Campagna per la Riforma della Banca
Mondiale * CEE Bankwatch Network * Friends of
the Earth International * Les Amis de la
Terre
EIB external lending mandate needs
safeguards to avoid controversial
projects
Following a report in today´s Financial
Times [1] about expected EU agreement on a
wider lending programme for the European
Investment Bank (EIB) outside the EU, NGOs
have warned that if such a move takes place
without the rapid phasing in of better
procedures and safeguard policies at the EIB
then there is a real risk of an increased
number of controversial projects outside the
EU.
The proposal for the extension prepared by
the European Commission and the EIB envisages
the bank´s external lending to be as much as
EUR 33 billion for the 2007-2013 period,
though the Council is likely to reduce this
figure to EUR 27.8 billion.
NGOs who have scrutinised the EIB´s
activities for more than ten years argue that
for the EIB to deliver on development and
help countries outside the EU the bank needs
to undertake profound reforms and establish
clear and transparent procedures and
safeguards. They are calling for the EIB
to:
-
Adopt a human rights approach in order
to respect human rights, food security,
labour rights and indigenous peoples´
rights in accordance with relevant
international laws and conventions while
ensuring that all projects adhere to best
practice international environmental
standards and procedures; this entails the
establishment within the EIB of proper
monitoring tools, control mechanisms and
potential sanctions to ensure that the
EIB´s clients follow these
requirements.
-
Establish clear procedures on public
consultations with affected people and
civil society in the very first phase of
project screening as well as during
preparation and implementation , in
accordance with international best
practices.
-
Ensure that all future financed projects
contribute to meeting the Millennium
Development Goals of the UN while
prohibiting support for projects that are
inherently incoherent with poverty
alleviation and sustainability, including
those such as:
-
Projects that involve the
significant conversion or degradation
of critical natural habitats, support
the destructive exploitation of natural
resources, or involve the production of
substances that are banned or scheduled
to be phased out of production; oLarge
dams that do not comply with the World
Commission on Dams criteria;
-
Extractive industry projects and
nuclear power plants;
-
Water projects involving
multinationals when opposed by local
communities;
-
Large scale industrial tree
plantations.
-
Adopt an independent accountability and
compliance mechanism, which provides equal
access for people in all regions where the
EIB operates to voice their concerns, where
necessary, directly to the EIB.
-
Increase EIB experts human resources to
deal with the growing lending outside
EU.
Magda Stoczkiewicz, Policy coordinator of
CEE Bankwatch Network, said: "For the EIB to
deliver on development issues and support EU
goals such as sustainable development or
poverty eradication it needs to implement a
range of vital measures to ensure quality
projects with positive impacts for people and
the environment. If it doesn´t then this new
injection of EU money will be rather a blank
cheque from taxpayers to support European
companies expanding into Latin America, Asia
and the Mediterranean. Some of these
companies, for example Spanish construction
companies, are already licking their lips in
expectation."
For more information,
contact:
Magda Stoczkiewicz
CEE Bankwatch Network
Tel: +32 475867637
Antonio Tricarico
Campagna per la Riforma della Banca
Mondiale
Tel : +393288485448
Majda Bouchanine
Les Amis de la Terre/ Friends of the Earth
France Tel : +334 902 532 04
Longenna Ginting
Friends of the Earth International
Tel : +31 618846365
Notes for editors:
1. `Wider lending role for EIB supported´,
Financial Times, November 21, 2006
2. In particular, Goal 1: Eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger; and Goal 7: Ensure
Environmental Sustainability.
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