11 Amendments of Markus PIEPER related to 2020/2245(INI)
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes EIB Group Update on COVID-19 in the EIB Financial Report 2019, shedding light on the emergency response package adopted in 2020 to support the SME and mid-cap sectors in the Union, encompassing liquidity lines and guarantee schemes for banks and asset- backed securities purchase programs and considering the creation of a European Guarantee Fund (EGF) focused on financing support to SMEs; urges the EIB to require companies supported by the European Guarantee Fund or other funding programmes put in place to tackle the COVID-19 crisis to comply with binding social and environmental conditions, including the adoption of decarbonisation plans, as to increase their resilience, and to refrain to pay out dividends, bonuses and share buy backs for at least the next 2 years after benefiting from support;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. WelcomNotes the Energy Lending Policy agreed by the EIB Board of Directors in November 2019 and in particular the decision to end financing for fossil fuel energy projects; notes howeverwelcomes that gas infrastructure projects included in the 4th list of Projects of Common Interest and gas projects already under appraisal by 14 November 2019 are not excluded from EIB financing until the end of 2021; points to the Ombudsman Decision in case 1991/2019/KR including the observation that the sustainability of gas on the PCI List were not properly assessed; expresses its concern that in 2019 the EIB provided 604welcomes that the 685 million euro of financing to oil and natural gas transmission and distribution; stresses that these projects are at risk of contributing to a lock-in of carbon intensive infrastructure and stranded assets; calls on the EIB to assess and address these riskswere subject to systematic environmental and climate due diligence;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that under the current Energy Lending Policy, gas-fired power plants and gas network projects that are planned to transport low carbon gas are eligible under the condition of a ‘credible plan’; calls on the EIB to specify the criteria for these plans to be considered credible in order to avoid the risk of supporting gas projects which are not aligned with climate targets;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that in 2019 the EIB supported several projects involving hydropower; expresses its concern about shortcomings in the environmental impact assessment of EIB-financed hydropower projects; welcomes the Environmental, Climate and Social Guidelines on Hydropower Development; calls on the EIB to enhance transparency of EIB operations involving financial intermediaries to identify and avoid potential negative environmental or human rights’ impacts to hydropower operations both inside and outside the EUwelcomes the Environmental, Climate and Social Guidelines on Hydropower Development; welcomes that the EIB is currently upgrading its reporting requirements for intermediated lending to account for alignment with the Paris Agreement and the EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance; stresses that such new requirements should not be at the detriment of access to finance for SMEs;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 68 #
21. Notes that the financing provided within the Union in 2019 for transport was higher than in 2018 (EUR 9 325 million against EUR 8 237 million in 2018) and that contraction of financing for road and motorways was offset by increases in financing of railways and air transport; stresses the importance of aligning the Transport Lending Policy and the EIB’s transport portfolio with the Climate Bank Roadmap, in particular the decarbonisation of the transport sector by 2050; regrets the EIB’s support in 2019 to airport expansions in several Member States; welcomes the EIB’s commitment to pull back from financing airport capacity expansion; calls for the upcoming revision of the Transport Lending Policy to explicitly exclude financing of projects locking-in carbon intensive, in particular the expansion of airports and infrastructure for Liquefied Natural Gas, to limit the financing of motorways; calls for the Policy to increase support for modal shifts towards zero-carbon mobility both for freight and passengers at urban and inter-urban level, such as rail, safe cycling and clean public transport, in particular for underserved communities and localities, and for renewables-based electrification infrastructure;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37 a. Recalls that Art. 287 (3) TFEU defines the Court’s audit powers in relation to the EIB; recalls that the Court is competent to audit the EIB's activity in managing Union expenditure and revenue; recalls that the Audit Committee is competent to audit the EIB’s share capital according to Art. 12 of Protocol 5 (Statute of the EIB); recalls that Art 308 (3) TFEU allows the Council to amend the Protocol on the Statute of the EIB by simple decision without a full Treaty revision; emphasises the increased importance under the new MFF of EU guarantees and other financial instruments managed by the EIB; calls therefore on the Council to amend Art. 12 of Protocol 5 to give the ECA a role in auditing the EIB’s share capital; notes that the current tripartite agreement between the Commission, the EIB and the Court concerning audits of operations which are financed or backed by the Union budget expires in 2020; calls on the Commission, the Court and the EIB to enhance the role of the Court and further strengthen its auditing powers regarding activities of the EIB in the renewal of the tripartite agreement governing the rules of engagement;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Points out that the Union has increasingly made use of financial instruments and budgetary guarantees provided to the EIB Group; recalls that, at present, the EIB Group operations not financed by the Union budget, but which still serve the same Union objectives, do not come under the Court’s audit mandate; points out that this results in the Court being unable to provide a complete overview of the links between the EIB Group operations and the Union budget; asks for a Memorandum of Understanding between the EIB Group and the Parliament to improve Parliament’s access to EIB documents and data related to strategic orientation and financing policies in order to strengthen the Bank’s accountability; asks for the revision of the current Tripartite Agreement between the Commission, EIB and the Court with a view to define rules of engagement which enhance the role of the Court and further strengthen its auditing powers regarding EIB operations financed with EIB’s share capital;