Debate: Financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report  - Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report
Date: WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2022
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

The EIB Group is a crucial partner for implementing EU policies inside and outside the borders of the Union and I welcome the opportunity to discuss in the Parliament how the Bank can help the EU to further achieve our political priorities.  I would like to start by saying a few words on our joint efforts to support Ukraine. The appalling Russian invasion against Ukraine poses a fundamental challenge to Europe and our shared values, requiring us to respond decisively with coordinated EU actions. I appreciate that the EIB moved very fast to mobilise urgent financial support for Ukraine, which required very close cooperation with the Commission to grant necessary EU guarantees. Together with the microfinancial assistance provided by the Commission earlier this year and the commitment to present a proposal for additional exceptional macrofinancial assistance of up to EUR 9 billion in 2022, this should help to alleviate Ukraine’s short-term financial needs. In the longer run, I am confident that the Bank will play a role in the context of the Rebuild Ukraine Facility proposed by the Commission to finance the reconstruction effort of Ukraine and the alignment of Ukraine’s economy to the EU. We will have to cooperate very closely in this area.  Now let me turn to the EIB and InvestEU in other areas. Beyond Ukraine, the EIB will also be a key partner in providing and leveraging investments aligned with EU policy priorities in many other areas, including the green and digital transitions. It is noteworthy that the Commission is now implementing all parts of the InvestEU programme, of which the EIB will execute 75% of the guarantee capacity. Priority has been given to the signature of the guarantee agreement with the EIB Group, which was signed on 7 March this year. Negotiations on guarantee agreements with several other implementing partners are already advancing and the Commission expects to be able to sign new agreements in autumn.  I am happy to see that the EIB and the EIF are moving forward and have already started to support investments under the InvestEU fund.  InvestEU, along with the Recovery and Resilience Facility, will help to shift EU growth to new green and digital sectors, strengthen our leadership in research, development and innovation, and boost the vibrant start-up ecosystem in the EU. The Commission is working very hard to make this possible and will strive to further enhance the cooperation with the EIB in these important areas.  On external action, I count on the EIB to closely cooperate with the Commission to align its operations with the EU’s external policy objectives and to build strong partnerships with other international financial institutions and national promotional banks.  On 10 May, the European Commission and the EIB signed under the EFSD a guarantee agreement through which the EU will provide a guarantee covering EUR 26.7 billion in financing to support investments in several sectors such as green energy, green infrastructure and health.  I highlight the new cooperation principle with the EIB enshrined in the EU guarantees under NDICI Global Europe and welcome the clear commitment to focus and align EIB global activities with EU policy priorities. The new approach is ‘policy first’, so that the EU can be even stronger and impactful as Team Europe. Together, we should strive to enhance our existing cooperation channels and to build on each other, promote a value-driven model to reach the transformative development with concrete flagship and Team Europe initiatives.  A final word on climate change. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised awareness about the importance of accelerating our independence from Russian fossil fuels and fast-forwarding the green transition. Increased investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency will be key for achieving this objective.  The EIB has been a frontrunner among comparable financial institutions in making climate action the key priority of its activity and I trust this will continue despite the current difficult global context. We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the EIB to support EU policy goals. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to hearing your views.