CELEX: 51990PC0575
Language: en
Date: 1991-03-07
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE " EC-INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT PARTNERS " FINANCIAL FACILITY FOR COUNTRIES OF ASIA, LATIN AMERICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

No C 81/6                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                26. 3. 91
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the 'EC-International Investment Partners'
                   financial faculty for countries of Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean region
                                                        (91/C 81/07)
                                                     COM(90) 575 final
                                     (Submitted by the Commission on 5 December 1990)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Whereas in the context of international cooperation with /
                                                                  the developing countries new forms of investment
                                                                  promotion have recently taken their place alongside the
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             tried and tested ones, above all the financing of joint
Economic Community and in particular Article 235                  ventures which entails a host of mutually beneficial
                                                                  advantages, not least the knock-on effect that the
thereof,
                                                                  creation of joint ventures has on the developing
                                                                  countries' industrial sector;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                  Whereas a three-year pilot scheme was launched in 1988
Having regard to the opinion of the European                      to promote, via a financial scheme known as the
Parliament,                                                       EC-International Investment Partners (EC-IIP), the
                                                                  creation of joint ventures between the Community and
                                                                  the countries of Latin America, Asia and the Mediter-
Whereas the Community is fostering financial, technical           ranean;
and economic cooperation with the countries of Asia and
Latin America and with the Mediterranean region;
                                                                  Whereas the results attained thus far bear witness to the
Whereas the Council has adopted guidelines on new                 considerable potential of this financial instrument in
forms of cooperation to benefit the Mediterranean                 achieving the aforementioned objective;
region, on the one hand, and Asia and Latin America, on
the other;
                                                                  Whereas the continuation and extension of EC-IIP for a
Whereas in order to bolster such cooperation, it is
                                                                  further five-year trial period from 1 January 1992 is
necessary inter alia to encourage mutually beneficial
                                                                  therefore necessary to meet the new needs of the
investments;
                                                                  countries of Latin America, Asia and the Mediterranean;
Whereas the Council has reached a consensus on the
importance of the rdle of the private sector in the devel-
opment process;                                                   Whereas the objectives and operating criteria of that
                                                                  facility need to be defined;
Whereas certain benefits can be derived from
cooperation between Community firms and enterprises in
the developing countries given that it is an excellent            Whereas the Treaty makes no provision for the necessary
vehicle for the transfer of know-how and a catalyst for           specific powers, other than those stipulated in Article
the provision of further aid;                                     235,
 ---pagebreak---  26. 3. 91                             Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 81/7
 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                     carrying out the identification of partners or projects, or
                                                                 via a financial intermediary.
                           Article 1                              On the other hand, in the case of facilities 2, 3 and 4 set
                                                                 out in Article 2, Community funds shall be provided
 For a five-year trial period starting on 1 January 1992,        exclusively through the financial institutions defined in
 and as part of its economic cooperation with the                Article 4 below; this shall apply to institutions within the
 countries of Latin America, Asia and the Mediterranean,         Community and to those from an eligible
 the Community shall operate special cooperation                 non-Community country that have signed a framework
 schemes aimed at promoting investment by economic               agreement with the Community.
 operators in the Community, particularly in the shape of
 joint ventures with local operators in the countries
 eligible.
                                                                 2. With regard to facility 3 set out in Article 2, the
                                                                 financial institutions must provide an amount at least
                                                                 equal to that provided by the Community.
                           Article 2
 The EC-International Investment Partners scheme, here-
                                                                                            Article 4
 inafter referred to as EC-IIP, shall offer four kinds of
 financing facilities covering the various phases of the         The financial institutions shall be selected by the
 investment process:                                             Commission        from     among development banks,
                                                                 commercial banks, merchant banks and investment
                                                                 promotion bodies.
 1. grants for the identification of projects and partners,
    not exceeding 50 % of the cost of the operation up to
    a ceiling of ECU 100 000;                                                               Article 5
                                                                 Four types of criteria shall be applied by the Commission
                                                                 in selecting the projects:
 2. interest-free advances for feasibility studies and other
    operations prior to any decision to invest, not
    exceeding 50 °/o of the cost up to a ceiling of ECU          1. the anticipated soundness of the investment and the
    250 000;                                                         quality of the promoters;
 3. capital requirements of a joint venture or local             2. the contribution to development in terms of:
    company with a licensing agreement, through partici-
    pation in the provision of equity, not exceeding 20 %
    of the joint venture's capital up to a ceiling of ECU           — creation of added value,
     1 million;
                                                                    — creation of local jobs,
                                                                    — promotion of local entrepreneurs,
 4. interest-free advances, not exceeding 50 % of the cost          — transfer of technology,
    up to a ceiling of ECU 250 000, for training, technical
    assistance or management expertise of an existing               — transfer of know-how,
    joint venture, or joint venture about to be set up, or a        — impact on the balance of payments,
    local company with licensing agreements.
                                                                    — favourable impact on the environment,
                                                                    — manufacture and supply to the local market of
The aggregate amount made available under facilities 2,                 products that have been difficult to obtain or are
3 and 4 may not exceed ECU 1 million per project.                       of a lesser quality;
                                                                 3. compatibility with the sectoral and geographical
                                                                    aspects of Community policy;
                          Article 3
1. With regard to facility 1 set out in Article 2,
financing applications may be submitted either direct to         4. compliance with the eligibility criteria applying to
the Commission by the institution, association or body              each of the facilities.