40 Amendments of Marco ZANNI related to 2015/2127(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomNotes the launch of the European Fund for Strategic Investments and urges the EIB to ensure the additionality of its financing operations over ongoing EU programmes and traditional EIB activities; is worried that many projects selected during the warehousing phase would have found access to financing under normal conditions and do not meet the additionality requirement; recalls that the EFSI guarantee was meant to enable the EIB to take more risks and to move away from its triple-A-rating mantra; warns that it will be extremely vigilant in monitoring compliance with this criterion;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Criticises the fact that the EIB has funded major infrastructure projects with a high environmental impact that have proved financially unsustainable and devoid of economic and social added value; calls for EIB funding to be concentrated exclusively on projects that can be shown to be financially and environmentally sustainable and economically and socially useful;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Takes note of the 2014 EIB Annual Report and the increase by 6.92% to EUR 80.3 billion in the EIB Group’s lending; is very concerned at the increasing high unemployment, inequality and poverty levels, weak public investment and the continuous uncertaininstability inof the financial markets;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the cooperation between the EIB and National Promotional Banks and Institutions (NPBIs), notably in the framework of the EFSI, in view of their special skills in and knowledge inof the field of SME financingprovision of funding to micro, small and medium-sized firms and to innovative start-ups;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expresses its intention to scrutinise closely the implementationCalls for a review to be conducted of the EIB external mandate ahead of the mid- term review, also bearing in mind the potential activation of an additional EUR 3 billionwith a view to concentrating more of the available resources on the EU itself;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Fully supports an effective check that all projects are aligned with EU objectives and policies at the earliest stages of the EIB’s selection process, so that only fully compliant projects are included in the pipeline; calls on the EIB to further enhance transparency and access to information both internally and for the public, in particular in connection with the selection, monitoring and evaluation of activities and programmes; calls, furthermore, for as much information as possible to be published on the contracting and subcontracting system and, at all events, for Parliament to be given access to financial information and documentation on that system.
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the implementation in 2014 of the EIB initiative ‘Skills and Jobs – Investing for Youth’, and encourages the EIB to continue investing in education, skills development and jobs for young people; calls on the EIB to report comprehensively on the results achieved by its Investing for Youth initiative; stresses, moreover, the need to increase lending to fund research and innovation projects and the importance of strengthening support instruments for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and for innovative start-ups;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes the urgent need for an increase in EIB lending activity to fund research and innovation projects and points to the importance of strengthening support instruments for SMEs and for innovative start-ups;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Takes note that EIB support for renewable energy capacity development in 2014 was concentrated for the most part in just a few countries, with only EUR 42 million out of EUR 4.5 billion for renewable energy projects in the EU-28 being spent in relatively new Member States; adds that a similar concentration is observed in the energy efficiency sector, where out of EUR 2 billion only EUR 148 million was allocated to relatively new Member States; calls on the EIB not to fund non-renewable energy generation projects and to look into the feasibility of discontinuing loans to those already approved;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Stresses that investment in sustainable infrastructure projects is key to improving competitiveness and restoring growth and jobs in Europe; calls, therefore, for EIB financing to be deployed towards the areas most affected by high unemployment, and for more social infrastructure projects; emphasises that EIB financing should focus primarily on those countries which are lagging behind in terms of infrastructure quality and development; finds it regrettable that the EIB has funded major infrastructure projects with a high environmental impact, which have proven to be financially unsustainable and devoid of economic and social added value; calls for EIB funding to be concentrated exclusively on projects that can be shown to be financially and environmentally sustainable and economically and socially useful;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Regrets that hitherto, in numerous cases, EIB financing has been used to support a range of financially unsustainable infrastructure projects, with regard to both public interest and climate-related measures; notes with concern the tendency to finance infrastructure such as motorways, which encourage fossil fuel consumption and therefore run counter to the Union’s long-term objectives of moving towards a carbon-free economy; calls on the EIB to include a compulsory ex ante assessment of environmental, economic and social added value in the process for selecting projects to be funded inside and outside the EU and for all ex ante and ex post assessments to be carried out with the active involvement of stakeholders, local, regional and national authorities and civil society representatives; calls, in addition, for the results of such assessments and the indicators used to be made public and to be fully accessible;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Recalls, in this regard, the Castor project in Spain, whereby Spanish citizens were forced to reimburse EUR 1.4 billion after the project failed; is concerned that the EIB has provided a total of EUR 700 million in funding for the completion of the Brescia-Bergamo-Milan motorway and points out that the project was based on over-optimistic toll revenue forecasts which subsequently proved inaccurate, resulting in public money being spent on ensuring that the private operators involved could make a profit;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 c (new)
Paragraph 29 c (new)
29c. Stresses that the financing of major projects often facilitates infiltration by companies linked to organised crime; criticises the fact that the EIB has provided funding for the ‘Passante di Mestre’ motorway bypass, which is the subject of tax fraud investigations; notes with concern that the EIB has not responded to the requests in this regard set out in the report on the Annual Report 2013 on the Protection of the EU’s Financial Interests - Fight against fraud; calls on the EIB, once again, to suspend all forms of funding for the project;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 d (new)
Paragraph 29 d (new)
29d. Notes with concern that the EIB has provided funding of some EUR 300 million for the construction of line 4 of the Milan metro, a project in respect of which five disqualification orders have been issued by the Italian judicial authorities on grounds of mafia infiltration of subcontractors; calls once again on the EIB not to use the Project Bond Initiative or any other financial instrument to fund activities infiltrated by organised crime and to suspend, as a preventive measure, the funding for such projects;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 e (new)
Paragraph 29 e (new)
29e. Calls on the EIB not to provide funding for the construction of the Brescia-Verona high-speed rail link, should the Italian Government apply for it, given that it is financially and environmentally unsustainable;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Expects that the goals for EFSI will be consistent with the EIB’s PPGs and that the levels of EIB investments for 2016 will be adapted to reflect EFSI operations as well; criticises the fact that the list of projects to be funded under the EFSI includes infrastructures with a major impact on the environment such as biorefineries, steelworks and regasification and gas storage plants;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Is extremely concerned at the fact that the EIB is considering the possibility of funding the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail link under the EFSI, despite the project being excessively costly, unnecessary and economically, socially and environmentally unsustainable;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the EIB to include a more robust compulsory ex ante assessment of environmental, economic and social added value in the process for selecting projects to be funded inside and outside the EU; calls for that assessment to be based on a scoreboard of quantitative and qualitative indicators of financial and environmental sustainability and economic and social usefulness, to be drawn up following public consultations and a canvassing of the views of civil- society organisations; calls, furthermore, for all ex ante and ex post assessments to be carried out by an independent body and for stakeholders, local, regional and national authorities and civil society representatives to be actively involved; calls for the findings of such assessments and details of the indicators used to be made fully accessible to the public;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41 a (new)
Paragraph 41 a (new)
41a. Calls for the adoption of a responsible fiscal policy requiring all beneficiaries of EIB financing, whether corporations or financial intermediaries, to include in their annual audited reports information about their sales, assets, employees, profits and tax payments in each country in which they operate; notes in addition that beneficiaries must be required to disclose details of contracts with host governments and, in particular, the fiscal arrangements applicable to them in each country in which they operate; calls on the EIB to ensure, with regard to its financial operations, that that all beneficiary companies and financial institutions disclose information regarding effective ownership of any legal structure directly or indirectly related to them, including trusts, foundations and bank accounts;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Takes note of the report on the implementation of the EIB’s transparency policy in 2014; regrets that the EIB was placed 16th out of 17 multilateral organisations in the 2014 Aid Transparency Index (ITA) rankings; insists on the need to achieve the highest levels of transparency and institutional accountability by ensuring the proactive public disclosure of exhaustive and sound budgetary information and access to financial data related to projects funded by the EIB; calls for public disclosure by the EIB of documents relating to internal investigations, reporting and audits if they concern matters of public interest and if the inquiries have been closed, in line with EU legislation and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, as well as the findings of internal investigations into all projects tainted by mafia infiltration, tax fraud and corruption and, in any case, to make this information available to Parliament; calls on the EIB to disclose and make available all information regarding its decisions, the results achieved and the impact of its lending activities inside and outside the EU and to keep Parliament systematically informed about cases arising, including those regarded as most sensitive;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. Calls for maximum transparency and publicity regarding the system of contracts and subcontracts and for the European Parliament to be given access to information and financial documentation in every case;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
44. Reiterates that the EIB should reinforce its due diligence activities so as to improve the quality of information on ultimate beneficiaries and to prevent transactions with financial intermediaries with a negative record in terms of transparency, fraud, corruption, or environmentalganised crime, money laundering and social impacts or registered in offshore financial centres or tax havens and which resort to aggressive tax planning involving tax rulings and transfer pricing; stresses once again the need to establish a stringent public list of criteria for selection of financial intermediaries by the EIB, jointly with the Commission, countering more effectively and systematically the risks of corruption and infiltration by criminal organisations that have affected numerous EIB projects;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Takes note of the establishment of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and emphasises the need for the EFSI to function in an effective, transparent and fair way and to take into account that priority should be given to projects in strategic sectors, countries in adjustment programmes and regions which have difficulties in attracting funding because of their high risk environment; criticises the fact that the list of projects to be funded under the EFSI includes high- environmental-impact infrastructure such as biorefineries and steelworks and regasification and gas storage plants;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Recommends publication on the EIB website of documents which are not confidential, such as Corporative Operational Plans for previous years, interinstitutional agreements and memorandums, and other relevant agreements, as well as substantive information on the meetings of the EIB managing bodies; calls on the EIB to publish aggregate statistical data regarding its global loan operations, as well as information regarding sub- projects, so as to assess the economic and social impact of loans and thereby facilitate a targeted approach to certain sectors or types of SMEs;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Notes the expiry, on 27 October 2015, of the Tripartite Agreement mentioned in Article 287(3) TFEU, governing cooperation between the EIB, the Commission and the Court of Auditors with respect to the control methods exercised by the Court regarding the EIB’s activity in managing Union and Member State funds; calls on the three institutions to cooperate in the process of renewal and updating of this agreement, and to ensure that the renewed agreement covers any new EIB instruments or initiatives involving public funds from the EU or the European Development Fund; calls on the Commission in this connection to give increased powers to the European Court of Auditors, which should actively assess EIB lending performance where directly relating to the use of EU budget appropriations;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51 a (new)
Paragraph 51 a (new)
51a. Calls on the EIB to enhance the independence and effectiveness of the current complaints mechanism during the review of its procedures in 2016; believes that the Ombudsman should be more active in exercising external scrutiny over the EIB through a new Memorandum of Understanding between the EIB and the actual European Ombudsman to improve monitoring procedures and further democratise the EIB;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is extremely concerned at the fact that the EIB is looking into the possibility of funding the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail link under the EFSI, despite this major project being excessively costly, unnecessary and economically, socially and environmentally unsustainable;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Criticises the fact that the EIB has funded major infrastructure projects with a high environmental impact that have proved financially unsustainable and devoid of economic and social added value; calls for EIB funding to be concentrated exclusively on projects that can be shown to be financially sustainable and economically and socially useful;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Calls on the EIB not to fund non- renewable energy generation projects and to look into the feasibility of discontinuing loans to those already approved;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Criticises the fact that the EIB has provided funding for the ‘Passante di Mestre’ motorway bypass, which is the subject of tax fraud investigations conducted by the Italian authorities; calls once again on the EIB not to use the Project Bond Initiative or any other financial instrument to fund this project;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Criticises the fact that the EIB has provided funding of some EUR 300 million for the construction of line 4 of the Milan metro, a project in respect of which five disqualification orders have been issued by the Italian authorities on grounds of criminal infiltration of subcontractors;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Urges the EIB not to provide funding for the construction of the Brescia- Verona high-speed rail link, even if the Italian authorities apply for it, given that investigations into criminal infiltration of the project are currently under way and the project has been shown to be financially and environmentally unsustainable;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5g. Criticises the fact that the EIB provided a total of EUR 700 million in funding for the completion of the 62- kilometre-long Brescia-Bergamo-Milan motorway by means of direct and indirect loans, despite the fact that this was presented as being one of the largest 100% privately funded projects, i.e. one that did not require any public funding; criticises, furthermore, the fact that the project was based on over-optimistic toll revenue forecasts which subsequently proved inaccurate, resulting in public money being spent on ensuring that the private operators involved can make a profit;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5h. Criticises the fact that the EIB helped to fund the Castor project in Spain despite the seismic risks involved in injecting gas being known beforehand;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EIB to refrain from cooperating with financial partners with a negative track record and to enforce preventionwith regard to tax transparency, evasion and fraud and to make sure that its clients and projects do not rely on tax havens or aggressive tax avoidance schemes, such as tax rulings and transfer pricing, and that its clients are not involved in cases of corruption, criminal infiltration and money laundering or in socially and environmentally damaging projects; urges the EIB to enforce preventive and corrective measures against tax havens, fraud and tax evasion, as well as aggressive tax avoidance, and to take more effective action to guard against the risk of corruption and criminal infiltration, which have blighted a large number of EIB projects;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the EIB to take a leading role on issues of tax transparency and responsibility and urges it to adopt a new, more responsible tax policy, starting with a review of its policy on non-cooperative jurisdictions, including tax havens inside the EU; calls in particular on the EIB to make the disbursement of direct and indirect funding conditional on public reporting, on a country-by-country basis, of corporate tax and accounting data and to gather and publish information on the actual recipients of EIB funding;
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the EIB to re-evaluate the private-public partnerships in terms of their outcomes, their real added value, the tax revenue they generate and their profitability for the relevant economies and societies and to examine alternative methods of funding, possibly through increasing public investments;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the EIB to further enhance transparency and access to information both internally and for the public, especially regarding the selection, monitoring and evaluation of activities and programmes; calls, furthermore, for as much information as possible to be published on the contracting and subcontracting system and, at all events, for Parliament to be given access to financial information and documentation on that system;
Amendment 122 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the EIB to publish the findings of internal investigations into all projects affected by criminal infiltration, tax fraud and corruption and at all events to give Parliament access to that information;
Amendment 124 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Requests the EIB to increase its reporting to ParliamentCriticises the new transparency policy, which it sees as a step backwards towards non-disclosure of information that is of public interest; calls on the EIB to publish and provide access to all information regarding its decisions, progress achieved and the impact of its lending activities within and outside the EU. and at all events to provide information to Parliament even on what are regarded as more sensitive matters;