Tag: EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has raised the bar on criteria that must be met for funding future fossil-fuel projects in a new energy lending policy, approved by bank shareholders – mostly EU member states – at a board meeting in Luxembourg on 23 July. 

The European Investment Bank’s draft lending policy guidelines offer a significant step forward for environmentally responsible practice and must be supported, writes Ingrid Holmes.

An annual European Investment Bank (EIB) conference in Brussels on 28 February was eclipsed by colourful protests against a controversial EIB-funded Slovenian coal plant, described by a senior bank source as “one of those projects that tends to haunt you”.

The European Investment Bank has been accused of funding the fossil fuel industry with €16 billion of loans since 2007, more than that stumped up for any other energy source. 

Countries facing huge public debt and diminishing resources will have a hard time earmarking money for innovation, but other means do exist, argues Eva Srejber, vice-president of the European Investment Bank, in a commentary sent to EurActiv.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) yesterday (14 June) agreed to explore a joint climate finance initiative to provide funding for developing countries. They also made public a political agreement on mobilising billions for clean energy projects from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme reserves.

The EU has stepped up its investment in the venture capital industry and will make a €1 billion fund available by the end of 2012, European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen told EurActiv in an interview.

An organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Europe wants a rethink of EU funding for regional projects to make them more accessible to small firms.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) may be dolling out billions of euros in loans to small businesses, but it has no intention of behaving like a commercial bank, Philippe de Fontaine Vive, EIB vice-president, told EurActiv France in an interview.

SMEs seeking loans to keep them afloat are facing stricter conditions than earlier this year, with banks favouring larger firms, Erik Sonntag, advisor for entrepreneurship and SMEs at BusinessEurope, told EurActiv in an interview.

A special €5 billion loan guarantee scheme to encourage banks to extend credit to small businesses has been proposed by the association representing European chambers of commerce. The fund would be administered by the European Investment Bank and could see up to €350 billion in loans allocated to SMEs.

Investment by EU member states in major national industries will trickle down to smaller companies as well benefiting large firms, the European Commission's SME envoy told EurActiv in an interview.

Over two thirds of European businesses face growing difficulties in accessing credit, and as a consequence, 45% will decrease their investment activities over the next six months. The repercussions for workers could be severe, with 35% of companies warning that they may be forced to cut staff.

The European Commission is looking at ways of increasing the EU's financial resources to fight the ongoing financial turmoil and avert a potential long period of recession across the continent, with high unemployment and low consumption.

EU finance ministers agreed over the weekend to increase the European Investment Bank's role in supporting small businesses, as tightening credit conditions threaten to trigger an economic recession. The EIB should also become more involved in coordinating the financing of large energy projects, the ministers decided.

The European Investment Bank is organising its annual Forum in Dublin on 23-24 October to present its investment strategies on sustainability in the energy and water sector.

Through capital increase and streamlined lending policies, the European Investment Bank is preparing for the EU of 25.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the main lending institution of the EU, has announced plans to increase its loans to Central and Eastern Europe by 50 per cent in the final year before accession. The EIB lent 2.6 billion euro for development projects in the ten Central and East European candidate countries in 2001.