EIB can play a bigger role in European Economic Recovery, says BIPA Committee
In a report published today, Tuesday 24 February 2015 at the 50th Plenary of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Dublin, the Assembly’s European Affairs Committee says the European Commission must help the European Investment Bank to be less risk averse so it can step up its role supporting the EU’s economic recovery more confidently and assert more influence.
It also identifies the Northern Irish border area as a key region that could benefit from EIB supported major infrastructure projects, and calls on the UK and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive to work together to identify projects that can be presented to the EIB.
The Committee was inquiring into the work of the European Investment Bank and projects funded by it, specifically how the UK and Ireland have made use of the European Investment Bank and how the EIB can assist in creating jobs and long-term growth.
The Committee concludes:
· The Northern Irish border area could particularly benefit from infrastructure projects which should be supported by EIB funds. The UK and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive should work together to identify such projects for EIB funding
· The EIB, national governments and devolved institutions should do more to raise awareness of this source of funding, with a view to encouraging more localised projects to put themselves forward for consideration by the Bank.
· The UK and Irish Governments should reflect on examples of collaboration between different authorities in a region to see where joint working can bring forward successful projects.
· Where SMEs are seeking to gain EIB intermediated loans through national commercial banks, the governments should explore how it might be possible to de-risk these projects, and the EIB should inform the commercial banks of the type of activities these “on-loans” have been used for, so that the commercial banks might have more confidence in their decision making.
· One of the barriers to receiving funding from the EIB is the scale of a project: in some instances an initial small project has been “bundled” so that if it might be replicated in several areas, the scale of the project can be multiplied so as to meet the minimum limit for funding. Public authorities should assess whether they can take advantage of this type of bundling in order to overcome the scale barrier to EIB funding.
· The EIB is understandably risk averse: it should assess its levels of risk, the incidences of defaults on a loan, and explore with the European Commission how it might de-risk projects.
Robert Walter MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “The European Investment Bank is an institution with a key role to play in supporting the EU’s economic recovery – it is our view that the Bank has to step up that role more confidently and assert more influence.
“One area that could particularly benefit from infrastructure projects is on the Northern Ireland border. This is particularly the case for projects seeking to re-establish road, rail and communication networks. Such projects can help to strengthen and deepen cross-border cooperation, hopefully achieving a more prosperous region, and enhancing the quality of life for those living on the border. The UK and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive should work together to identify these type of projects that can be presented to the EIB for funding.”/ENDS