WRITTEN QUESTION P-2828/00 by Mary Banotti (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Appointment of Directors to the Board of the European Investment Bank.
Date: 2000-09-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Investment Bank, European official, Ireland, appointment of staff, board of directors, decision-making body (EU), professional qualifications

C 113 E/186

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

(2001/C 113 E/197)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2828/00

by Mary Banotti (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 September 2000)

Subject: Appointment of Directors to the Board of the European Investment Bank

Can the Commission indicate its role in the appointment of Directors to the Board of the European
Investment Bank?

Can it indicate the criteria its representative uses to ratify new candidates?

Is it aware of the considerable controversy surrounding the candidate nominated by Ireland?

Is the EIB subject to the same guidelines for the appointment of Directors as other Community institutions,
with particular regard to nomination, suitability and professional competence?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(28 September 2000)

The Honourable Member refers to the appointment of members of the management committee of the
European Investment Bank (EIB), rather than of Directors. The Commission is aware of the public
controversy in Ireland surrounding the candidature referred to by the Honourable Member, which has in
fact been withdrawn, and notes that the EIB brought to the attention of its Board of Directors all
correspondence received on the matter.

The EIB is an autonomous body owned directly by the Member States which provide its capital. The
appointment of members of the management committee is set out in Article 13 of the EIB(cid:146)s Statute, which
is established in a Protocol annexed to the EC Treaty and thus forms an integral part of the EC Treaty.

The Commission(cid:146)s role in the appointment process is via its membership of the EIB(cid:146)s Board of Directors.
According to Article 13.1 of the Bank(cid:146)s Statute, it is the task of the Board of Directors to make a formal
proposal to the Board of Governors for appointment to the Bank(cid:146)s Management Board. The Board of
Governors, the highest governing body of the EIB is made up of the Ministers of the Member States, the
Bank(cid:146)s shareholders.

There are no specific criteria used by the Commission(cid:146)s representative on the EIB(cid:146)s Board of Directors in
determining whether to ratify a formal proposal for appointment. However, attention is drawn to the
statutory duty of the Board of Directors (Article 11) to ensure, as the governing body reporting to the
Board of Governors, that the EIB is properly run.

Although the Statute does not specify the requisite qualifications for management committee positions, it
does indicate clearly the tasks and responsibilities of the management committee (Article 13). It follows
that the committee must avail collectively of the necessary competencies to carry out its tasks under the
authority of the President and the supervision of the Board of Directors. As regards nomination of
candidates, the EIB(cid:146)s Statute does not indicate any specific provisions and in practice it is the Member
States which, as shareholders, submit candidatures which the Board of Directors decides (cid:129) or not (cid:129) to
propose to the Board of Governors for appointment.