Activities of Viola VON CRAMON-TAUBADEL related to 2023/2046(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2022
Amendments (45)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the EIB is treaty-bound to contribute to EU integration, economic and social cohesion and regional development, balanced and steady development of the internal market, to address inequalities by providing better conditions to access to jobs and education opportunities, to public infrastructures and services, and to a healthy and sustainable environment;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the EIB works closely with other EU institutions, with national promotional banks and development finance institutions, in coordination with the European External Action Service and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to achieve its targets and to support EU policies in more than 140 countries worldwide, through dedicated investment instruments such as loans, equities, guarantees, risk-sharing facilities and advisory services;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the EIB is the largest multilateral lender in the EU Neighbourhood regions, and it runs its operations outside the European Union through its branch EIB Global and relying on a network of nearly 30 external offices located in Africa, Latin America and Asia;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the EIB has deployed a significant effort to offer additional support during the pandemic outbreak, establishing the new Pan-European Guarantee Fund to provide capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas the gap in productive investment of 1.5 to 2 percentage points of GDP opened between Europe and the United States after the global financial crisis, and still persists, mainly driven by greater US investment in machinery and equipment and innovation, particularly in information and communication technology equipment (in the service sector) and intellectual property (in the public and defence sectors) and the EIB is expected to contribute to the reduction of such gap;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas the energy crisis that is following the pandemic outbreak and the situation in the international scenario requires the timely launching of a focused set of actions to increase investments, to shield economies from the potentially negative effects of the monetary tightening;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D e (new)
Recital D e (new)
De. whereas political instability, security concerns and migration may further increase these challenges and an ambitious EU response is warranted and should be backed by appropriate financial resources and instruments;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D f (new)
Recital D f (new)
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the Bank’s advisory role, in particular in regions that combine carbon-intensive production with socioeconomic fragility and to support adaptation actions explicitly addressing the needs of population groups most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Understands that over 2021-2027, InvestEU’s EUR 26.2 billion guarantee, with provisioning from the MFF and Next Generation EU, is expected to mobilise more than EUR 372 billion in additional private and public investment in Europe, mainly for sustainable infrastructure, research innovation and digitalisation, SMEs and social investment and skills;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the introduction, since the adoption of the Group Operational Plan 2022-2024, of new value-added performance indicators for new approvals, following the start of the additionality and impact measurement (AIM) framework in 2021; understands that the EIF’s operations are not considered under the AIM framework, but additionality requirements apply to EIF- managed mandates, including InvestEU, and EIF guarantee products;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Appreciates the work carried out by the EIB Group’s Evaluation function (IG/EV) that promotes accountability through evidence-based assessments of the Group’s performance and results and contributes to knowledge sharing, informing EIB Group decisions on policies, strategies, products, projects and organisational matters, and improving performance; notes the evaluations on equity and semi-equity and on debt support, pointing out that it addresses relevant market gaps and makes a significant contribution in terms of volumes, market development and best practices; underlines that the provision of stable and predictable funding all along the economic cycle has a stabilising effect on the market, including in times of crisis;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the EIB to increase financing to boost the technological transition, provide funds for long-term research and innovation to SMEs, support the development of skills adapted to real labour market needs, promote investment in the digital skills of employees and entrepreneurs, digital infrastructure and capacity-building for digitalisation;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Is aware that, in promoting social inclusion and development, equal opportunities and fair working conditions, the Group supports the relevant EU social policies and the European Pillar of Social Rights; notes that almost half of EIB lending in the European Union (46%) was signed for projects in cohesion regions, underlying the Bank’s support for equitable growth and convergence across the European Union;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Encourages the EIB to support digital transformation, to uphold strategic autonomy in the digital field, and digital infrastructure projects, to be integrated into standards and protocols that support network security and resilience, interoperability, and an open, plural and secure internet;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Welcomes the Bank’s decision to start tracking, as per 2023, the key performance indicator for lending to less- developed regions, with a target of 21% in 2023, aiming to 23% of total EU financing by 2025;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Notes that the EIB Group’s contribution to the EU’s Just Transition Mechanism provides an important bridge between the Group’s two key cross-cutting policy objectives of climate action and cohesion;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Acknowledges that targeting and implementing transformative investments via funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility requires improvement of technical and administrative capacity; observes that operational analysis identified fragmentation of markets along national borders and fragmented regulation, weak capacity of public sector promoters and national budget constraints as major issues holding back investment projects; calls on the EIB Group to support the enhancement of administrative capacity by drawing on its operational experience;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Calls on the EIB Group to contribute to provide clarity and preserve incentives to advance Europe’s transformation, to enhance the catalytic effect of public investment to crowd-in investment by the private sector, to facilitate access to risk-absorbing financial instruments to help shield strategic investment by the private sector, to reduce unnecessary administrative barriers and address lack of technical skills, particularly for firms and municipalities in cohesion regions, and particularly for more complex green and digital objectives;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Is concerned that although investments to limit climate change are increasing, they are still well below what is needed to meet Europe’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050; observes that, according to EIB analyses, even if EU climate investment has rebounded after dipping during the pandemic, the investment level needs to step up considerably for the Union to meet its goals and that EUR 356 billion more a year than from 2010-2020 are required to reach the investment of EUR 1 trillion for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of 55% by 2030;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Notes that green financing from the EIB increased to EUR 36.5 billion (58 % of the total) exceeding the target of channelling at least 50 % of total financing to climate action and environmental sustainability well ahead of 2025; observes that EIB has already backed EUR 222 billion in investment over the past two years and encourages the EIB Group to further engage towards its objective of supporting EUR 1 trillion in green financing in this decade;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Regrets the diminished Union’s strength in the green technology area, where European Union has, so far, set its leadership; believes that the Union needs increasing its investments in more cutting-edge innovation technologies, such as hydrogen technologies, and enhancing its efforts in the fields of sustainable mobility, smart grids, wind and solar power and energy storage;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Is aware that the ability of European economies to absorb new shocks is complicated by the fiscal legacy of the pandemic; acknowledges that the strong fiscal policy adopted in response to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has shielded households and business from an extensive loss of income, and that such measures protected the productive capacity of the economy in a way that enabled it to rebound rapidly once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted; points out that the above fiscal support reallocated a large share of net wealth from the public to the private sector, increasing public debt and private savings, and that, following such actions, the governments have less room for any fiscal manoeuver to soften the impact of high energy prices on households and firms;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Notes that over the past decade, the EIB Group has channelled more than EUR 100 bilion into the European Union’s energy sector, investing in energy efficiency, renewables, grids and storage; observes that support is now provided to help Member States in the crisis triggered by the abrupt cut in Russian gas supplies;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Welcomes the package of targeted financing approved by the EIB’s Board of Directors on 26 October 2022, expected to mobilise up to EUR 115 billion of new investment by 2027, thus making a substantial contribution to the REPowerEU objective of ending dependency on Russian fossil fuels on the top of the EIB support for the energy sector in the European Union, averaging around EUR 10 billion of financing per year over the past decade;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Appreciates the EIB’s announcement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (6-18 November 2022) that the Group will support the European Commission REPowerEU Plan with an additional EUR 30 billion in loans and equity financing over the next five years, mainly directed to renewables, energy efficiency, grids and storage, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, and breakthrough technologies, such as low-carbon hydrogen;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Remarks that EIF financing programme for next years increases the volume of resources, from EUR 9.2 bilion in 2022, to EUR 13.0 bilion and EUR 13.5 bilion respectively in 2023 and 2024; understands that EIF plans to use the full capacity of the frontloaded InvestEU mandate in 2022 and 2023 by approving by end of 2023, and signing by end of 2024, 60% of the InvestEU budget supported by NextGenerationEU;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Observes that, in the course of 2022, 30% of EIF financial support targeted sustainability and the green transformation and, in line with the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap ambition, 21% - around EUR 2 bilion - was channelled in pursuit of the horizontal objectives of climate action and environmental sustainability; underlines that EIF has backed innovative enterprises in agritech, blue economy, circularity and sustainable mobility as well as traditional businesses and individuals for financing their climate investments;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)
Paragraph 26 c (new)
26c. Points out that, in 2022, the EIF funded small businesses and green projects with over EUR 9 bilion, aiming to mobilise some EUR 97 bilion in investments supporting climate neutrality, the digital transition of EU industries and the competitiveness of entrepreneurs in the European Union;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 d (new)
Paragraph 26 d (new)
26d. Remarks that EIF kept its focus on the horizontal cohesion objective as well, mainly through joint investment programmes in connection with the EIF- National Promotion Institutions (NPI) Equity platform and benefitting with 39% of EIF financing entities in cohesion regions of the EU;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Welcomes the start of operational activity on 1 January 2022 of EIB Global, established following the decision of the EIB Board of Directors in September 2021 and entrusted with all the EIB’s activities in the enlargement region, the countries of the EU’s Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific; understands that EIB Global is intended to be the main financing arm of Team Europe, operating beyond the EU, combining the firepower of the EIB, EU Member States and other investment institutions working in concert with the EU; welcomes in that regard the opening of the EIB offices in Pretoria, Kyiv and Belgrade which will further contribute to the EIB Global’s goals; believes that it will give a key contribution to the goals of strengthening EU strategic autonomy and enhancing multilateral cooperation;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Encourages the EIB Global to pursue stronger local presence, adapting products and business models to local needs, and closer cooperation with partner institutions, to enhance the EU’s development impact in Team Europe under the mandates of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Praises the EIB’s rapid action to support Ukraine immediately after the outbreak of the warRussian war of aggression by disbursing EUR 1.7 billion in funds in 2022 under very difficult circumstances; notes that EUR 540 million remains to be disbursed as concrete projects on the ground progress; encourages the EIB to ensure its contribution through the EU for Ukraine Initiative to keep Ukraine’s economy afloat, to support the country’s reconstruction effort, in line with the mandate received on 15 December 2022 from the European Council;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Urges the EIB to ensure the strict conditionality linked to the financial assistance to Ukraine, including clear and comprehensive oversight over the spending of EU funds aimed for reconstruction and humanitarian aid; recalls in that respect the need for a systematic EU approach to ensure the better coordination of funds disbursement and enhanced monitoring over the funds spending;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Is aware that, under the Decree of the President of Ukraine No 64/2022, as of 24 February 2022 the military administrations are responsible for exercising the powers of the relevant local state administrations, as well as in de- occupied territories, resolving issues related to the preparation, approval, amendment and implementation of the local budget, management of property under communal ownership of the respective territorial community and, for short periods, adopting decisions on land development and the use of natural resources of local importance; believes that, in the current situation, the national management and audit authorities have limited resources and powers to ensure the standard level of transparency and adequate control over the financial resources deployed; urges the EIB to ensure participation of local people and democratically elected representatives of local self-government and to increase its oversight of implementing activities and pursue a strong monitoring role over the resources allocated in order to prevent the resources from being misappropriated or misused; calls on the EIB to establish its’ own monitoring and audit teams in Ukraine which would ensure the accuracy of auditing data related to all EU funded projects;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Calls on the EIB that funds from the EU for Ukraine Initiative are coordinated both with the European Commission, the World Bank and others within the G7 Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine as well as the Ukrainian regional and municipal authorities to ensure that we have a collaborative approach to meeting Ukraine’s urgent needs;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Warmly welcomes the EIB’s efforts and engagement in the Western Balkan countries which invested EUR 835.2 million in 2022 through the EIB Global, thus contributing to the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the region; notes the fact that more than 80% of the signed investments in 2022 went to environmentally sustainable projects; welcomes that since 2020 EIB’s investments in the region supporting the sustainable green and digital transition of local economies total EUR 2.5 billion; encourages the EIB Global to continue to provide access to finance at favourable terms for Western Balkans’ businesses investing in accelerating digital transformation and digital infrastructure, extension of the 5G telecommunications networks, sustainable urban development, speeding the energy transition and ensuring energy efficiency and renewable energy projects as well as climate-neutral projects; welcomes the launch of “WB EDIF Guarantee Facility for SME Resilience” to provide access to finance at favourable terms for some 4 000 small businesses in the region;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Remarks that in 2022 the EIB maintained its efforts to support actions to counter the pandemic; underlines that, in 2022, the EIB provided EUR 5.1 billion for health and life sciences projects that will benefit around 980 million people worldwide; appreciates that EIB has supported the global vaccine initiative COVAX, the international facility to ensure fair and universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, up to March 2022, with a total of EUR 900 million and, in April 2022, the EIB pledged an additional EUR 1 billion to support COVAX;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Remarks that the EIB Group has proven its flexibility when providing financial solutions for crisis situations and ability to act in a complementary manner to the large-scale, longer-term EU response to the pandemic crisis through Next Generation EU and national support for public investment;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Appreciates that the Procurement Complaints Committe (PCC), the Inspectorate General Investigations Division (IG/IN) and the Complaints Mechanism (IG/CM) hold complementary roles within the Inspectorate General, which facilitate cooperation and communication to cover all the possible allegations of prohibited conduct and procurement-related or non-procurement- related complaints;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 b (new)
Paragraph 34 b (new)
34b. Shares the view of the EIB Audit Committee (AC) calling for enhanced monitoring, management and oversight of operational and technology risks, including cyber risks and other non- financial risks;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Is concerned by the failings of EIF’s first and second lines of defence reported to the EIB Audit Committee by Internal Audit reports in December 2021 and January 2022; reiterates its calls on the EIB to adopt appropriate remedial actions and tonotes that Internal Audit provided in 2022 an overall positive opinion on the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of the EIF Internal Control Framework, which is material to ensuring mitigation of risks at acceptable level; welcomes the actions undertaken by EIF Risk Management and Compliance, following EP last year's recommendations referred to the remarks by EIB Internal Audit reports issued in 2021 and 2022; appreciates the major efforts made and the outcome of the action plan achieved via strong cooperation between EIF and EIB and stronger oversight role by Executive Management and the Group Chief Risk Officer; draws the attention of the EIF on the importance of keeping appropriate ratio of resources allocated to risk management compared to resources allocated to business; stresses the importance of the establishment of a robust EIF wide three lines model, and the update of the Risk Control Matrix, with a view to consolidating risk culture and setting clear lines of accountability; reiterates its calls on the EIB to adopt appropriate remedial actions and to timely inform the European Parliament about such activities;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Reiterates its call on the Bank to bridge the gap in salaries between the administrative and professional categories of staff; points out that the current situation and raising costs of living in Luxembourg put a significant pressure on the administrative staff and in the long can negatively impact the staff well-being and EIB’s competitiveness in attracting the best qualified staff;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 b (new)
Paragraph 40 b (new)
40b. Expresses concern about reports of non-transparent internal appointment procedures among managerial staff in the head-quarters and external offices; calls on the Bank to ensure all recruitment and internal mobility procedures are executed with observance to the highest transparency and ethics standards;