EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK DEN EUROPÆISKE INVESTERINGSBANK EUROPÄISCHE INVESTITIONSBANK ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ ΕΠΕΝΔΥΣΕΩΝ EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK BANCO EUROPEO DE INVERSIONES %Ui|tó EIB INFORMATION BANQUE EUROPEENNE D'INVESTISSEMENT BANCA EUROPEA PER GII INVESTIMENTI EUROPESE INVESTERINGSBANK BANCO EUROPEU DE INVESTIMENTO June 1995 · N° 84 EUROOPAN INVESTOINTIPANKKI EUROPEISKA INVESTERINGSBANKEN ISSN 0250-3891 Annual Meeting of the Board Contents Annual Meeting of the of Governors Board of Governors 1 The Governors have approved the I he European Investment Bank's The Board meeting was chaired by the ElB's 1994 annual report and bal• Board of Governors, at its annual meet­ Governor for The Netherlands, Gerrit ance sheet and welcomed the Bank's major role in. implementing ing in Luxembourg on Monday 19 June Zalm, Minister of Finance. The Gover• the EU's trans-European networks 1995, congratulated the Bank on con­ nors approved the ElB's 1 994 annual (TENs). solidating its activities during 1994 in a report and balance sheet, which at period of great turmoil on financial mar­ end-1994 stood at ECU 102.75 New Vice-President from kets and difficult economic conditions in billion. After the end of the day of the The Netherlands 6 the Member States. annual meeting, the nev/ chairman of Rudolf de Korte, former Secretary of the Board is the Governor for Austria, Trade and Industry/Vice Prime-Minister The Board, which is made up of the fif­ Andreas Staribacher, Minister for of The Netherlands, has been appoin• teen Finance Ministers of the European Finance, who holds the post up until ted as Vice-President on the ElB's Union Member States, underlined the the end of the day of the next annual Management Committee. Bank's success in adapting to the rapid meeting. changes underway within the European The EIB Forum 1995 7 The first EIB Forum, assembling Union and to the new challenges in meet­ The Governors noted that the EIB had representatives from the banking ing the requirements of Union policies, in sustained its lending activity at a high sector, industry as well as the public level - some ECU 20 authorities, tackled the complex billion - during 1994, topic «The Provision of Infrastructure; and welcomed the ElB's The Role of the Private Sector». part in implementing the Union's economic rege• The EIB and enlargement neration policies, inclu• of the EU 8 ding the establishment of The EIB has welcomed Austria, a special «window» to Finland and Sweden as new Mem• accelerate and facilitate ber States. the financing of the prior• ity trans-European net• The EEA Financial Mechanism 10 Opening oí the Board of Governors' Annual Meeting work projects, announ• The EIB operates the EEA Financial Mechanism, established by the EFTA particular those for cohesion and the ced at the Essen European Council (De• Member States to reinforce the eco• financing of trans-European networks. cember 1994). nomic development of less prospe• They welcomed the Bank's achievement rous regions in the EU. in pushing forward European Union poli• The Governors also welcomed the cies to encourage economic growth, com• organisational and management chan• Mr René Karsenti new petitiveness and employment and stressed ges being introduced by the Manage• Director General of Finance 11 that the Bank should continue to place the ment Committee to increase the effi• Videoconferencing at the EIB 12 emphasis on «quality rather than quantity». ciency of the Bank and to enable it EUROPEAN INVESTMENT ANK to adapt to the challenge of a chan• In 1994 the lending activity of the Bank subscribed ECU 384 million of initial ca• ging environment. as a whole stabilised at some ECU 20 pital. In its first year the Fund has appro• billion; the bond portfolio was restruc• ved 14 guarantees to a value of about The Board gave clearance for the EIB to tured; and a number of organisational ECU 700 million in respect of capital begin lending in South Africa, within a and management changes were taken projects in 5 Member States, of which 6 ceiling of ECU 300 million for a two forward. Details of the operations are to a value of some ECU 5 1 5 million year period. They appointed Rudolf de given in the Annual Report in front of have been signed. This is an encourag• Korte (The Netherlands) as Vice-Presi• you, so I shall restrict myself to the main ing start, but the Fund is still in its infancy dent on the Bank's Management Com• points of interest from the point of view and the greater part of its potential remains mittee to succeed Mr Corneille Brück, of Community policy. to be realised. I should like to pay a whose term of office finishes at the end warm tribute to its first Chairman, Eugenio of the montn and on whom the Gover• LENDING WITHIN THE EUROPEAN Greppi, who has established the EIF as a nors conferred the title of Honorary Vice- UNION going concern - and to the two other President in appreciation of his valuable members of the Financial Committee and contribution rendered to the Bank. By the end of 1994 the Bank had com• the small staff who have supported them - mitted the full amount of the ECU 7 billion and to welcome Mr Greppi 's successor, The Board appointed to the Audit Com• lending facility decided at the European Mr Georges Ugeux, who, subject to ap• mittee Juan Carlos Perez Lozano, Inspec• Council meetings in Edinburgh at the end proval by the EIF General Meeting tomor• tor General of the Agency for Internation• of 1992 and Copenhagen in mid row, takes up his new post on 20 June. al Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign 1 993. This was to accelerate the financ• Affairs; Madrid, (to replace Ciriaco de ing of infrastructure projects, and, so far, TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS Vicente Martín who retires for personal about two thirds of the total has been (TENS) reasons) and re-appointed for a new disbursed in favour of some 1 40 projects. three-year term Albert Hansen, Secretary During the past year the Bank has contri• General to "he Luxembourg Government In a related Decision, a scheme was estab• buted positively to the TENs exercise, Council. lished whereby interest rate subsidies took part in the Christophersen Group of from the Union budget were to be personal representatives of Heads of applied to ECU 1 billion of Statement by Sir Brian Unwin KCB, EIB loans in favour of job-crea• President and Chairman of the Board ting SMEs. The EIB has al• of Directors to the annual meeting: ready committed 70% of the full amount, with alloca• Chairman tions going for investment Ladies and Gentlemen that should create some This is the first annual meeting of the 35 000 new jobs in the Board of Governors since the accession Union. of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the European Union, and I should like to A third Decision at Edin• begin by welcoming these countries to burgh was to create the Eu• membership of the Bank's governing ropean Investment Fund Sir Brian Unwin and Gerrit Zalm, Governor for bodies. We have started operations in (EIF) to provide guarantees The Netherlands who chaired the annual meeting. each of these countries in support of both for capital investment Community policies, and we look for• carried out by SMEs and for major infra• State or Government and in the related ward to a continued development of this structure. The Fund has been operational discussions at the ECOFIN Council. activity. We have also begun to recruit since June 1 994, and will have its first Following up the conclusions of this staff of the three new nationalities - I am Annual General Meeting tomorrow, work, as endorsed by the Essen Euro• glad to report that fifteen professionals under the chairmanship of Commissioner pean Council, has meant a heavy com• have already joined us and others de Silguy. Subject to approval by the mitment for the Bank. We have carried should be joining soon. This is a good General Meeting tomorrow, to date 76 out economic, technical and financial start on which to build. banks from every Member State will have appraisals of most of the priority projects 2 EUROPEAN INVESTMENT ANK identified by the Christophersen Group, LENDING OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN BALANCE SHEET and the Board of Directors has already UNION approved loans of some ECU 4.8 At 31 December 1994, total loans and billion for all or part of 8 of the priority Lending outside the Union increased to guarantees outstanding came to ECU transport TENs; and ECU 1.3 billion for over ECU 2.2 billion in 1994. The 106.5 billion. The EIB therefore still has 4 priority energy projects. In addition, main feature was a doubling of lending substantial headroom to develop its acti• priority projects to the value of over ECU in the ACP States from a low level, vity within its statutory lending ceiling 2.5 billion are currently under detailed which is a gratifying increase, given the which rose from ECU 144 billion at the Bank appraisal. intractability of the economic problems end of last year to ECU 1 55 billion on which many of these States face. There 1 January with the accession of the new Most of these, and indeed the other was a marked recovery in lending for in• Member States. TENs projects, are big and complex dustry, and in regional cooperation pro• and require special handling. We have jects in Eastern and Southern Africa. The Bank's operating surplus in 1994 therefore established special arrange• was ECU 970 million, a return on the ments whereby we shall become enga• The Bank continued to play its role in im• Bank's own funds of nearly 7.5%.