Article 1 
Objective The Community shall grant the European Investment Bank (hereinafter referred to as "the EIB") a guarantee in respect of all payments not received by it but due in respect of credits opened, in accordance with its usual criteria, for investment projects carried out under this special lending action in the Baltic Sea basin of Russia under the Northern Dimension. Eligible projects shall have a strong environmental objective and be of significant interest to the European Union. Article 2 Ceiling and conditions 1. The overall ceiling of the credits opened shall be EUR 100 million. 2. For the purposes of this specific Decision, the EIB shall benefit from an exceptional Community guarantee of 100 % which covers the total amount of credits opened under this decision and all related sums. 3. Projects financed by loans to be covered by the guarantee shall satisfy the following criteria: (a) eligibility in accordance with Article 1; (b) cooperation and co-financing by the EIB with other international financial institutions in order to ensure reasonable risk-sharing and appropriate project conditionality. 4. The Board of Governors of the EIB, under Article 18(1), second paragraph, of the Protocol on the Statute of the European Investment Bank shall approve on a case-by-case basis each loan to be covered by the Community guarantee. 5. The Board of Directors of the EIB shall only propose projects for approval to the Board of Governors if Russia honours its international financial obligations, including obligations for its Paris Club debt. Article 3 Reporting The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council each year of the loan operations carried out under this Decision and shall, at the same time, submit an assessment of the implementation of this Decision and of coordination between the international financial institutions involved in the projects. The information submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council shall include an assessment of the contribution of the lending under this Decision to the fulfilment of the Community's objectives under the Northern Dimension. For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the EIB shall transmit to the Commission the appropriate information. Article 4 Duration The guarantee shall cover loans signed during a period of three years from the date of adoption of this Decision. If, on expiry of those three years, the loans signed by the EIB have not attained the overall ceiling referred to in Article 2, this period shall be automatically extended by six months. Article 5 Final provisions 1. This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 2. The EIB and the Commission shall fix the terms on which the guarantee is to be given. Done at Brussels, 6 November 2001. For the Council The President D. Reynders (1) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 295. (2) Opinion delivered on 24 October 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
Article 2 
Ceiling and conditions 1. The overall ceiling of the credits opened shall be EUR 100 million. 2. For the purposes of this specific Decision, the EIB shall benefit from an exceptional Community guarantee of 100 % which covers the total amount of credits opened under this decision and all related sums. 3. Projects financed by loans to be covered by the guarantee shall satisfy the following criteria: (a) eligibility in accordance with Article 1; (b) cooperation and co-financing by the EIB with other international financial institutions in order to ensure reasonable risk-sharing and appropriate project conditionality. 4. The Board of Governors of the EIB, under Article 18(1), second paragraph, of the Protocol on the Statute of the European Investment Bank shall approve on a case-by-case basis each loan to be covered by the Community guarantee. 5. The Board of Directors of the EIB shall only propose projects for approval to the Board of Governors if Russia honours its international financial obligations, including obligations for its Paris Club debt. Article 3 Reporting The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council each year of the loan operations carried out under this Decision and shall, at the same time, submit an assessment of the implementation of this Decision and of coordination between the international financial institutions involved in the projects. The information submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council shall include an assessment of the contribution of the lending under this Decision to the fulfilment of the Community's objectives under the Northern Dimension. For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the EIB shall transmit to the Commission the appropriate information. Article 4 Duration The guarantee shall cover loans signed during a period of three years from the date of adoption of this Decision. If, on expiry of those three years, the loans signed by the EIB have not attained the overall ceiling referred to in Article 2, this period shall be automatically extended by six months. Article 5 Final provisions 1. This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 2. The EIB and the Commission shall fix the terms on which the guarantee is to be given. Done at Brussels, 6 November 2001. For the Council The President D. Reynders (1) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 295. (2) Opinion delivered on 24 October 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
Article 3 
Reporting The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council each year of the loan operations carried out under this Decision and shall, at the same time, submit an assessment of the implementation of this Decision and of coordination between the international financial institutions involved in the projects. The information submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council shall include an assessment of the contribution of the lending under this Decision to the fulfilment of the Community's objectives under the Northern Dimension. For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the EIB shall transmit to the Commission the appropriate information. Article 4 Duration The guarantee shall cover loans signed during a period of three years from the date of adoption of this Decision. If, on expiry of those three years, the loans signed by the EIB have not attained the overall ceiling referred to in Article 2, this period shall be automatically extended by six months. Article 5 Final provisions 1. This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 2. The EIB and the Commission shall fix the terms on which the guarantee is to be given. Done at Brussels, 6 November 2001. For the Council The President D. Reynders (1) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 295. (2) Opinion delivered on 24 October 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
Article 4 
Duration The guarantee shall cover loans signed during a period of three years from the date of adoption of this Decision. If, on expiry of those three years, the loans signed by the EIB have not attained the overall ceiling referred to in Article 2, this period shall be automatically extended by six months. Article 5 Final provisions 1. This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 2. The EIB and the Commission shall fix the terms on which the guarantee is to be given. Done at Brussels, 6 November 2001. For the Council The President D. Reynders (1) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 295. (2) Opinion delivered on 24 October 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
Article 5 
Final provisions 1. This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 2. The EIB and the Commission shall fix the terms on which the guarantee is to be given. Done at Brussels, 6 November 2001