2005/47/EC: Council Decision of 22 December 2004 amending Decision 2000/24/EC to take into account the enlargement of the European Union and the European Neighbourhood Policy
Date: 2004-12-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EIB loan, European Investment Bank, credit guarantee, enlargement of the Union, investment abroad

25.1.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 21/9

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 22 December 2004

amending Decision 2000/24/EC to take into account the enlargement of the European Union and
the European Neighbourhood Policy

(2005/47/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

the Community guarantee and of the commercial risks
borne by the EIB.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 181 A thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Accession Treaties signed on 16 April 2003 entered
into force on 1 May 2004.

The report (1) prepared by the Commission in accordance
with the third subparagraph of Article 1(1) of Council
Decision 2000/24/EC of 22 December 1999 granting a
Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank
against
for projects outside the
Community (Central and Eastern Europe, Mediterranean
countries, Latin America and Asia and the Republic of
South Africa) (2), concludes that some amendments to
that Decision are appropriate,
in particular in view of
the enlargement of the European Union.

losses under

loans

The Copenhagen European Council of 12 and 13
December 2002 concluded that pre-accession support
for Turkey will
the
budget heading ‘pre-accession expenditure’.

from 2004 be financed under

the

adoption of Decision 2000/24/EC,

Since
the
experience of the EIB on the changing practices in the
field of investment protection guarantees has shown the
need to review the scope of the political risks covered by

(1) COM(2003) 603.
(2) OJ L 9, 13.1.2000, p. 24. Decision as last amended by Decision

2001/778/EC (OJ L 292, 9.11.2001, p. 43).

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

Under the risk-sharing scheme the budgetary guarantee
should cover, in addition to political risks arising from
currency non transfer,
civil
disturbance, those arising from denial of justice upon
breach of
third country
government or other authorities.

certain contracts by the

expropriation, war or

Under the risk-sharing scheme, the EIB should secure
commercial risks by means of non-sovereign third-party
guarantees or by means of any other security or collateral
as well as relying on the financial strength of the debtor,
in accordance with its usual criteria.

The financial perspective for the period 2000 to 2006
according to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May
1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and
the
and
improvement of the budgetary procedure (3), envisages a
ceiling for the loan guarantee reserve in the Community
budget of EUR 200 million (at 1999 prices) per annum.

Commission

budgetary

discipline

on

consistency

Close cooperation between the EIB and the Commission
should ensure
and synergy with the
European Union’s geographical cooperation programmes
and ensure that EIB loan operations complement and
strengthen the European Union’s policies
those
regions.

for

(9)

Decision 2000/24/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly,

(3) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

L 21/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.1.2005

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

— Special action supporting the consolidation and
intensification of the EC-Turkey Customs Union:

Decision 2000/24/EC is amended as follows:

EUR 450 million;

1. Article 1(1) is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(i)

the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

the

shall

grant

Community

‘The
European
Investment Bank (EIB) a global guarantee in respect
of all payments not received by it but due in respect
in accordance with its usual
of credits opened,
the Community’s
criteria,
relevant external policy objectives,
for investment
projects carried out in the South-eastern Neighbours,
the Mediterranean countries, Latin America and Asia
and the Republic of South Africa.’

and in support of

(ii) in the second subparagraph, the second sentence is

replaced by the following:

‘The overall ceiling of the credits opened shall be
equivalent to EUR 19 460 million, broken down as
follows:

— South-eastern Neighbours:

EUR 9 185 million,

— Mediterranean countries:

EUR 6 520 million,

— Latin America and Asia:

EUR 2 480 million,

— Republic of South Africa:

EUR 825 million,

and may be used by 31 January 2007 at the latest.
The credits already signed shall be taken into account
as a deduction from the regional ceilings.’

(b) Article 1(2) is amended as follows:

(i)

the first indent is replaced by the following:

‘— South-eastern Neighbours: Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and
Montenegro, Turkey;’

(ii) in the second indent the words ‘Cyprus’, ‘Malta’ and

‘Turkey’, are deleted.

2. In Article 2, the following subparagraph is added:

‘The Commission shall report on the application of
Decision by 31 July 2006 at the latest.’

this

Article 2

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 22 December 2004.

For the Council
The President

C. VEERMAN