Rules of procedure of the Committee set up under the auspices of the European Investment Bank ("Investment Facility Committee")
Date: 2001-12-08
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European Investment Bank, committee (EU), investment, rules of procedure

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Official Journal of the European Communities

8.12.2001

RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COMMITTEE SET UP UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE EURO-
PEAN INVESTMENT BANK (‘INVESTMENT FACILITY COMMITTEE’)

Article 1

proposed for the meeting, at the same time as the relevant
documents, as specified in Article 5(1).

1.
The Investment Facility Committee hereinafter referred to
as the ‘Committee’ shall consist of a representative for each
Member State and a representative of the Commission of the
European Communities, hereafter referred to as the ‘Commis-
sion’. Only the Member States' representatives shall vote.

The Chairman and the deputy Chairman of the Committee
shall be elected from within the members of the Committee for
a period of two years. The election shall take place at the
beginning of the first meeting of the Committee by secret vote.
The Chairman shall be elected among the candidates on the
basis of a qualified majority. The election of
the deputy
Chairman shall follow the same procedure.

The European Investment Bank, hereafter referred to as the
‘Bank’, shall provide the Committee's secretariat and support
services.

2.
The Member States shall each appoint a representative
and an alternate authorised to exercise voting rights. An
alternate may attend meetings of
the Committee as an
to vote when his
observer, but shall only have the right
Member State's representative is absent. Under exceptional
circumstances, where neither
the
alternate can attend a meeting of the Committee, the repres-
entative may give a proxy to another representative, or may be
replaced by a third person to be appointed ad hoc. The
Member States shall inform the Bank and the General Secre-
tariat of the Council of the names and addresses of their
representatives and their alternates through their Permanent
Representations to the European Communities.

representative nor

the

Article 3

The Committee shall act in all matters by a qualified majority
of 145 votes, expressing a vote in favour by at least eight
Member States. The votes of the representatives of the Member
States shall be weighted as follows:

Member State

Belgium

Denmark

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Votes

9

5

50

4

13

52

2

27

1

12

6

3

4

6

27

3.
The Commission shall appoint a representative and an
alternate to attend the meetings of the Committee and shall
communicate their names to the Bank and to the General
Secretariat of the Council. These appointees may be assisted by
officials and servants of the Commission.

4.
The Bank shall appoint a representative and an alternate
to take part in the work of the Committee and shall communi-
cate their names to the Commission and to the General Secre-
tariat of the Council. These appointees may be assisted by
officials of the Bank.

A representative of the General Secretariat of the Council
5.
shall be invited to attend meetings of the Committee as an
observer.

Article 2

The Committee shall meet at least four times a year at the
Bank's headquarters in Luxembourg and shall be convened by
its Chairman. The Chairman may convene additional meetings
at the request of a representative of a Member State or of the
Commission, or the Bank.

The secretariat shall send notices of meetings to the representa-
the agenda
tives and their alternates,

including details of

Article 4

The Committee shall, under the conditions laid down in

1.
Article 3:

(a) with regard to the Investment Facility, approve:

(i) the operational guidelines and proposals for their revi-

sion;

(ii) the investment strategies and business plans, as per

Article 30(1)(2) of the Internal Agreement;

(iii) the annual reports, including the financial statements;

(iv) any general policy document,

including evaluation

reports;

(b) deliver an opinion on:

(i) proposals to grant an interest subsidy, as per Article

30(2)(1) of the Internal Agreement;

(ii) proposals related to projects for which the Commis-

sion has rendered a negative opinion;

(iii) any other proposal based on the general principles

defined in the operational guidelines.

2.
The documents referred to in Article 4(1)(a) shall be
prepared and submitted to the Committee by the Bank.
Proposals pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) shall be submitted to the
Committee by the Bank and provide details of:

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(a) the description of the project and its relevance to the
country development strategy as presented in the country
strategy papers;

measure, he has given a proxy to another representative.
Where proxies to vote have been given or a replacement has
been designated, the Chairman of the Committee shall be so
informed.

(b) the development objective which the project is intended to
the measures

including the sustainability of

achieve,
planned;

(c) the general organisation of, and the justification for, the

project;

(d) the project's costs, method of financing and risks involved,
as well as, when relevant, the risk mitigation measures the
Bank intends to apply;

(e) the project's local, national and regional impact, based on
the ACP-EC Cotonou Agreement,

the provisions of
including on the environment;

(f) the agreement or opinion of the Commission, as specified

in Article 30(4) of the Internal Agreement.

As a general rule, the detailed rules governing the tech-
3.
nical execution of the project and the timetable for carrying it
out shall be summarised in the Annex.

Article 5

For the purposes of Article 4, the Bank shall send the
1.
relevant documents and proposals to the representatives to the
Committee and their alternates.
It shall do so within the
following respective time limits:

(a) at least four weeks before the date fixed for meetings in the

case of Article 4(1)(a);

(b) at least three weeks before the date fixed for meetings in

the case of Article 4(1)(b).

The Chairman may in exceptional cases waive the above time
limits at the reasoned request of the Bank.

2.
For documents under 1(a) and 1(b), representatives shall
notify the Bank in writing of any comments or requests for
further information, at
five working days and three
working days respectively before the date of the meetings.

least

3.
Acting on a proposal from its Chairman, the Committee
shall adopt the agenda at the beginning of the meeting. Each
representative may request that items be added to the agenda
for discussion only. Information supplied in this connection
may be given orally.

A representative may receive a proxy from one other Member
State representative only.

Article 6

1.
The opinion of the Committee may be sought by means
of a written procedure at the initiative of the Bank and with the
prior agreement of the Chairman.

In the case of a proposal submitted through written procedure,
the Bank shall submit it together with any supporting docu-
ments. A representative's vote shall be deemed to be in favour
of a proposal on which he does not notify a negative vote
within three weeks following the submission thereof.

If discussion at a meeting of the Committee is specifically
requested by a representative not later than five working days
before expiry of
the three-week period referred to in the
preceding paragraph, the proposal will be submitted in the next
scheduled meeting of the Committee. In exceptional cases of
particular urgency, the Bank may request that an extraordinary
meeting of
the Committee be convened by the Chairman
pursuant to Article 2.

Article 7

in accordance with
1. While the Bank shall always act
Article 30(5) of
the Committee's
the Internal Agreement,
approval of documents under Article 30(1) of the Internal
Agreement or favourable opinion under Article 30(2) of the
Internal Agreement, may be granted subject to any amendment
specified by the Committee.

The Committee may ask for the appraisal of a request or
2.
proposal to be supplemented in certain respects. In such an
event,
the request or the proposal can be put before the
Committee a second time.

The opinions delivered by the Committee shall be

3.
forwarded to the Bank's decision making bodies.

Article 8

An absent

representative shall be deemed to have
4.
approved or delivered a favourable opinion on the documents
submitted, except where his alternate (or exceptionally, ad hoc
replacement) is present or where he has given the Chairman of
the Committee written notice of his intention not to approve
or deliver a favourable opinion, or where, as an exceptional

1.
A record of the main conclusions of each meeting of the
Committee and the main standpoints adopted by the represen-
tatives shall be drawn up by the secretariat under the responsi-
bility of the Chairman within no more than two weeks from
the date of the meeting. The secretariat shall likewise record the
opinions and votes cast under a written procedure. These
records shall be sent to the addressees specified in Article 1(2).

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The record shall be deemed final once approved by the Committee, whether by written procedure or

2.
at a subsequent meeting.

Correspondence concerning the Committee shall be addressed to the secretariat, for the attention of

3.
the Chairman of the Committee.

Those attending meetings of the Committee shall be required to observe the confidentiality of the
4.
Committee's work and deliberations. Documents relating to such work and deliberations shall be for the
use of those to whom they are addressed, who shall be responsible for their safekeeping and the
preservation of their confidentiality.

Article 9

The operating expenditure of the Committee, including travel expenses for one member of each

1.
Member State delegation, shall be borne by the Bank.

The Bank shall place at the disposal of the Committee the premises and equipment necessary for its

2.
work.

All notices, correspondence or documents to be transmitted pursuant to these rules may be so transmitted
using electronic mail or facsimile machine.

Article 10