the legal basis of Decision 2006/1016/EC (2),

having regard to Council Decision 2008/847/EC of 4 November 2008 on the eligibility of Central Asian countries under Decision 2006/1016/EC granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans and loan guarantees for projects outside the Community (3),

having regard to Council Decision 97/135/EC of 17 February 1997 providing that the European Community should subscribe for extra shares as a result of the decision to double the capital of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (4),

having regard to the Capital Resources Review 3 of the EBRD in 2006 to cover the period 2006-2010,

having regard to Commission's report to Parliament and the Council on borrowing and lending activities of the European Communities in 2007 (COM(2008)0590),

having regard to its resolution of 22 April 2008 on the European Investment Bank's annual report for 2006 (5),

having regard to its resolution of 15 February 2007 on the EIB Annual Report for 2005 (6),

having regard to its resolution of 16 January 2003 on the activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (7),

having regard to the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 24 June 2008 on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: a focal partner for change in transition countries,

having regard to the Partnership agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (8) (the Cotonou Agreement),

having regard to the Joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on European Union Development Policy: ‘The European Consensus’ (9),

having regard to the Council Conclusions of 14 May 2008 on a Western Balkans Investment Framework: strengthening the coherence of existing financing instruments for the region to underpin growth and stability,

having regard to the Commission proposal of 21 May 2008 for a regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (COM(2008)0308),

having regard to the Court of Justice's judgment of 10 July 2003 regarding the power of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to investigate the EIB (10),

having regard to the Tripartite Agreement concluded between the Court of Auditors, the EIB and the Commission with respect to the modes for controls exercised by the Court of Auditors, provided for in Article 248(3) of the EC Treaty, and renewed in July 2007,

having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission, the EIB and the EBRD of 15 December 2006 in respect of cooperation in Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus in Russia and in Central Asia,

having regard to the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 27 May 2008 between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank aimed at furthering coordination of the European Union external lending policies,

having regard to the Memorandum singed on 16 September 2008 relating to the participation in the European public-private partnership expertise centre between the EIB, the Commission and national competent authorities,

having regard to the Corporate Operational Plan 2008-2010 of the EIB as approved by the Board of Directors on 20 November 2007,

having regard to the public consultations by the EIB on its Statement on Environmental and Social Principles and Standards in 2008,

having regard to the EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy as approved by the Board of Directors on 12 May 2008,

having regard to the EBRD's Energy Operations Policy as approved by the Board of Directors on 11 July 2006,

having regard to the EIB's Energy Review as approved by the Board of Directors on 31 January 2006,

having regard to the EIB's briefing note on EIB reinforced contribution to EU Energy Policy, of 5 June 2007, as endorsed by the Board of Governors in June 2007,

having regard to the conclusions of the Presidency of the European Council meeting in Brussels of 11 and 12 December 2008 as regards economic and financial questions,

having regard to the EIB's report entitled ‘SME Consultation 2007/2008 - Findings and Conclusions’, of May 2008, and to the subsequent modernising and strengthening of the EIB Group's support for EU SMEs,

having regard to the EIB Statement of Environmental and Social Principles and Standards of 18 March 2008,

having regard to the Council conclusions of the Ecofin Council of 7 October 2008 and 2 December 2008 on the role of the EIB in supporting SMEs,

having regard to the Commission communication of 29 October 2008 entitled ‘From financial crisis to recovery: A European framework for action’ (COM(2008)0706),

having regard to the Commission communication of 26 November 2008 entitled ‘A European Economic Recovery Plan’ (COM(2008)0800),

having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0135/2009),

A. whereas the EIB was established in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome and whereas its shareholders, the Member States, subscribe a capital of EUR 165 billion,

B. whereas the EIB has undertaken operations outside the Community in support of the Community's external policies since 1963,

C. whereas the EBRD was established in 1991 and whereas its shareholders, comprising 61 third countries, the European Community, and the EIB, subscribe a total capital of EUR 20 billion,

D. whereas the Member States, the European Community and the EIB together make up 63 % of the share-ownership of the EBRD,

E. whereas the EIB's statutory objective is to contribute, by having recourse to the capital market and utilising its own resources, to the balanced and steady development of the internal market in the interest of the Community,

F. whereas in the present financial turmoil, with the tremendous lack of liquidity and credit for companies, the EIB should play a major role in the European and the Member States' economic recovery plans,

G. whereas the EBRD's statutory objective is to contribute to economic progress and reconstruction and foster the transition towards open, market-oriented economies and promote private and entrepreneurial initiative in Central and Eastern European countries committed to and applying the principles of multiparty democracy, pluralism and market economics,

H. whereas the role of the EIB as issuer of highly rated triple A bonds for the international capital markets should be emphasised and enhanced,

I. whereas pursuant to Article 11 of the Agreement establishing the EBRD, the EBRD is required to effect at least 60 % of its investment in the private sector,

J. whereas the agreement establishing the EBRD provides that the Board of Governors, at intervals of no more that five years, review the capital stock of the EBRD and the next review being planned for 2010,

K. whereas a Steering Committee comprising nine wise persons was set up on 1 October 2008 to supervise and manage the evaluation of the mid-term review of the EIB's external lending mandate as provided for in the Decision 2006/1016/EC,

L. whereas that mid-term review will have to be performed in close consultation with Parliament, on the basis of Decision 2006/1016/EC,

M. whereas Decision 2006/1016/EC on the EIB external lending mandate provides for loans of EUR 25,8 billion to be available over the period 2007-2013, broken down by region as follows: Pre-Accession countries, including Croatia and Turkey: EUR 8,7 billion; Mediterranean countries: EUR 8,7 billion; Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and the Russian Federation: EUR 3,7 billion; Latin America: EUR 2,8 billion; Asia: EUR 1 billion; and the Republic of South Africa: EUR 0,9 billion,

N. whereas the loans granted by the EIB in 2007 supporting EU policy objectives totalled EUR 47,8 billion, comprising EUR 41,4 billion in the European Union and the EFTA countries and EUR 6,4 billion in partner and accession countries,

O. whereas the EIB's lending activity in 2007 outside the EU per geographical region was as follows: Asia and Latin America: EUR 925 million; Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Russia: EUR 230 million; Mediterranean countries: EUR 1 438 million; Pre-Accession Countries: EUR 2 870 million; ACP Countries: EUR 756 million; and South Africa: EUR 113 million,

P. whereas the annual business volume of the EBRD amounted to EUR 5,6 billion in 2007, comprising 353 projects in 29 countries of operation in Central Europe and the Baltic States (11), South-East Europe (12), Western CIS and the Caucasus (13), Russia and Central Asia (14),

Q. whereas EBRD investments in Russia increased in 2007 to reach EUR 2,3 billion (the total portfolio in Russia reaching EUR 5,7 billion), covering 83 projects and constituting 42 % of the EBRD's annual commitments (compared to 38 % in 2006),

R. whereas EBRD equity investments increased in 2007 from EUR 1 billion in 2006 to EUR 1,7 billion in 2007 and the equity share of the EBRD's annual business volume increased from 20 % in 2006 to 30 % in 2007,

S. whereas the Board of Governors of the EBRD decided on 28 October 2008 to accept Turkey as a recipient of EBRD investments and whereas the EBRD anticipates investing EUR 450 million by the end of 2010,

T. whereas the EIB has been financing projects in Turkey since 1965 and has invested around EUR 10 billion throughout all key sectors of Turkey's economy,

U. whereas under the Cotonou Agreement, the EIB, in addition to lending from own resources, also finances operations in ACP countries from a risk-bearing investment facility whose funds are provided from the European Development Fund,

V. whereas the EIB's financing strategy should contribute to the general objective of developing and consolidating democracy and the rule of law, and to the observance of international environmental agreements to which the Community or its Member States are party,

W. whereas the Commission, the Member States, European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries, IFI's and European regional and bilateral financial institutions are currently cooperating under the framework of a Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) for additional funding for infrastructure projects mainly in energy, transport and environment sectors in the entire area of the ENP,

X. whereas the EIB Group continues actively to support SMEs via loans as well as venture capital and loan guarantees, the latter two activities through the European Investment Fund,

The objectives and operations of the EIB

1. Welcomes the 2007 Annual Report of the EIB, notably as regards its financing operations inside the European Union on the one hand - focusing on six policy priorities: ensuring economic and social cohesion; implementing the Innovation 2010 initiative; developing trans-European transport and access networks; supporting small and medium-sized enterprises; protecting and improving the environment; and ensuring sustainable, competitive and secure energy - and as regards the implementation of the EIB's external lending mandate in third countries on the other;

2. Welcomes the EIB's objective to address, inter alia, the climate change challenge in its financing operations inside the European Union; recalls, in this context, that there is a need to develop further environmentally friendly funding criteria, in line with the European Union's strategic goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions; urges the EIB to focus its energy lending on energy efficiency, renewable energy and research and development investments to those two areas; additionally, calls on the EIB to establish and make public a methodology to assess the climate impact of the financed projects and to make public a set of appraisal criteria enabling the EIB to refuse projects for their negative impact on climate change;

3. Notes that the EIB is the only Treaty-based financial institution and that the majority of its operations are concentrated on projects in the Members States, while it also has an increasingly important role to play in third countries, as provided for in Decision 2006/1016/EC;

4. Notes that, in its operations in third countries, the EIB has, to date, implemented the policy objectives as set by the Council; believes that EIB lending activity must be consistent, within its areas of competence, between countries; simple in its approach between various EU actors and instruments; flexible in terms of how the European Union is able to respond to widely differing circumstances in different countries; coherent with the achievement of the Millennium Goals; and accountable both publicly and to Parliament for the use and efficiency of EU-sourced funds spent;

5. Reasserts its conviction that investments in public transport are an important aspect of the European Economic Recovery Plan; reiterates its conviction in this context that the EIB has the potential to be a key player in environmentally transforming European transport; urges the EIB, therefore, to increase substantially its support for rail, urban public transport, inter-modal transport, and transport management;

6. Takes the view that the EIB's activities should also reflect objectives and commitments taken by the European Union in the context of the United Nations (such as the Kyoto Protocol); calls on the EIB, therefore, to report annually to Parliament on the implementation of EU and UN goals in its operations in developing countries;

7. Notes with satisfaction the systematic follow-up of Parliament's recommendations undertaken by the EIB in recent years; recommends that that follow-up be made available to the general public in context of the EIB Annual Report;

8. Urges the EIB better to monitor and to make transparent the nature and final destination of its global loans in support of SMEs;

9. Concerning the supervision of the EIB: (a) recalls that the EIB, the tasks of which are politically defined, is not subject to traditional prudential supervision; considers that supervision of the EIB's working methods is, nonetheless, necessary; (b) proposes that the EIB's Audit Committee be reinforced in such a way as to supplement the three members and three observers in the Committee with two members employed by national supervisory authorities; (c) welcomes the technical cooperation between the EIB and the national supervisory authority in Luxembourg, but requests that that cooperation be enhanced; (d) asks the Commission and Member States to explore possibilities of a broader revision of the arrangements for supervision of the EIB's financial operations, which could be executed by a future European prudential supervisory system, in order to oversee the quality of the EIB's financial situation and to ensure that its results are accurately measured and the profession's rules of good conduct observed;

10. Welcomes the development and publication of the EIB sectoral operational policies in the energy, transport, and water sectors made in 2007 and recognises them as an important step towards increasing the transparency of EIB lending operations;

11. Welcomes the review of the EIB's public disclosure policy to take account of the relevant provisions of the Aarhus Regulation (15); welcomes the publication of the EIB's Operations Evaluations Overview report 2007 and encourages the EIB to develop the activities of its Operations Evaluation department further;

12. Welcomes the review of the EIB Statement of Environmental and Social Principles and Standards; takes the view that the EIB should allocate sufficient resources to the implementation of the revised statement and produce a report on its functioning;

13. Stresses that the EIB should pursue a zero-tolerance policy in regard to fraud and corruption and welcomes, in this respect, the review of its anti-fraud policy and its policies on fighting corruption, money-laundering and the financing of terrorism; is concerned, however, that those policies appear to remain largely passive; reiterates its calls on the EIB to include, in pursuing those policies, measures aimed at: (a) an administrative debarment mechanism for companies found guilty of corruption by the EIB and other multilateral development banks; (b) a whistleblower protection policy; and (c) a reinforcement of its investigative function and an enhancement of the preventive and detective role of that function;

14. Welcomes the existence of an ad hoc ethics committee (mainly dealing with post-employment issues) and of an independent compliance officer; asks, however, to be informed of the status and work in practice of the latter;

15. Congratulates the EIB on signing in Washington in October 2007 an ‘approach statement’ on corporate governance in emerging markets; notes that that ‘approach statement’ was also signed by the development finance institutions and that it places corporate governance at the forefront of their sustainable development agenda for emerging markets;

16. Is satisfied with the approval by the EIB Management Committee of the EIB Complaints Mechanism Policy; reiterates its call on the EIB to review its internal grievance mechanism and to issue new appeal mechanism guidelines extended to all EIB-financed operations, however;

17. Notes the favourable opinion of the external audit and the conclusions of the annual report of the Audit Committee; reiterates, in the light of the current financial and economic crisis, its call for the EIB to be subject to the same prudential rules as credit establishments and to real prudential control;

The objectives and operations of EBRD

18. Welcomes the 2007 Annual Report of the EBRD, notably with regard to the fact that EBRD investment activities were focused on countries at an early or intermediate stage of transition and welcomes its progress in financing projects under its Sustainable Energy initiative, for which energy projects of EU interest should be given priority;

19. Notes that the EBRD primarily operates in third countries, but that some operations continue also to remain important in Member States;

20. Notes, furthermore, that the international and regional context of the role of the EBRD is now very different from what it was in 1991 and that the EBRD's mandate needs to be applied in that new environment, as the EBRD responds to market conditions and shifts further south and east;

21. Recognises also that the operating environment is becoming increasingly challenging as the business climate has become more difficult as local counterpart experience is tending to decrease and integrity concerns are tending to become more frequent;

22. Considers that the EBRD has to strengthen its technical assistance and consultancy activities to promote good governance standards and ensure adequate management of the projects at local level in the EU neighbourhood countries;

23. Welcomes the progress made by the EBRD in introducing gender mainstreaming in 2008; urges both banks to strengthen gender mainstreaming in their institutional structures and external policies;

Cooperation between the EIB and the EBRD, and with other international, regional and national financial institutions

24. Notes that the EIB and the EBRD are increasingly financing operations in the same geographical regions outside the European Union, such as in Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus, Russia, the Western Balkans, and, in the near future, also Turkey;

25. Points out that in countries of common operation, there are currently three different types of cooperation between the EIB and the EBRD: for Eastern Europe there is a Memorandum of Understanding, which places the EBRD in the lead and provides for joint investment as a general rule; in the Western Balkans there is a move away from competition or parallel operations to cooperation through the pooling of funds; and, recently, elsewhere, as in the case of cooperation in Turkey, there is an agreement based on the definition of specific and common areas of competence, with the leading bank to be determined on a case-by-case basis;

26. Notes that the objectives, expertise and modus operandi of the two banks are different and that a line cannot simply be drawn between lending operations to the public and private sectors; points out that there are increasingly common areas on which both banks develop skills such as in the financing of SMEs, energy and climate change, and private-public partnership (PPP) projects; highlights, in this regard, the need for enhanced cooperation;

27. Takes the view that the activities of the EIB and the EBRD in the countries of common operation should not compete, but should, rather, be complementary, be based on each bank's comparative advantages, and avoid duplication costs for the client;

28. Recommends, therefore, in order to achieve better structured cooperation between the EIB and the EBRD in countries of common operation, that: (a) both banks improve their functional division of labour on a path towards greater specialisation in order to focus on their respective skills and strengths; (b) the EIB specialise more in the financing of larger- scale private and public infrastructures and projects, including PPP investments and foreign direct investments from EU companies, and the EBRD specialise more in smaller-scale investments, institution building, privatisation, trade facilitation, financial markets, and direct equity investments, in order to promote corporate governance standards; (c) a definition be adopted of types of projects, sectors and products that are of potential interest to both banks, where they could enhance common pools of knowledge and resources, such as SME financing, and where they could enhance investments to combat climate change, e.g. to encourage energy from renewable sources and diminish greenhouse gas emissions; a pragmatic and case-by-case approach be adopted in those areas of common interest, with a lead institution on each project of co-financing, with the objective of avoiding duplication, and on the basis of a pre-requisite of mutual recognition of procedures; EU standards be taken into account in this context by projects that receive funding, for example with regard to combating climate change or respecting social rights, irrespective of whether the EIB or the EBRD is the lead institution; (d) clear mechanisms of cooperation be implemented in both institutions, both top-down and on the ground; (e) both banks make a concrete proposal on more consistent cooperation, including a reflection on common standards, to the benefit of their shareholders, stakeholders and beneficiary countries; (f) both banks regularly report to the Commission on their cooperation; (g) the Commission report annually to Parliament and the Council on the assessment of the impact and effectiveness of EIB and EBRD financing operations as well as their respective contribution to the fulfilment of the external policy objectives of the European Union, and on their mutual cooperation as well as with other financial institutions; and (h) annual hearings of the Presidents of both banks together with the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs be organised in Parliament;

29. Recommends in a longer term perspective that the shareholders of the EIB consider an increase of the EIB' ownership of the EBRD, for instance in the context of a capital increase or, if a shareholder of the EBRD is considering a withdrawal, of its ownership in the bank; considers that this may, in the longer term, support better coherence of policies and specialisation of the two banks both from a functional and a geographical point of view;

30. Is of the opinion that any overlap of the European Union's external assistance instruments should be avoided; calls for enhanced cooperation with regional and national development institutions or agencies in the European Union, in order to provide for efficient funding by avoiding overlaps and duplications and ensuring a coherent approach and better visibility of the EU impact; supports the possibility of mutual delegation and recognition of procedures in this respect;

31. Recalls the importance of the agreement stipulated in the ‘The European Consensus’, which provides that there should be a strengthening of the synergies between the programmes supported by the EIB and other financial institutions and those financed by the Community in order to guarantee a maximum impact for the beneficiary countries; stresses the need to take particular account of the interests of the beneficiaries when so doing;

32. Recognises that the EIB and the EBRD need to work together with other international or regional financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank, in order to make greater effects in regions further away from the European Union and to avoid unwanted overlaps and duplications in funding activities; considers, however, that the EIB should play a predominant role regarding the promotion of the European Union's environmental, social and development objectives among multinational development banks and institutions;

33. Notes that multinational development banks and institutions have a positive impact on the developing world; considers it to be necessary to further analyse that impact and to consider further activities in the context of the objectives and operations of the European Development Fund (EDF); suggests that the financing of land ownership conditional on environmental and social objectives could be an eligible investment cost under the EIB external mandate, as it is key for endogenous development, especially in African countries;

The global financial turmoil and implications for the EIB and the EBRD

34. Stresses the important role which the European Economic Recovery Plan has assigned to the EIB, especially with regard to the enhanced financing for SMEs, energy from renewable sources, and clean transport; welcomes the decision to increase EIB lending volume by 30 % (EUR 15 billion) in 2009 and 2010 and the decision to increase the subscribed capital of the EIB by EUR 67 billion to EUR 232 billion, in line with the Lisbon Strategy; however, urges Member States to further increase the EIB capital in such a way as to ensure that its lending capacity matches the mid-term financial needs for industries and business where necessary to support green and sustainable jobs; stresses those additional funds should aim to achieve long-term effects; considers that enlarged responsibilities necessitate both adequate human and financial resources and increased transparency and accountability of the EIB's operations;

35. Encourages the reinforcement of risk-sharing arrangements between commercial banks and the EIB in providing financing for SMEs; calls, however, for vigilance with regard to the use made of EIB loans by commercial banks and calls for a code of conduct between commercial banks and the EIB in this respect; notes also that the list of EIB intermediate banks needs to be up-dated;

36. Is of the opinion that the EIB and the Commission should accelerate the implementation of projects in the Member States as well as in the sectors which are most severely affected by the crisis; considers, in that context, that it is important to mobilise the expertise of the technical assistance programmes like Jaspers, Jeremie, Jessica and Jasmine, in order to speed up the distribution of structural aid;

37. Notes that the European Union asked the EIB to accelerate support for PPP projects as a response to the financial crisis; urges the EIB and the EBRD to carry out such projects only where they are affordable and bring real benefits; considers, in this respect, that improvements in information disclosure, value for money and affordability assessment practices are needed;

38. Calls on Member States fully to exploit the instruments of venture capital, global loans, and micro-credit facilities offered by the EIB programs and facilities;

39. Notes that EIB borrowing and lending activity both inside and outside the European Union has progressively increased and today constitutes the main EU-level tool for borrowing and lending; notes, furthermore, that there has been a great demand, including from Asia, for bonds issued by the EIB; calls on the EIB and its governors, therefore, to maximise that borrowing potential by issuing, in particular, euro-denominated bonds on the global market in order to support long-term objectives and to mitigate the economic slowdown both inside the European Union and in its neighbouring countries as a public policy-driven bank;

40. Strongly calls on the Commission and the EIB to investigate jointly how the credit crunch in the real economy can be overcome with the help of new innovative financial instruments;

41. Welcomes the decision of the EBRD to increase its annual business volume in 2009 by about 20 % to approximately EUR 7 billion in order to mitigate the current financial and economic crisis and notes that half of the EUR 1 billion in extra spending in 2009 is earmarked for central and Eastern Europe;

42. Stresses that in the current period of tight credit conditions the role of the two banks is highlighted both inside and outside the European Union; calls on both banks to keep their commitments with regard to third countries even in economic difficult times;

43. Suggests that after carefully studying the effects of the financial crisis on the real economy, the EIB should be invited to enhance its support to the new Member States; furthermore points to the importance of involving the private sector in re-stabilising those economies; welcomes the enhanced EBRD activities in the new Member States and the recent Joint International Financial Institution Action Plan in support of Banking Systems and Lending to the Real Economy in Central and Eastern Europe, by the EBRD, EIB, the European Investment Fund and the World Bank Group to support the banking system and the real economy in Central and Eastern Europe; recommends, however, that a review of the definition of the ‘transition countries’ and an evaluation of the withdrawal of EBRD activities within the European Union be undertaken in due time;

44. Notes with satisfaction that the exposure of the EIB and the EBRD to the financial turmoil is rather limited, even though the EBRD posted its first loss in this decade in 2008, as a result of the decline in the equity markets;

The implications of the ruling of the Court of Justice on the external mandate of the EIB

45. Welcomes the Court of Justice's judgment of 6 November 2008 on the legal basis of Decision 2006/1016/EC;

46. Recommends rapid agreement between Parliament, the Council and the Commission following the ruling of that judgment, with the aim of guaranteeing full respect for Parliament's prerogatives on the one hand, and continuity of the external financial operations of the EIB on the other; stresses, therefore, that this rapid agreement serves as a temporary solution with a precise end-date, until the-mid term review in 2010;

47. Takes the view it is vital to adopt a decision replacing Decision 2006/1016/EC in accordance with the judgment of the Court of Justice and recognises that the current mid-term review of the external lending activity of the EIB and cooperation arrangements, which must be completed in 2010, must provide an opportunity for a genuine broad debate on the objectives of the Union and the resources made available to the EIB, in which Parliament will play its full role as a co-legislator; invites the Commission to take into account fully the recommendations expressed in this resolution when drafting a new proposal for a decision on the EIB's external lending mandate following the mid-term review;

48. Recommends that the Steering Committee finalise its work in early 2010 and invites the Chairman of the Committee to report on its conclusions to Parliament and the Council soon thereafter; looks forward to the conclusions of the Steering Committee and requests the committee to take into account the recommendations included in this resolution and in Parliament's earlier resolutions; requests that the Steering Committee inform Parliament regularly of its progress;

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49. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 414, 30.12.2006, p. 95.

(2) Case C-155/07, European Parliament v. Council of the European Union, not yet published in the European Court Reports.

(3) OJ L 301, 12.11.2008, p. 13.

(4) OJ L 52, 22.2.1997, p. 15.

(5) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0132.

(6) OJ C 287 E, 29.11.2007, p. 544.

(7) OJ C 38 E, 12.2.2004, p. 313.

(8) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.

(9) OJ C 46, 24.2.2006, p. 1.

(10) Case C-15/00, Commission of the European Communities v. European Investment Bank [2003] ECR I-7281.

(11) Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

(12) Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.

(13) Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

(14) Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

(15) Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies (OJ L 264, 25.9.2006, p. 13).