Counter Balance

Brussels – As EU Ministers of Finance are currently gathering at the Annual General Meeting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to discuss a possible capital increase, civil society organisations that monitor the EIB say the bank is not ready for such a move. “First and foremost, the quality of EIB lending has to improve, [...]

Caught in the narrow debate between growth and austerity, the EIB is put forward by some policy makers as one of the few alternatives to budget cuts and fiscal orthodoxy. Meanwhile the real question of whether the bank is actually able to lead the EU out of the current crisis and into a sustainable – [...]

The EIB is the European Union’s house bank, committed to furthering the EU’s goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and by 80-95 percent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. Energy represents the second largest lending category in the bank’s overall portfolio which has reached 60 billion Euros in 2011. However [...]

On the Eve of the EIB’s 54th Annual General Meeting Bankwatch and Counter Balance wrote a letter to EIB governors regarding the discussion on a possible capital increase. We asked the governors to put any decision on granting a capital increase on hold “pending  a  clear demonstration of the quality of its operations, especially with [...]

The Annual General Meeting of the European Investment Bank on May 15 will be dominated by the discussion about whether or not to increase the capital of the EU Bank. But is the EIB ready for such a move? Caught in the narrow debate between growth and austerity, the EIB is put forward by some [...]

At EU level a new platform to “improve coordination of EU development and external cooperation actions” is in the making. We can only applaud attempts to improve the effectiveness of EU activities, especially when it comes to development. However we have submitted some suggestions about what to improve, how it can be done and what [...]