Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-21-Speech-4-012"
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"en.20021121.1.4-012"2
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"Madam President, President Maystadt, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the European Parliament for having once again taken the initiative of organising a debate on the work of the EIB. I would congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs van den Burg, on her extremely interesting and comprehensive report which emphasises the EIB’s role as the Community’s primary long-term financing institution for key sectors of the European Union, the candidate countries and other partner countries.
I would briefly like to consider the following four points: collaboration between the EIB and the Commission, the EIB’s work in the partner countries, the EIB’s work in the candidate countries, and the Tripartite Agreement between the EIB, the Court of Auditors and the Commission.
The first point: the EIB is a policy driven public bank. Its task, as President Maystadt himself pointed out, is to contribute to the achievement of the political goals of the European Union in cooperation with the Commission. In this respect, the Commission warmly welcomes the growing cooperation with the Bank in various priority sectors such as regional development and the environment, and also areas addressed by the ‘Innovation 2000 initiative’ such as research and development, the audiovisual sector and information technology.
The Commission supports the EIB Group’s consolidation of its activities concerning SMEs. It agrees with the European Parliament’s point of view whereby the Bank should adopt the Commission’s definition of SMEs.
The Commission acknowledges Parliament’s wish to evaluate the impact on SMEs of the ‘Multiannual Programme 2001 – 2005 on small and medium-sized enterprises’, known as the MAP. In this respect, the Commission intends to draw up an interim progress report on the MAP in 2003, including its impact on SMEs, as required by the Council decision on the MAP. Furthermore, again as required by the same decision, the Commission will submit an external assessment report to the Council and Parliament by the end of December 2004.
The second point: the EIB has increased its financing activities in partner countries, working in close cooperation with the Commission. In this context, the Mediterranean Investment and Partnership Facility, launched in Barcelona last October, will constitute an important initiative to boost economic development in bordering countries in the south. The Commission has given substantial backing to this initiative, pledging EUR 255 million of the Community budget over the next four years. Moreover, the EIB, again in conjunction with the Commission, is preparing to implement the new investment fund for ACP countries laid down by the Cotonou Agreement. As regards the Balkans, the Commission and the Bank are currently looking into the possibility of granting the Bank a mandate to operate in Kosovo.
The third point: with regard to the EIB’s work in the candidate countries, the Commission endorses Parliament’s view that absolute priority must be given to the Bank’s activities in these countries. We believe that the funding requirements are considerable and that the EIB and the EBRD must work closely together in order to contribute to the growth of the new Member States of the European Union.
With regard to the integration of the candidate countries into the EIB structure, the Commission is pleased to note that the Member States have, at last, reached an agreement on amendments to the Treaty with regard to the governance of the EIB and on its subscribed capital following accession. Once the agreement of the candidate countries has been obtained, this will enable the new Member States to be integrated into the EIB structure immediately after accession.
Lastly, the fourth and final point: a very brief comment on the Tripartite Agreement between the EIB, the Court of Auditors and the Commission. The Commission feels that the basic principles of the Tripartite Agreement reflect a fair balance between the rights of the Court of Auditors and those of the EIB, and that these principles must not be altered. As for the Community budget, in accordance with the Tripartite Agreement, the Court has access to a wide range of information about the Bank’s operations under mandate and is entitled to additional information whenever it so desires. The Commission warmly welcomes Parliament’s initiative calling on the interested parties to review the agreement, an initiative which will doubtless constitute an opportunity to update a number of technical and administrative aspects in the light of changes which have taken place."@en1
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