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cee bankwatch network, friends of
the earth international, mouvement
ecologique- foe luxemburg
luxembourg, 3 june 2003
ngos call on the european investment
bank’s governors for substancial changes in
information policy.
more transparency is essential!
Three 'monkeys of truth' met EIB Governors
attending the Annual Meeting in the Bank's
headquarter in Luxembourg this morning. The
Monkeys, covering respectively their ears,
eyes and mouth were sent to convey the
message: EIB – sees no problem, hears no
complaints, gives no information. This action
brings to public’s attention the highly
non-transparent EIB behaviour and need to
reform the Bank. NGOs presented a call to the
Governors of the Bank and President Maystadt
asking for greater efforts in fostering
timely and adequate access to information on
the bank's operations for affected
communities and the general public. The call
has been supported by more than 100 NGOs from
all over the world.
Magda Stoczkiewicz, campaign coordinator
for CEE Bankwatch Network/Friends of the
Earth International, explained: "EIB is a
public institution behaving like a private
entity from 50 years ago. Its new information
policy, which we hoped would be an important
step towards the Bank's openness, is filled
with "non-committal phrases" promising to
release information "whenever possible" and
"as early as feasible". It does not provide a
solid basis for affected communities or
interested public to execute their right to
information. “At the same time,” continues
Stoczkiewicz, “the Bank favours the interests
of its clients over the interests of affected
citizens. Clients, including private
companies, decide if information about the
project they sought financing for is released
or not. This is unacceptable."
In the call NGOs demand, among other
things, that the EIB ensures that affected
communities are adequately and timely
informed and consulted before the approval of
projects and throughout the life of the
projects, that all relevant documents are
made public at least 60 days before public
consultations, and that the EIB support only
projects that enjoy the demonstrable free and
previously informed consent of all affected
communities. The procedure in which the EIB
Board decides about the loan prior to EIA
process is also unacceptable, say NGOs.
Another set of demands refers to ensuring the
transparency of the Bank's internal
procedures.
Peter Mihok from CEPA, a Slovakian member
group of CEE Bankwatch network and Friends of
the Earth, explains the practical impacts of
the present EIB policy: "the EIB keeps on
refusing to release the conditions of a 200
million Euro loan that the Bank provided to
the Railways of the Slovak Republic in 1999,
arguing that it is up to the promoter and
national authorities to release it. At the
same time Slovak authorities point out the
provision of business confidentiality that
the EIB loan agreement contains. We, the
affected citizens, feel as if we live in a
Kafka novel.” The loan to Slovak Railways
apparently contains a set of conditions
detrimental to the railway sector; such as
the dismantling of a part of regional
infrastructure, significant cuts in public
subsidies, and a planned reduction in one
third of railway employees. Recent closures
of a number of regional lines has already led
to the first ever strike since the fall of
communist regime. The EIB denies its
responsibility in the matter while at the
same time refusing to disclose the loan
agreement. Antonio Tricarico from Campagna
per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale, Italy
argues: "the EIB should be a subject of the
Aarhus Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation and Access to Justice.
However, due to its dual status as an EU
institution and a bank, the EIB tries to
avoid that obligation. The European
Commission and Council should ensure that the
Bank is clearly bound by Aarhus."
As the EIB originally did not plan to
organize its own press conference for the
occasion of its Governors' gathering, NGOs
invited President Maystadt to join their
press conference and inform the public about
the outcomes of the General Meeting. However,
the response which we received on May 28th
was negative, informing NGOs that the
President has other important matters and
that a press release will be sufficient. On
May 31st we found out from the information on
the EIB’s web site that the Bank finally
decided to hold a press conference. "Good
that the EIB has reconsidered their decision
about the press conference. However this is a
good example of a typical EIB behaviour, we
need to have clear rules on access to
information and documents in the Bank and not
leave it up to someone’s changing mood as it
is now” - sums up Magda Stoczkiewicz.
Full text of the NGO call
and list of signatories
read more
about the eib
For more information contact: Magda
Stoczkiewicz, mobile +31 652 41 03 23
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