User:Caputo Gabriele/sandbox

Strategies Outside the Union

The European Investment Bank is continuously seeking to boost its relations with the rest of the world through the promotion of selected lending projects.

When dealing with Non-EU countries, the EIB strategy has a wide range of objectives intended to work specifically on economic convergence through the development of local economic and social infrastructures. The EIB-supported projects also aim to build long-term resilience of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and promote regional integration, bearing in mind the need to converge economic and environmental criteria to minimize climate change.

The EIB carries on its activities on multi-faceted frameworks that include different countries. The work of the Bank entails a division among:


 * EU Neighboring countries (Southern and Eastern); 
 * Pre-accession countries;
 * African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP);
 * Asian and Latin American countries (ALA).

In this regard, the Bank relies on three valuable instruments: the External Lending Mandate (ELM), the ACP-EU Cotonou Mandate, and its Own Risk Facilities (ORF).

The EIB does not only operate through lending projects but also makes use of equity investments. Moreover, it has become increasingly important for the Bank to channel additional funds provided by external donors into its own projects. This is to ensure greater sustainability and quality of EIB loans.

By strengthening its commitment outside the EU, the EIB thus contributes to the EU External action and enhances its relations with the Commission by making frequent use of EU Blending facilities.

Climate Policies

With the implementation of the 2015 Climate Strategy, the European Investment Bank (EIB) initiated an environment-friendly transition through a selection of qualitative and quantitative lending strategies which aimed at tackling pollution.

Following the Paris Agreement, the European Investment Bank has strived to align its financial flows and interests to the approach developed by COP 21 in Paris. Indeed, differently from other financial institutions, the Bank increased its level of green ambitions aiming at progressive fossil fuels divestment.

As a consequence, the Bank has undertaken to progressively incorporate new priorities and goals in the 2019 Energy Lending Policy, thus expanding its own portfolio by:


 * Aligning activities to Paris Agreement Standards by the end of 2020;


 * Dedicating at least 50% of investments to climate action operations starting from 2025;
 * Calculating estimated support of 1 trillion Euros for green projects during the period from 2021 to 2030;
 * Eliminating all forms of investment in fossil fuels projects by the beginning of 2022.

Equally important is the collaboration between the EIB and EU Member States, especially in those countries whose economy is largely fossil fuels dependent: the EIB has developed a new financial framework (Energy Transition Package) specifically intended to modernize national economies through ad-hoc plans that would ease energy transitions away from fossil fuels.

Today, the need for a greener EU finance has been incorporated into the agenda of Governments and EU’s financial institutions such as the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). However, the EIB autonomously operates the majority of EU Climate finance both within and outside the EU.

With the introduction of the European Green Deal, the EIB plan to achieve EU green goals comes through a multi-faceted commitment in renewing the environment and energy sector, therefore widening the Bank‘s contribution to the EU’s ambitious plan towards climate neutrality.

Accordingly, the European Green Deal Investment Plan (EGDIP) has attributed the Bank a key role in bolstering EU Green Deal’s goals. As such, EIB ’s contribution includes:


 * Financial activities which take the form of quantitative lending operations, including the possibility to invest in high-risk projects;


 * Non-financial activities which mainly provide technical assistance to implement projects and raise EU green standards.

Such Green investments have a double purpose: on the one hand, help the EIB mitigating all forms of pollution; on the other hand, encourage the Bank to end progressively all its dirty lending by the end of 2021. The realization of these goals takes place through direct and indirect lending instruments, most commonly through long-term loans, guarantees, investment loans, and equity.

Moreover, careful scrutiny through “the three pillar assessment” (3PA) allows the EIB to prioritize specific green projects. High emphasis will be placed on:


 * energy efficiency investments;


 * decarbonise the energy supply;


 * clean energy innovation;
 * enabling activities.