REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL ON BORROWING AND LENDING ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN 2015
Date: 2016-06-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EIB loan, EU borrowing, Euratom loan, balance of payments, credit guarantee, economic stabilisation, financial aid

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 15.6.2016  
COM(2016) 387 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

ON BORROWING AND LENDING ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN 
2015 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
Table of Contents 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Lending activities of the European Union ................................................................... 3 

Balance-of-Payments facility ....................................................................................... 3 

European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism.............................................................. 5 

Macro-Financial Assistance ......................................................................................... 6 

Euratom facility............................................................................................................ 8 

Borrowing activities of the European Union ............................................................... 8 

Balance-of-Payments facility ....................................................................................... 8 

European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism.............................................................. 9 

Macro-Financial Assistance ......................................................................................... 9 

Euratom facility.......................................................................................................... 10 

European Investment Bank ........................................................................................ 11 

EIB lending activities................................................................................................. 11 

EIB borrowing activities ............................................................................................ 12 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Council  decisions  establishing  the  various  lending  instruments  of  the  European  Union 
(EU) require the Commission to inform the European Parliament and the Council, on a yearly 
basis, on the use of these instruments. In order to meet these information requirements, this 
report  describes  the  lending  operations  for  each  instrument  as  well  as  the  respective 
borrowing activities.  

To  complete  the  picture  of  EU  activities,  this  report  also  includes,  in  the  last  section,  a 
summary  overview  of  the  lending  and  borrowing  activities  in  2015  of  the  European 
Investment Bank (EIB). 

The table below reports the evolution of the EU operations in the last 5 years. 
Table 1: Evolution of operations of the EU (outstanding amounts of capital in EUR million) 

ECSC 
i.l.(1) (2) 

Euratom 
(1) 

BOP 

MFA 

EFSM 

Total 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

225

183

179

192

204

447 

423 

386 

348 

300 

11 400

11 400

11 400

8 400

5 700

590

545

565

1 829

3 007

28 000 

43 800 

43 800 

46 800 

40 662

56 351

56 330

57 569

46 800 

56 011

(1)The conversion rates used are those of 31 December of each year.  
(2)The  European  Coal  and  Steel  Community  (ECSC)  is  in  liquidation  since  2002.  The  last  bond  issued  by 
ECSC matures in 2019. The increase of the outstanding amount is due to the exchange rate movements. 

2. 

LENDING ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 

Financial support for third countries and Member States in the form of bilateral loans financed 
from the capital markets with the guarantee of the EU budget is provided by the Commission 
under  decisions  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  or  of  the  Council  only, 
depending on the objectives pursued1. The consistency of financial support to third countries 
with the overall objectives of the EU external action is ensured by the Commission and the 
High  Representative  of  the  Union  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  Security  Policy  assisted  by  the 
European External Action Service (EEAS). 

2.1. 

Balance-of-Payments facility 

Balance-of-payments (BOP) assistance under Article 143 of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the European Union (TFEU) and Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 of 18 February 2002 
establishing  a  facility  providing  medium-term  financial  assistance  for  Member  States' 

1 

Detailed  presentation  of  the  borrowing  and  lending  activities  of  the  Commission  is  available  at 
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu_borrower/index_en.htm. 

3 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
balances  of payments2 (BOP Regulation) takes the form of  medium-term  loans  provided  by 
the Union. It is generally granted in conjunction with financing by the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF) and other multilateral lenders, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), the 
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) or the World Bank. 

BOP assistance is granted on a case-by-case basis by the Council acting by qualified majority. 
Potential  beneficiaries  are  Member  States  outside  the  euro-area  being  faced  with  serious 
balance-of-payments  difficulties.  It  aims  at  easing  the  recipient  Member  States’  external 
financing  constraints  and  at  restoring  the  viability  of  a  country's  balance-of-payments.  It  is 
released  subject  to  the  fulfilment  of  economic  policy  conditions  decided  by  the  Council  – 
after consultation with the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) – the details of which 
are  agreed  by  the  Commission  and  the  beneficiary  Member  State  in  a  Memorandum  of 
Understanding (MoU) prior to the conclusion of a loan agreement. The continued compliance 
with  measures,  as  outlined  in  the  MoU,  is  reviewed  regularly  and  is  a  condition  for  the 
disbursements of further instalments. The required funds are raised on the capital markets by 
the Commission on behalf of the European Union. 

In  accordance  with  the  BOP  Regulation,  the  Commission,  every  three  years,  reports  to  the 
EFC and to the Council on the implementation of the BOP facility. 

In 2013,  the  Council  adopted a second precautionary financial assistance (PFA) programme 
for  Romania3  of  up  to  EUR  2  billion,  which  expired  at  the  end  of  September  2015  without 
having been drawn down. Currently no new programme is envisaged. 

In January 2015, an amount of EUR 1.2 billion was reimbursed by Latvia and EUR 1.5 billion 
by Romania. At 31 December 2015, the total outstanding amount under the BOP program was 
EUR 5.7 billion4. 

The following table reports the evolution of the loans activated under the BoP assistance up to 
31 December 2015. 

Table 2: BoP assistance up to 31.12.2015 (amounts of capital in EUR billion)  

Amount 
decided 

Amount 
disbursed 

Amount 
reimbursed

Amount 
outstanding 

Weighted average 
maturity (years) 

Country 

Hungary 

Latvia 

Romania 

Romania (PFA) 

Romania (PFA) 

6.5 

3.1 

5.0 

1.4 

2.0 

5.5

2.9

5.0

0

0

4.0

2.2

1.5

0

0

7.7

1.5 

0.7 

3.5 

0 

0.0 

5.7 

0.3

5.2

2.4

-

-

2.2

Total 

18.0 

13.4

2 
3 

4  

OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p.1. 
Council Decision 2013/531/EU of 22 October 2013 providing precautionary EU medium-term financial 
assistance to Romania (OJ L 286, 29.10.2013, p.1). 
Detailed information on BOP operations can be found at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu_borrower/balance_of_payments/index_en.htm 

4 

 
 
 
                                                            
2.2. 

European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism 

Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 of 11 May 20105 established the European Financial 
Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) based on Article 122(2)6 of the TFEU. The EFSM is fully 
backed by the EU budget and has a total lending capacity of up to EUR 60 billion7.  
The EFSM facility was activated in 2011 for Ireland8 and Portugal9, committing loans of up to 
EUR 22.5 billion and EUR 26 billion, respectively. 

In  2013,  an  extension  of  the  maximum  average  maturity  of  the  disbursed  loans  from  12.5 
years  to  19.5  years  was  decided  for  both  Member  States.  EFSM  beneficiaries  can  request  a 
lengthening and refinancing of all EFSM loans as long as the average maturity of disbursed 
loans (calculated from initial disbursement) does not exceed 19.5 years. 

In this context, in September and October 2015, a total of EUR 5 billion was raised in three 
tranches  with  maturities  of  8,  14  and  20  years  to  extend  the  maturity  of  Ireland's  EUR 
5 billion loan due on 4 December 2015. The current average maturity of outstanding loans to 
Ireland, as of 31 December 2015, is 15.4 years. 
In addition, a bridge loan amounting to EUR 7.16 billion was funded and granted to Greece10 
for a period of one month between 20 July and 20 August 2015. This loan was fully repaid. 

The  total  outstanding  amount  of  the  EFSM  facility  is  EUR  46.8  billion  at  the  end  of  2015 
(Ireland: EUR 22.5 billion, Portugal: EUR 24.3 billion). 

The following table reports the evolution of the loans activated under the EFSM facility up to 
31 December 2015.  

Table 3: EFSM facility up to 31.12.2015 (amounts of capital in EUR billion)  

Country 

Greece 

Ireland 

Portugal 

Total 

Amount 
decided 

Amount 
disbursed 

Amount 
reimbursed

Amount 
outstanding 

Weighted average 
maturity (years) 

7.16 

22.50 

26.00 

55.66 

7.16

22.50

24.30

53.96

7.16

0

0

7.16

0 

22.5 

24.3 

46.8 

-

15.4

12.3

13.8

5  
6 

7  

8 

9 

10  

As amended by the Coucil Regulation (EU) 2015/1360 of 4 August 2015  (OJ L 210, 7.8.2015, p.1). 
Article 122(2) of the TFEU provides for financial support for Member States in difficulties caused by 
exceptional circumstances beyond their control. 
Detailed information on EFSM operations can be found at 
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu_borrower/efsm/index_en.htm 
Council  Implementing  Decision  No  2011/77/EU  of  7  December  2010  on  granting  Union  financial 
assistance to Ireland (OJ L 30, 4.2.2011, p. 34). 
Council  Implementing  Decision  No  2011/344/EU  of  30  May  2011  on  granting  Union  financial 
assistance to Portugal (OJ L 159, 17.6.2011, p. 88). 
Council  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2015/1181  of  17  July  2015  on  granting  short-term  Union 
financial assistance to Greece (OJ L 192, 18.7.2015, p. 15). 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
2.3.  Macro-Financial Assistance 

Macro-Financial  Assistance  (MFA)  is  designed  to  address  exceptional  external  financing 
needs  of  countries  that  are  geographically,  economically  and  politically  close  to  the  EU.  Its 
objective  is  to  restore  macroeconomic  and  financial  stability  in  EU  candidate,  potential 
candidate  and  neighbourhood  countries  (and,  in  exceptional  circumstances,  other  third 
countries), while encouraging the implementation of macroeconomic and structural reforms. 
MFA is provided on an exceptional and temporary basis and is released in tranches based on 
strict economic policy conditionality. MFA complements and is conditional on the existence 
of  IMF  adjustment  programmes.  MFA  can  be  provided  in  the  form  of  loans  and/or,  under 
certain circumstances, non-reimbursable grants11. 

Should a beneficiary country fail to honour its repayment obligations, the Commission may 
have  recourse  to  the  Guarantee  Fund  for  External  Actions12  so  that  the  repayment  of  the 
corresponding borrowing by the Commission is ensured13. 

In January 2015, the Commision proposed a third MFA programme for Ukraine up to EUR 
1.8   billion  in  loans,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  15  April 
201514. The corresponding Loan Agreement was signed on 22 May 2015. Together with the 
two  previous  programmes,  the  three  operations  to  Ukraine  would,  once  fully  disbursed, 
amount to EUR 3.41 billion, which represents the largest EU financial assistance provided to 
a  third  country  in  such  a  short  time.  The  first  tranche  (EUR  600  million)  of  the  third  MFA 
programme for Ukraine was disbursed in July 2015. The disbursement of the second tranche 
(also  amounting  to  EUR  600  million),  which  was  originally  foreseen  to  take  place  in  2015, 
has been delayed, reflecting slow progress on a number of reform measures. 

The  last  tranche  (EUR  250  million)  of  the  first  MFA  programme  for  Ukraine,  based  on 
decisions from 200215 and 201016, was disbursed in April 2015. 

On 15 May 2014, the European Parliament and the Council decided to make MFA available 
to  Tunisia  for  a  maximum  amount  of  EUR  300  million,  all  in  loans,  with  a  maximum 
maturity of 15 years17. The first tranche (EUR 100 million) was disbursed in May 2015 and 
the second tranche (EUR 100 million) was disbursed in December 2015. 

On  11 December  2013,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  decided  to  make  MFA 
available to Jordan, in the form of loans for a maximum amount of EUR 180 million18. The 
first  tranche  (EUR  100  million)  was  disbursed  in  February  2015  and  the  second  and  final 
tranche (EUR 80 million) in October 2015. 

11  

12 

13 

14 

15  

16  

17 

18 

information  on  MFA 

at:  http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu_borrower/macro-

Detailed 
financial_assistance/index_en.htm 
See Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009 establishing a Guarantee Fund for external actions 
(Codified version) (OJ L 145, 10.6.2009, p. 10). No default has been registered so far for MFA loans. 
Although the repayment of the borrowing is covered in fine by the EU budget, the Guarantee Fund acts 
as liquidity buffer protecting the EU budget against the risk of calls resulting from payment defaults. 
For a comprehensive report on the functioning of the Fund, see COM(2014)214 and the accompanying 
Staff Working Document SEC(2014)129.  
Decision  (EU)  2015/601  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  15  April  2015  providing 
macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (OJ L 100, 17.4.2015, p. 1). 
Decision  No  2002/639/EC  of  the  Council  of  12  July  2002  providing  macro-financial  assistance  to 
Ukraine (OJ L 209, 6.08.2002, p. 23). 
Decision  No  388/2010/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  7  July  2010  providing 
macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (OJ L 179, 14.7.2010, p. 1). 
Decision No 534/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 providing 
macro-financial assistance to the Republic of Tunisia (OJ L 151, 21.5.2014, p. 9). 
Decision No  1351/2013/EU of  the European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 11  December 2013 on 
providing macro-financial assistance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (OJ L 341, 18.12.2013, p. 4). 

6 

 
 
 
                                                            
On  12  August  2013,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  decided  to  make  MFA 
available to Georgia for a maximum amount of EUR 46 million (up to EUR 23 million in the 
form of grants and up to EUR 23 million in the form of loans19). The grant element of the first 
tranche (EUR 13 million) was disbursed in January 2015 and the loan part (EUR 10 million) 
in April 2015. The disbursement of the second grant and loan tranches, planned for the second 
half of 2015, has been delayed to 2016 following the postponement of the second review of 
the IMF programme. 

On  22  October  2013,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  decided  to  make  MFA 
available to the Kyrgyz Republic for a maximum amount of EUR 30 million (up to EUR 15 
million  in  the  form  of  grants  and  up  to  EUR  15  million  in  the  form  of  loans20).  The  grant 
element of the first tranche (EUR 10 million) was disbursed in June 2015, the first tranche of 
the loan (EUR 5 million) was disbursed in October 2015. 

Including the EUR 1,245 million loan disbursements in 2015 the total amount of outstanding 
MFA loans as of 31 December 2015 is EUR 3 billion (as  reported in the table below). 

Table 4: MFA loans up to 31.12.2015 (amounts of capital in EUR million)  

Country 

Amount 
disbursed in 
2015 

Amount 
reimbursed in 
2015 

Amount outstanding 
as of 31/12/2015 

Amount to be
disbursed 

Albania 

Armenia 

Bosnia Herzegovina 

FYROM* 

Georgia 

Jordan 

Kyrgyz Republic 

Montenegro 

Serbia 

Tunisia 

Ukraine 

Total 

0

0

0

0

10

180

5

0

0

200

850

1 245

*Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 

0

0

4

10

0

0

0

1

52

0

0

67

9 

65 

120 

24 

10 

180 

5 

4 

180 

200 

2 210 

3 007 

0

0

0

0

13

0

10

0

0

100

1 200

1 323

19 

20 

Decision No 778/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 August 2013 providing 
further macro-financial assistance to Georgia (OJ L 218, 14.8.2013, p. 15). 
Decision  No  1025/2013/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22  October  2013 
providing macro-financial assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic (OJ L 283, 25.10.2013, p. 1). 

7 

 
 
 
                                                            
2.4. 

Euratom facility 

The  Euratom  loan  facility  may  be  used  to  finance  projects  within  Member  States  (Council 
Decision 77/270/Euratom) or in certain third countries (Ukraine, Russia or Armenia) (Council 
Decision 94/179/Euratom).  

In 1990, the Council fixed a borrowing limit of EUR 4 billion, of which some EUR 3.7 billion 
have been decided and EUR 3.4 billion already disbursed. According to the Council decision 
on  the  lending  ceiling  (77/271/Euratom,  as  amended),  the  Commission  shall  inform  the 
Council once the signed amount reaches EUR 3.8 billion and, if appropriate, propose a new 
lending ceiling. 

In 2013, the Commission adopted Decision C(2013) 3496 on granting a Euratom loan of up to 
EUR 300 million in support of Ukraine's safety upgrade program of nuclear power units. The 
Loan Agreement was signed on 7 August 2013. In parallel, a similar EUR 300 million loan 
agreement was signed in March 2013 by the EBRD. 

All  conditions  precedent  to  initial  avalaibility  of  the  loan  having  been  satisfactorily 
completed, on 27 May 2015 a Commission Decision authorising the release of an amount up 
to EUR 100 million was adopted. 

However, due to delays in the implementation, no disbursements under the Euratom facility to 
Ukraine have occurred.  

3. 

BORROWING ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 

In order to finance the lending activities, the Commission is empowered to borrow funds in 
the  capital  markets  on  behalf  of  both  the  European  Union  and  Euratom.  Borrowing  and 
lending is conducted as back to back operations, which ensures that the EU budget does not 
take  any  interest  rate  or  foreign  exchange  risk21.  Outstanding  borrowings  are  matched  by 
outstanding loans. 

3.1. 

Balance-of-Payments facility 

In  2015,  under  the  BOP  facility,  no  borrowings  were  raised  in  the  market.  The  total 
outstanding amount under the BOP was EUR 5.7 billion at the end of 2015. 

21 

The EFSM Regulation allows resorting to pre-funding as it authorises the Commission "to borrow on 
the  capital  markets  or  from  financial  institutions  at  the  most  appropriate  time  in  between  planned 
disbursements so as to optimise the cost of funding and preserve its reputation as the Union's issuer in 
the markets." However, any resulting cost of carry is borne by the borrower. 

8 

 
 
 
                                                            
3.2. 

European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism 

Following the request of Ireland to extend the maturity of its EUR 5 billion EFSM loan due in 
December 2015, the EU issued, in September and October 2015, three bonds with maturities 
of 8, 14 and 20 years for a total of EUR 5 billion, as shown in the table below. 

These  bonds  issued  by  the  EU  met  high  demand  in  the  market  resulting  in  largely 
oversubscribed  order  books.  All  important  groups  of  investors,  in  particular  long-term 
investors (investment funds, asset managers, insurance and pension funds) as well as official 
institutions, purchased these bonds issued by the EU. 

Table 5: EU EFSM borrowing operations during 2015 (in EUR million) 

Country 

Issue date 

Maturity date 

Size 

Ireland – 1st Tranche 

22/09/2015 

04/10/2035 

2 000 

Ireland – 2nd Tranche 

01/10/2015 

04/11/2023 

2 000 

Ireland – 3rd Tranche* 

15/10/2015 

04/10/2029 

1 000 

Total 

5 000 

*Together with EUR 80 million for MFA Jordan and EUR 5 million for MFA Kyrgyz Republic; (see 3.3 below) 

3.3.  Macro-Financial Assistance 

In  2015,  eight  borrowing  operations  were  successfully  executed  for  a  total  amount  of 
EUR 1,245 million, as shown in the table 6. 

On 3 February 2015, the first tranche for Jordan, amounting to EUR 100 million was funded 
through a private placement. The transaction was based on an amortising structure (5 bullet 
bonds  mimicking  the  amortising  repayment  structure  of  the  loan)  and  disbursed  on 
10 February 2015.  

Based  on  a  similar  structure  with  an  amortising  repayment  profile,  a  nominal  amount  of 
EUR 260 million was raised on 14 April 2015 and disbursed on 21 April 2015 for the loan to 
Ukraine (EUR 250 million) and the loan to Georgia (EUR 10 million). 

In  May  2015  and  in  December  2015,  the  first  and  second  tranches  for  Tunisia  (EUR  100 
million each, in the form of bullet loans) were funded through private placements. 

In  July  2015,  the  first  instalment  of  the  third  program  to  Ukraine  (EUR  600  million)  was 
funded through a public bond issue. 

In  October  2015,  two  additional  transactions  of  EUR  80  million  and  EUR  5  million  were 
combined with the third tranche of the refinancing of Ireland's EFSM loan (see 3.2 above). 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 6: EU MFA borrowing operations during 2015 (in EUR million) 

Country 

Description 

Issue date 

Maturity date 

Size 

Jordan 

Jordan 
1st tranche 

10/02/2015 

04/12/2029 

100 

Ukraine 

Ukraine (MFA I) 
4th tranche 

21/04/2015 

04/04/2023 

250 

Georgia 

Tunisia 

Georgia  
1st tranche 

Tunisia 
1st tranche 

21/04/2015 

04/04/2030 

10 

07/05/2015 

04/05/2027 

100 

Ukraine 

Ukraine (MFA III) 
1st tranche 

22/07/2015 

04/07/2020 

600 

Jordan 

Jordan 
2nd tranche 

15/10/2015 

04/10/2029 

80 

Kyrgyz 
Republic 

Tunisia 

Total 

Kyrgyz Republic 
1st tranche 

15/10/2015 

04/10/2029 

5 

Tunisia 
2nd tranche 

01/12/2015 

01/12/2028 

100 

1,245 

3.4. 

Euratom facility 

In 2015, there were no borrowing operations under the Euratom framework. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. 

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK  

4.1. 

EIB lending activities 

The  EIB  provides  financing  either  directly  to  individual  investment  projects  or  through 
financial  intermediaries  to  smaller-scale  projects  undertaken  by  small  and  medium-sized 
enterprises  or  by  local  authorities  and  municipalities.  The  EIB  Group,  which  includes  the 
European  Investment  Fund  (EIF),  also  provides  loan  guarantees,  technical  assistance  and 
venture capital. 

In 2015, the EIB signed a total financing volume of EUR 77.5 billion (compared to EUR 77 
billion  in  2014).  Including  the  EIF  activity,  the  EIB  Group  financed  projects  to  the  tune  of 
EUR  84.5  billion,  supporting  462  projects  in  68  countries  around  the  world  and  catalysing 
almost EUR 230 billion of investment. 

In  addition,  by  the  end  of  2015,  the  EIB  Group  had  approved  more  than  100  loans  and 
guarantees for submission under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)22 as part 
of the Investment Plan. EIB financing and investment operations under EFSI benefit from a 
guarantee from the EU budget. Resources committed totalled EUR 7.5 billion, of which EUR 
5.7 billion from the EIB and EUR 1.8 billion from the EIF, mobilising total investments of up 
to EUR 50 billion. 

EIB financing activities have an impact on the EU budget where they are accompanied by EU 
guarantees or other EU budget funds. In addition to EFSI, this is the case for: 

-  EIB financing operations carried out under the so-called "external mandate" covering Pre-
Accession  countries,  Neighbourhood  and  Partnership  countries,  Asia  and  Latin  America, 
South  Africa.  Such  financing  benefits  from  an  EU  budget  guarantee  covering  risks  of 
sovereign or political nature (the "external EU guarantee")23. A separate report on the EIB 
financing activity under the external mandate will be issued by the Commission during the 
second half of 2016. 

-  risk sharing financing facilities involving the use of the EU budget to support EU policies 
(e.g. the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF) for research and development projects and 
the Project Bond Initiative). 

In  2015,  EIB  financing  in  EU  Member  States  amounted  to  EUR  69.7  billion  –  or  90%  of 
EIB's total lending. EIB's lending operations outside the EU amounted to EUR 7.8 billion of 
which EUR 4.8 billion are covered by the external EU guarantee. 

The  size  of  the  overall  external  mandate  amounts  to  EUR  27  billion  plus  an  additional 
optional amount of EUR 3 billion. The activation in whole or in part of the optional amount 
shall be decided by the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with the ordinary 
legislative procedure and based on the results of a mid-term review of the external mandate. 

22  

23  

Regulation  (EU)  2015/1017  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  25  June  2015  on  the 
European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments,  the  European  Investment  Advisory  Hub  and  the  European 
Investment Project Portal and amending Regulations (EU) No 1291/2013 and (EU) No 1316/2013 — 
the European Fund for Strategic Investments, OJ L 169, 1.7.2015, p. 1. 
Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 granting an 
EU  guarantee  to  the  European  Investment  Bank  against  losses  under  financing  operations  supporting 
investment projects outside the Union, OJ L 135, 8.5.2014, p. 1. 

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4.2. 

EIB borrowing activities 

The  EIB  lending  activities  are  mainly  funded  via  bond  issuance  in  the  international  capital 
markets. The overall objective of the EIB's funding strategy is to optimise the funding cost on 
a  sustainable  basis.  The  EIB’s  funding  strategy  combines  the  issuance  of  large  and  liquid 
bonds  in  core  currencies  with  targeted  and  tailor-made  issuance  across  a  number  of  other 
currencies. 

In 2015, the EIB's borrowing activity amounted to EUR 62.4 billion with an average maturity 
of 6.4 years. 

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