The role of the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the Union’s financing institution which contributes to European integration, development and cohesion by financing projects in support of EU policies. Although the majority of projects financed by the EIB are located within the EU, the EIB also carries out operations outside the Union. The EIB is managed by the Board of Governors, the Board of Directors and the Management Committee.
Board of directors
The EIB Board of Directors consists of 29 Directors, which include a representative of each Member State and the Commission, and 19 Alternate Directors. In accordance with the EIB Statute, the Commission designates one Director and one Alternate Director to the EIB's Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors meets ten times a year. Its main tasks are to:
- ensure that the EIB is managed in keeping with the European Treaties, the EIB’s statute and the directives laid down by the governors
- approve the granting of loans
- authorise the conclusion of guarantees and borrowings
- recommend changes in the Bank’s credit policy to the Board of Governors
- approve EIB's operational policies
The opinion of the Commission must be sought for all EIB operations financed from own resources before being presented to the EIB Board of Directors for approval. The role of the Commission is to provide an opinion on the conformity of the proposed investments with relevant EU legislation and policies. Aspects such as project profitability and financial risk are outside the scope of the Article 19 procedure and remain the EIB's sole responsibility.
EIB mandates
The EU has given to the EIB a number of mandates to perform certain lending operations under an EU budgetary guarantee covering the period 2014-2020, including the EIB external lending mandate which covers the EIB operations outside the EU.
Investment Plan for Europe
The Commission together with the EIB launched in November 2014 the Investment Plan for Europe, a comprehensive strategy designed to remove obstacles and foster investments in the Union. Along with economic reforms, fiscal responsibility of the Member States and the removal of barriers to complete the Single Market, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the key financial component, aiming to address existing market failures and sub-optimal investment conditions.
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
Under the EFSI Agreement, the Commission is providing an EU guarantee to the EIB for projects supported by the EFSI. Projects supported by the EFSI are subject to the normal EIB project cycle and governance. In addition, EFSI has its own dedicated governance structure which has been set in place to ensure that investments made under EFSI remain focused on the specific objective of addressing the market failure in risk-taking which hinders investment in Europe.
The European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) aims to enhance the non-financial support for projects and investments. The EIAH consists of three complementary components:
- a point of entry to a wide range of advisory and technical assistance programmes and initiatives for public and private beneficiaries
- a cooperation platform to leverage, exchange and disseminate expertise among partner institutions
- a reinforcement or extension of existing advisory services or creation of new ones to address unmet needs