EIB’s €5 billion budget cut will hit Arab Spring countries hardest

Report of comments at a meeting of the Development Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels on the 20 August 2013 as it debated the European Commission's Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on granting an EU guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under financing operations supporting investment projects outside the Union (COM (2013)293).

The European Investment Bank says that a €5bn cut in the EU Guarantee Fund insuring EIB external lending, will force an equal cut of 15% in its funding pool for the 2014-2020 budget that will hit ‘neighbourhood’ states such as Egypt and Syria hardest.

EIB: Projects: Our regions of activity http://www.eib.org/projects/regions/index.htm

European Commission: DG Economic and Financial Affairs: Financial operations and instruments in support of EU policies: Financial market operations: The Guarantee Fund for External Actions http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/financial_operations/market/guarantee_fund/index_en.htm

ESO: Background information: Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on granting an EU guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under financing operations supporting investment projects outside the Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/proposal-for-a-decision-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-on-granting-an-eu-guarantee-to-the-european-investment-bank-against-losses-under-financing-operations-supporting-investment-projec/

---