Accountability of European Investment Bank. How can Hungarian civil society take advantage. Anna Roggenbuck CEE Bankwatch Network

European Investment Bank Set up in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome House bank of the EU, a tool for policies financing Owned by 27 EU member states Active in more than 130 countries all over the world Fund: Transport, energy, water, industry, banking, R&D, oil, mining and gas, telecommunication,health and education, climate change mitigation and adaptation Annual budget – approximately 70 bilion Euro

Institutional statuts and governance n Operational independence - autonomous financial body, legal personality on Luxembourgish legislation n MS Ministers constitute its Board of Governors (general directives for the credit policy of the Bank, increase the subscribed capital, approve the annual report, approve the rules of procedure) n Board of Directors (27+1) - non-resident, meeting 10 times per year n Management Committee – real decision – making body

How does the EIB work?

Working within an institutional setup Council of European Union European Parliament European Commission European Court of Justice Court of Auditors European Ombudsman OLAF

EIB policies n Core policies: Statement of Environmental and Social Principles and Standards (2009) Complaints Mechanism Policy Transparency Policy  Sectoral policies: Transport Lending Policy Energy Policy Water Sector Lending Policy

Standards of EIB operations 1. Procedural standards: EIA, Habitat, IPPC, Environmental Liability Directive, „Aarhus regulation” 2. Emission standards: IPPC, BAT, Water Framework Directive 3. Ambient standards related to accumulated pollution in air, water and soil 4. Biodiversity: Habitat and bird Directives, Ramsar, Bonn and Bern Conventions 5. Standards on access to information 6. EU Chart on Fundamental Rights and UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights 7. Other social standards outside EU

Accountability mechanisms for EIB n Complaints Office based on Complaints Policy n European Ombudsman n Europan Court of Justice n EU Parliament Petition Committee

Why it is worth to use accountability mechanisms? n Low cost, quite fast n Independence from national administration n Compliance and problem solving functions n Additional pressure on national administration n A good tool to attract media and public attention n Impact on EIB’s policies, their interpretation and bank behaviour in the future