21. 3. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 77/11 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision empowering the Commission to contract loans 
under the new Community instrument for the purpose of promoting investment within the 
Community 
The text referred to the Committee has not yet been published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 28 October 1982 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic and 
Social Committee in accordance with Articles 235 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 204th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 26 and 27 January 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 235 and 
198 thereof, 
Having regard to the letter of 29 October 1982 from the 
Council of the European Communities requesting an 
opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision 
empowering the Commission to contract loans under the 
new Community instrument for the purpose of 
promoting investment within the Community, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the its Bureau on 
27 October 1982 instructing the Section for Economic 
and Financial Questions to draw up an opinion on the 
matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Committee 
on 27 April 1978 concerning the proposal for a Council 
Decision empowering the Commission to issue loans for 
the purpose of promoting investment within the 
Community (*), 
Having regard to the oral report made by the rapporteur, 
Mr Rouzier, 
Having regard to the discussions at the 74th meeting of 
the Section for Economic and Financial Questions held on 
18 January 1983, 
Having regard to the discussions at its meeting on 
26 January 1983 during the 204th plenary session of 
26 and 27 January 1983, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
with one vote against and one abstention: 
(') OJ NoC 269, 13. 11. 1978. 1. General comments 
1.1. Subject to the remarks set out below, the 
Economic and Social Committee endorses the proposal of 
15 October 1982 for a Council Decision empowering the 
Commission to contract loans under the new Community 
instrument for the purpose of promoting investment 
within the Community. 
1.2. In endorsing the above proposal, the Committee 
is confirming its opinion of 27 April 1978 on the creation 
of the new Community instrument (NCI) and its opinion 
of 25 February 1981 on the previous extension of this 
instrument's brief. 
1.3. In these opinions, the Committee stressed that the 
creation and extension of the NCI could assist 
significantly in meeting the need 'to increase investment 
so as to be able to achieve the Community's economic and 
social goals and in particular so as to be able to better 
combat unemployment' - a need to which the 
Committee has consistently drawn attention. 
1.4. The proposal of 15 October is guided by the same 
priorities as the previous Council decisions on the matter 
and aims primarily to (a) enable the Commission to 
contract a further 3 000 million ECU loan for the purpose 
of boosting NCI resources, (b) extend the NCI's brief to 
cover all productive sectors, irrespective of an enterprise's 
size, and (c) adjust certain operational procedures. 
1.5. The Committee reiterates once again that the 
Community's priority goals must be to stimulate 
investment and economic growth and combat 
unemployment. If these goals are to be achieved, the 
Member States' economic and industrial policies will have 
to be more closely coordinated and aligned. Such 
No C 77/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 3. 83 
coordination can be facilitated by providing the 
Community with extra funds enabling it to intervene 
financially in investment projects that are consistent with 
Community strategies and encourage greater 
convergence of the Member States' economic and 
industrial policies. 
1.6. The NCI forms part of a set of Community 
financial lending instruments, such as the EIB and the 
lending machinery of the ECSE and Euratom, and 
budgetary instruments for providing aid, such as the 
ERDF, the Social Fund and the EAGGF (European 
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund). The 
Committee has stressed in the past the need for closer 
coordination of Community financial instruments to 
ensure that they achieve optimum results. On the NCI, 
the Committee would repeat the gist of its earlier 
opinions, namely that the aims and operational details of 
this new facility must be framed so as to complement 
other Community instruments, rather than compete with 
them. For instance, the Community could use the NCI to 
take action in regions or sectors that do not fall within the 
scope of the other financial instruments or to supplement 
existing Community aid. Efforts should be made to 
ensure that the goals being pursued by these instruments 
tally more closely. In this connection, the proposed 
arrangements for increased cooperation between the 
Commission and the EIB should be a significant 
advance. 
2. Comments on the adjustments recommended in the 
latest proposal for a Decision 
2.1. The Committee, which wants the NCI machinery 
to become permanent, approves the plan to empower the 
Commission to borrow a further 3 000 million ECU. But 
it feels that the manner in which it is intended to use these 
additional resources should be more clearly defined. Care 
should also be taken when loans are contracted to ensure 
that the capital market is not disrupted. 
2.2. In this connection, it is a pity that the 
Commission has supplied no review of NCI operations 
nor any assessment of (a) the economic or social impact 
made by the loans and investments concerned or, (b) their contribution to more integrated economic policy-making 
in the Community. The details provided in the annual 
reports on Community borrowing and lending are far 
from complete. 
2.3. The proposed Decision repeats the aims assigned 
to the NCI in previous decisions, viz., to further greater 
convergence and integration of the Member States' 
economic policies while taking due account of the 
regional impact and need to combat unemployment. This 
time a further aim is added: 'to reinforce the 
competitiveness of the Community economy, through the 
dissemination of technology and innovation or by other 
means'. 
2.4. As already mentioned, several Committee 
opinions have pointed out that the priority aims of any 
economic policy should be (a) to combat unemployment 
and, (b) to stimulate investment so as to boost 
competitiveness and production and, by the same token, 
economic growth. Closer alignment of national policies is 
a major factor in both cases. It should be a hard and fast 
rule that only investment schemes which primarily further 
these priorities should be eligible for NCI funding. 
2.5. In addition, the proposed decision aims to extend 
the NCI's brief to all productive sectors. Within these 
sectors facilities would no longer be restricted to SMEs, as 
is the case in the Decision currently in force. Though it 
fully acknowledges the need for NCI loans to support 
SME investments, generally speaking the Committee has 
no objection to expanding this instrument to encompass 
all firms in productive sectors, regardless of their size. 
However, the very broad scope envisaged does raise a 
number of questions. 
2.6. The Commission does not specify which 
subsectors it is considering for the purpose of NCI loans. 
In the Committee's view, such facilities must first and 
foremost be reserved for investment schemes fostering 
competitiveness to enable businesses to hold their own 
against international competition in subsectors where 
there is scope for increased production and job creation. 
They should also be part of a real coordination of 
industrial policies and favour the re-industrialization of 
regions in difficulty and the creation of new jobs.