23 Amendments of Olivier CHASTEL related to 2019/2126(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication of 11 December 2019 on ‘The European Green Deal’ (COM(2019)0640),
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights the importance of the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase the current levels of investment in the EU, which are below historical averages and insufficient to fulfil the EU’s sustainability, social, economic and innovation ambitions; stresses that in order to achieve these ambitions, more risk- taking by the EIB may be necessary in parallel to increasing equity and the development of expertise in innovative funding instruments; calls for adequate capitalisation of the EIB to allow for the use of innovative instruments in the financing of projects with substantial potential sustainability, social and innovation gains in the financing of projects with substantial potential sustainability, social, economic, competitiveness and innovation gains;emphasizes the impact and additionalityof EIB to investments across the EU and appreciates its openness to cooperation with partners stated in their 2019 operational plan;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the Commission has set its commitment to tackle climate and environmental-related challenges as this generation’s defining task in the European Green Deal aiming at making Europe climate-neutral and protecting EU's natural capital;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission President-elect to turn sections of the EIB into a climate bank, and the commitments from the EIB President to increase the share of EIB financing for climate action and environmental sustainability to at least 50 % by 2025 and to align all EIB financing activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement by the end of 2020 and the principles of the upcoming EU Green Deal; calls on the Commission to present an ambitious new European Sustainable Investment Plan, including additional financial commitments, as soon as possible, and to fully support the EIB in its sustainability ambitions;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates the need to reduce the inequalities in the geographical distribution of EIB financing, given that 57% went to six Member States in 2018; calls for the facilitating of a fair and transparent geographical distribution of projects and investment, with a special focus on less- developed regions;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the key quantitative target of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of mobiliszing EUR 500 billion of additional private and public investment should be replaced by measurable targets on sustainability and social impact in future investment strategies; calls on the EIB to increase the share of EFSI and InvestEU financing to projects that substantially contribute to the EU’s sustainability and social objectiveare framed under either or both sustainability and infrastructure and social investment and skills windows; calls on the Commission to ensure that InvestEU’s sustainability-proofing methodologies are fully consistent with the EU’s sustainability objectives and that social projects evaluation criteria take into account the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the increase of provisioning under the Multiannual Financial Framework to be dedicated to advisory services and on the EIB to greatly strengthen the arrangements for providing technical assistance and financial expertise to local and regional authorities before project approval, in order to improve accessibility and involve all Member States;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes the EIB's timely efforts to support the projects it is financing in their implementation stage (by providing experts and support instruments and by producing preparatory studies); asks the EIB and the Commission to work together to draw up proposals for more systematic involvement of the EIB's teams in project implementation in countries which request this, particularly in areas requiring advanced expertise or which are of strategic importance to the Union, such as the fight against climate change;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Emphasizes the key role that EIB plays in EU’s objective to compete in global economy through enhanced innovation and further adoption of digital technologies; calls on the EIB to further promote and provide financial support for investment in digital technologies, digital skills of employees and entrepreneurs, digital infrastructure and capacity- building for entities that require support throughout the digitalization process;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Takes note of the results of the EIB investment report 2019/2020 with regards to the SMEs and mid-caps finance; stresses the need to develop increased efforts and methods to facilitate access to finance for SMEs and mid-caps across the EU territory and welcomes in this sense the EIB role in the SMEs window budget guarantee of the InvestEU Fund; calls on the EIB to continue and improve its work to tackle barriers to the entry and growth of young SMEs, mid- caps, start-ups and scale-ups and the disparities across countries in the external financing for EU small businesses;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the EIB group to be more transparent about its economic operations, its use of the EU budget guarantee, the additionality of EIB operations and on possible future plans for a development subsidiary at the EIB, and for the EIB group to improve its accountability on these issues; calls on the EIB to further communicate and promote through their liaison offices in the Member States its instruments to national and local public and private actors; calls for a memorandum of understanding between the EIB and Parliament to improve access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in the future in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability.
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the decisions taken on 14 November 2019 by the EIB’s Management Board to align the EIB’s policies with the goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels; recalls that the transformation of the EIB into a Climate Bank can only be achieved if the EIB aligns all its operations with the objectives of the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is of the opinion that the EIB should require its intermediary clients to disclose their exposure to fossil fuels, and should gradually apply restrictions to heavily exposed intermediaries; expects that, by the end of 20205, all intermediaries will have a decarbonisation plan, which is indispensable for their financing to continue;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Is of the opinion that, in line with best practices in the commercial banking sector3 , EIB financing should be subject to ambitious scientific objectives and commitments science-based transition plan with clear targets and time-based commitments to align with the Paris Agreement, with a view to phasing out its support to clients whose activities lead to significant GHG emissions; _________________ 3 Crédit Agricole has undertaken to end support for undertakings which develop or plan to develop their activities in the coal sector. Crédit Agricole’s zero tolerance policy applies to all enterprises which develop or plan to develop their activities in the coal sector, ranging from extraction and energy production, to trade and transport.
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the new EIB energy lending policy and the example it sets for other banks; regrets that exceptions are applicable to the approval of gas projects until the end of 2021 and that support for gas projects planned for the transport of low-carbon gases is set to continue; calls for this policy to be reviewed in the medium term (by the start of 2022) to close the gaps in gas infrastructure to bring it in line with the European Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and the European Green Pact, and to be consistent with the development of appropriate new external actions in the EU; stresses the risk to invest in stranded assets via loans to fossil fuel infrastructure; calls, therefore, on the EIB to adopt a cautious approach in terms of support for fossil fuel projects;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Insists that the EIB urgently and fully implement the principle of energy efficiency first in all its energy lending, taking into account the impact of energy efficiency on future demand and its contribution to energy security;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for rigorous policies to be implemented in carbon-intensive industrial sectors in which the EIB is active, such as cement, petrochemicals and steel, with a view to phasing out all ‘brown’ loans and aligning all sectoral loans, focusing on the promotion of a circular economy based on non-toxic material cycles;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reminds the EIB that biodiversity protection is a key element of adaptation to climate change and that the restoration of ecosystems is the only proven technology when it comes to negative emissions; calls on the EIB to commit to ending the financing of projects which contribute to the loss and degradation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and to increase substantially its funding to achieve the EU’s objectives in this area, in particular the objective of zero net deforestation, and the objectives ofo support pro-biodiversity and adaptation actions, key ecosystem services such as pollination, green infrastructure and marine and coastal protection;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses that, in order to achieve these ambitions, the EIB may need to take further risks, in addition to increasing its own funds and building expertise in innovative financing instruments; calls for the EIB and the EU Member States to ensure it has adequate resources, including appropriate capitalisation, to enable it to use innovative instruments to finance projects with significant potential to produce sustainable, social and innovative gains;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Urges the EIB, the largest multilateral lender in the world, to maintain its leading role in future EU financing mechanisms for third countries; opposes the recent initiatives to encourage the EIB to be more active in defence and security, migration management and border control;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. RecommendUnderlines that the EIB recrushould strengthen its human rights specialists pool and extend its local staff in partner countries so that it has a better understanding of local situations and can monitor any abuses;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Calls on the EIB to follow best practices and extend the principle of free, prior, and informed consent to all affected communities in case of land and natural resource-based investments, as distinct from only addressing indigenous peoples;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the fact that, as recommended in the latest Parliament reports, public summaries are now to be made of Management Board meetings; stresses the need to publish the content of meetings of all the EIB’s governing bodies systematically; calls on the EIB to disclose more details on the outcomes of its Board of Directors votes;