Debate: Financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report  - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank - annual report
Date: MONDAY, 5 JULY 2021
Speaker: Valdis Dombrovskis
Language: EN

The European Investment Bank is a vital partner for implementing EU policies inside and outside our borders. I welcome this opportunity to discuss in Parliament how the EIB can help the EU to achieve our political priorities.  The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to our societies and economies. It required the EU to respond decisively and in a coordinated way. Our collective agreement on the largest recovery package ever to be financed through the EU’s long-term budget and NextGenerationEU is a testament to this response. The support of our key partners and notably the EIB is essential in providing and leveraging investments aligned with EU policy priorities, including innovation and the green and digital transformations. Support should also be fully in line with our strategic geopolitical considerations. It is important for the EIB to further improve geographical balance and step up its activity in less developed regions, particularly in the context of the recovery. It is important to ensure a balanced development of the internal market and further convergence within the EU, while also contributing to the green and digital transitions of these regions. The bank has a proven ability for significantly reshaping its activities and adapting to changing realities. The successful implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investment perfectly illustrates its capacity to seize new opportunities and redefine business models to address investment gaps that still affect the EU today. This is particularly true for the innovation and infrastructure sectors. The EIB group will remain a privileged partner under Invest EU, implementing 75% of the budget guarantee and advisory budget. Rapid deployment is essential and I trust this will be one of the key priorities of the EIB group.  We also rely on the EIB’s close cooperation with the Commission to align its operations and strategic direction with the EU’s external policy objectives and build strong partnerships with other international financial institutions and national promotional banks.  Our aim should be to enhance our existing cooperation channels without major institutional changes or additional costs. We will build on the work of the High-Level Group on the European Financial Architecture for Development and on a stronger Team Europe approach along the principles of EU policy first and open architecture.  Let me now address two particularly relevant issues highlighted in your reports. First, climate change. The Commission fully supports the ambitious climate action strategy of the European Investment Bank, matching the ambitious commitments of the Paris Agreement. More investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency will be essential to meet those commitments. With the EIB Group’s Climate Bank Roadmap, the EIB became the first multilateral development bank to be aligned with the Paris Agreement and ready to adopt the EU taxonomy. The EIB’s leading role in climate financing can play an important role in a successful outcome of the upcoming COP 26 meetings. I rely on the EIB’s close engagement with relevant stakeholders in this area.  Second, tax compliance. The EU has taken significant steps to fight tax avoidance. This includes integrating new requirements against tax avoidance in EU legislation concerning particularly its financing and investment operations. As a follow-up, the Commission has been working closely with the EIB and other implementing partners on adapting their current compliance procedures to this new environment. The EIB and the Commission have close and constructive cooperation to reflect recent EU and international developments in the bank’s procedures. However, those who are keen to avoid taxes are highly creative, so we cannot become complacent. The Commission will continue to monitor this important area closely and work with the EIB on the necessary adaptations of its policies.  Now, relating specifically to a question raised by Mr Eickhout concerning Article 19 opinions, current Commission practice involves granting disclosure to individual Article 19 opinions upon request, which in the Commission’s view, provides the best balance of different interests. Such requests are treated according to the access to document rules governed by the Access to Documents Regulation. Those rules build on a presumption of disclosure, but also take into account the fact that the opinions could contain information that is sensitive, not only with regard to the EIB, but also with regard to third parties such as private project promoters. This ensures at the same time that legitimate interests of the broader public in knowing the underlying rationale of the Commission’s opinion and third party rights are annually protected.  To conclude, the Commission looks forward to working with the EIB on the upcoming revisions of its lending policies in a number of other important areas, notably the revision of the transport lending policy, which must be seen through the lens of decarbonisation, and the EIB’s fundamental and social standards. Thank you very much and I look forward to a productive debate today.