BETA

28 Amendments of Bas EICKHOUT related to 2016/2099(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)

- having regard to the Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) 2015/1017 as regards the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as well as the introduction of technical enhancements for that Fund and the European Investment Advisory Hub,

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

- having regard to the EIB report on the Evaluation of the functioning of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) of September 2016,

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

- having regard to the letters sent by the European Ombudsman to the EIB on the 22nd of February 2016 and 22nd of July 2016,

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas the EIB, as the institution responsible for the implementation of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), should ~~maintain~~improve its focus on projects with long term economic benefits that generate much needed quality jobs in order to deliver solid financial results and a high quality of asset portfolio;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas the EIB should help address regional inequalities on the basis of financing sound investment projects without interfering with or replacing pre- existing programs with the same purpose; whereas, in particular, the EIB should devise additional ways of sustaining the economic development of countries that have had to apply a stabilisation programme;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses that, on top of a general negative trend in gross capital formation relative to GDP over the last two decades punctuated only by temporary increases associated with credit bubbles, the current crisis has significantly weakened potential growth in the European economy and that one of the main factors is the decline in public and private investment in the EU, to approximately 18 % below 2007 levels as a result of the lack of concerted fiscal stimulus by MS needed to restore demand and financial markets that are still too fragile to support the real economy through the cycle; in extreme cases such as Greece and Portugal the declining public and private investment has reached alarming levels and, according to the OECD, gross national income (GNI) has declined by 65 % in Greece and by 35 % in Portugal from 2007 levels;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Underlines the fact that the strengthening of EU competitiveness depends among other things on an increase in public and private investment, especially in ~~innovation~~sustainable transport, communications and energy infrastructure, innovation, resource and energy efficiency and digitalisation;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Takes the view that an increase in EIB lending activity could be achieved through better diversification of its product range, including greater use of public- private partnerships (PPP) and other innovative instruments in order to better address market needs; calls on the EIB to re-evaluate the private-public partnerships with a view to determining whether a greater focus on alternative funding instruments and, in particular. on boosting private investment could make public-private partnerships more effective;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the EIB to increase its support to EU countries under adjustment programmes in order to contribute to jump- start~~ing~~ their economiesc recovery and transition to a sustainable economy;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Particularly welcomes the fact that total~~Notes the fact that, in September 2016 total expected investment in EFSI approvals amounts to EUR 1~~15.7~~05 billion, which is equivalent to 373 % of the original target value (EUR 315 billion) but only 66 billion or 20% has been signed meaning that, even if the optimistic multiplier effect materialises, disbursements are disappointingly slow despite the fact that last year the EIF agreed with the Commission and the EIB to use EFSI to front-load the roll-out of existing EC or EIB mandates through the SME window;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Is very concerned that, in the opinion to the EIB's own Operations Evaluation department and agreed by the EIB's management, the EFSI portfolio after one year of operations is highly geographically concentrated. Under the infrastructure window, 63% of the total amount signed is in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and 91% in EU15 countries and under the SME window, 54% of the amount signed (excluding multi-country operations) is in Italy, France and Germany and 93% in EU15 countries; Calls on the EIB and Commission to proceed urgently to ensure operations are targeted where the gaps in investment, output and employment are greatest;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Is concerned that according to the EIB's own Operations Evaluation department, the EIB believes that the fact that project applications are presented serially to the investment committee, means it cannot fulfil its obligation under the EFSI regulation to use the scoreboard as a prioritisation tool; Believes that not respecting this requirement raises the question as to whether the EU taxpayer- funded Guarantee is being optimally used. Calls on the EIB and Commission to ensure that the IC's modus operandi is changed in order to address the non- compliance with Union law;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)

16c. Is concerned about the Commission proposal requiring the highest risk-taking tranche of the investment to be covered by ESI Funds instead of EFSI when the instruments are combined; Believes that this leads to legal uncertainty in the use of ESI Funds, and runs counter to the initial EFSI rationale to provide for new risk-bearing capacity for EU investment;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)

16d. Welcomes the proposal by the Commission for increased transparency in EFSI 2.0 through the obligation for the Investment Committee to explain in its decisions, made public and accessible, the reasons why it deems that a certain operation should be granted the EU guarantee and through the publication of the scoreboard of indicators once an operation under the EU guarantee is signed; believes that this information should be made available as soon as possible even before it becomes obligatory under revised legislation;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 e (new)

16e. Urges the Commission and the EIB to step-up efforts to develop a robust set of criteria that operationalise appropriately the verification of additionality and to communicate clearly to the European Parliament and other stakeholders in its reporting the grounds upon which major projects are considered to fulfil that requirement;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. 24. Welcomes the ~~growing~~ involvement of the EIB ~~with~~in addressing climate change, which was related to 50 % of the projects approved in 2015; climate finance totalled EUR 20.6 billion, the largest ever annual amount invested in it by the EIB; deplores however that the total financing of fossil fuel projects increased from 2 billion euro in 2013 to 2.5 billion euro in 2015 compared to a decrease in lending to renewable energy with 21%;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Calls for a rapid and complete phase out of lending to fossil fuel projects; expresses its concern about the massive amount of investment in gas related projects, incompatible with the 2 degree scenario;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)

24b. Points out that in 2015 there was just 3.6 billion in energy efficiency efficiency lending by the EIB; Calls for a significant increase; Calls for the recruitment of additional experts on energy efficiency and to step up technical assistance in the field of energy efficiency;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)

24c. Calls on the EIB to follow the recommendations of the COM and the Waste Framework Directive and to prioritise investment in projects aimed at the top of the waste hierarchy such as waste prevention, waste preparation for re-use and recycling and to phase out investment in end of pipeline infrastructure such as landfills, mechanical treatment plants, incinerators;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 d (new)

24d. Calls for the EIB to conduct an audit of the skills of its current members to assess whether there is sufficient experience and expertise in relation to investment in projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, the circular economy;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 e (new)

24e. Urges the EIB to present a comprehensive phase-out plan of its lending for non-renewable energy in order to support European commitments to climate action;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6 a (new)

Accountability, transparency and the fight against fraud and tax evasion

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 f (new)

24f. Urges the EIB to act on the European Ombudsman's recommendations concerning proactive disclosure of the minutes of EIB and EIF Boards of Directors' meetings and publication of the details of the Bankʹs plans to progressively develop its Public Register, disclosure of how conflict of interest assessments are performed before members of the Board of Directors and Management Committee are appointed, requiring Board members to request prior authorisation from the ECC before undertaking a new activity and an assessment of whether cooling-off periods of six months for the Board of Directors and 12 months for the Management Committee reflect best practice, particularly given the publicʹs increasing interest in and concern about potential 'revolving door' issues;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 g (new)

24g. Reminds the EIB of the fact that, in 2014, the European Parliament expressed regret at the lack of diversity in the management committee, the board of governors and the board of directors of the EIB, in particular with regard to gender; repeats its call upon the EIB to implement the spirit of the Capital Requirements Directive, Article 88(2) of which obliges banks to 'decide on a target for the representation of the underrepresented gender in the management body and prepare a policy on how to increase the number of the underrepresented gender in the management body in order to meet that target. The target, policy and its implementation shall be made public';

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 h (new)

24h. Deplores the fact that the EIB has failed to follow up on the Parliament's recommendation to refrain from cooperation with financial intermediaries having a negative track record in terms of transparency, tax evasion or aggressive tax planning practices, or use of other harmful tax practices such as 'tax rulings' and abusive transfer pricing, fraud, corruption or environmental and social impacts, or with no substantial local ownership; calls on the EIB to draw up a list of final borrowers in cooperation with the local financial intermediaries and to make all EIB funding via intermediaries contingent upon the disclosure of beneficial ownership information, as is already the case for EFSI operations.

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 i (new)

24i. Insists that, where the EIB has provided financing to firms or projects that have broken EU law, that it investigate whether the illegal activities benefited from EIB financing and proceeds to recover all or part of the monies concerned; considers it to be essential that a bank charged with the pursuit of public policy assess the compliance record with EU law of prospective borrowers and refuse financing to firms guilty of significant or repeated offenses.

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 j (new)

24j. Calls on the EIB to provide an explanation of the steps it undertook to safeguard biodiversity on the site of the construction of the S-7 expressway in Poland; takes note that this project, signed by the bank, is subject to the infringement procedure EU Pilot 8130/15 / ENVI. Calls on the EIB to refrain from financing the project unless the project guarantees the protection of biodiversity;

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 k (new)

24k. Calls for the improvement of the EIB's complaint mechanism notably by improving its accessibility, independency and by increasing resources to deal with the growing number of complaints and their increasing complexity, calls on the EIB to revise its current whistleblowing policy in order to ensure it covers external complaints.

2016/10/24
Committee: ECON