Requests: Enquiries regarding the EIB’s Public Disclosure Policy, and requests for access to project-related information, should be addressed to the Communication Department:
E-mail: infopol@eib.org
Phone: (+352) 43 79 – 62000
12 March 2015
A new transparency policy by the European Investment Bank is “watered down,” according to public interest groups who followed its development. The EIB announced its “more user-friendly”new policy on March 10. Those following the process were pleased that some “dangerous provisions” had been dropped, but overall called it worse than the previous policy. A statement by nongovernmental […]
15 January 2015
The European Investment Bank has made a few improvements to a proposed revision of its Transparency Policy, but not addressed many of the concerns of public interest groups. The EIB Board of Directors is expected to discuss the revised policy in its meeting on 3 February 2015. The EIB recently issued a revised draft, a […]
18 December 2014
The European Ombudsman has recommended that the European Investment Bank release a redacted version of a report concerning a mine in Zambia. The Bank had rejected a request from Christian Aid to publish a report on its investigation into tax evasion allegations against Mopani Copper Mines. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, whose decisions […]
30 October 2014
European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has advised the European Investment Bank to make changes in its draft amendment to its disclosure policy. The ombudsman’s guidance came in an Oct. 21 letter accompanied by a detailed three page annex. One proposal is to clarify that the EIB does not intend to use an exception for “administrative tasks” […]
22 September 2014
Seventeen civil society organizations have called on the European Investment Bank to make major improvements to its disclosure policy. The policy, a slightly revised draft of which is now under review, “does not adequately reflect key international standards and principles relating to transparency,” according to a 24-page statement issued Sept. 22. The policy is likely […]
28 August 2014
The European Investment Bank has rejected a request from Christian Aid to publish a report on its investigation into tax evasion allegations against Mopani Copper Mines. The Bank’s Complaints Mechanism recommended that the report should be published in redacted form, but the Bank rejected that advice. The EIB investigated whether Mopani Copper Mines (a Glencore […]
7 July 2014
The European Investment Bank needs to make substantial improvements to its 2010 transparency policy, according to a recent letter by nongovernmental organizations. The NGOs, led by the group Counter Balance based in Brussels, wrote to the EIB on July 1 in advance of an EIB-sponsored stakeholder meeting July 10. “Drawing on our experience with the […]
6 June 2014
The European Investment Bank has announced plans to hold a public consultation as part of the review of its Transparency Policy. The process is expected to be finalized at the end of 2014, according to a timetable contained in the press release. The EIB Transparency Policy was adopted in 2010 with a provision mandating a […]
26 October 2012
International financial institutions fared poorly in the “freedom of information” category of the recently issued ratings by Publish What Your Fund. Although the development banks ranked high overall on the 43 factors used, their scores in the access to information category merited red dots. The red dots signified “poor legislation” in the category, just one […]
6 January 2012
International financial institutions (IFIs) have “overbroad regimes of exceptions” in their transparency policies, according to a report issued by the Centre for Law and Democracy. Particularly troublesome are the exceptions relating to internal deliberations and third-party commercial information, according to the CLD report, prepared as a member of the Global Transparency Initiative, an international coalition advocating […]
21 January 2011
By Toby McIntosh The European Investment Bank does receive reports from financial intermediaries about the loan they make, but that information is “not necessarily the subject of a specific report,” according to clarifications to Freedominfo.org provided by EIB officials. The lack of such specific reports is one justification used by the EIB to explain its […]
13 December 2010
A report showing that some European economic stimulus funds were slow reaching their intended recipients also exposes flaws in the disclosure policy of the European Investment Bank. The report by the CEE BankWatch Network concerns “global loans” — which are made by the EIB to intermediary commercial banks at preferential rates to help them make […]
16 March 2010
The European Investment Bank Feb. 3 announced a disclosure policy, making limited movement toward the release of more documents. The new policy was greeted with criticism by a leading group that follows the Bank closely and critically. CEEBankwatch Network stressed that the EIB is continuing to shield intermediary financial institutions from disclosing what loans they make with EIB […]
4 November 2009
The European Investment Bank has announced a second round of consultations on its Complaints Mechanism, Transparency, and Public Disclosure policies. The Bank is seeking comments by November 13 on new drafts and invited interested parties to discuss them at a meeting in Brussels on November 9. The Luxembourg-based organization aims to finish the consultation process […]
19 June 2009
The European Investment Bank is proposing to disclose Framework Agreements only with the permission of the country partner, but the agreements appear to be largely technical and legal documents, judging from a very old one supplied by the Bank and a more recent one obtained by Freedominfo.org. The Bank’s reluctance to disclose the Framework Agreements […]
12 June 2009
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is proposing to let countries decide whether to disclose the “Framework Agreement” documents that guide EIB lending to individual countries. Tajikistan is one such country getting EIB help. On February 11, 2009, the EIB announced that the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, and EIP President Philippe Maystadt […]
30 January 2008
The European Investment bank is now publishing the provisional summary of decisions of its Board of Directors.The first such entry, for a Dec. 11, 2007, meeting is viewable here. The documents can be found under "Publications" in the section on the Board of Directors ("About" – "Structure" – "Governance"): The Board of Directors The entries […]
9 May 2006
The European Investment bank has released its new disclosure policy, making a variety of improvements while sticking to secrecy in several areas. The changes were “welcomed’ as “a step in the right direction” by the CEE Bankwatch Network, a nongovernmental organization that monitors the EIB. Toby Mendel, from Article 19, commented: “We are pleased to […]
22 March 2006
By Toby McIntosh Riding a wave of transparency, the idea of encouraging Freedom of Information (FOI) laws as part of the development agenda is gaining currency, but slowly. With research and case studies increasingly identifying transparency as a key tool in fighting corruption and facilitating development, more attention is being paid to the development of […]
30 November 2005
A committee of the European Union Parliament Nov. 22 rejected an effort by the European Investment Bank to be exempted from rules implementing the Aarhus Convention, the EU agreement that governs transparency policies for environmental-related activities. Approval of an amendment by the Environment Committee to include the EIB came despite campaigning by EIB officials to […]
9 August 2005
The European Investment Bank has declined to release the text of a framework agreement recently signed with Ukrainian leaders. Although the EIB a year ago promised the release of framework agreements (with a few caveats), officials replying to a freedominfo.org request said those caveats mean that disclosure will not occur until after the agreement is […]
21 July 2005
The European Investment Bank has committed to writing a second draft proposal on disclosure policy-expanding and extending its process for consultation and review after the first draft, and the process, came under criticism. According to a July 21 announcement, "the Bank feels it appropriate to launch a second round of consultation on the basis of […]
21 December 2004
The European Investment Bank Dec. 14 announced plans to conduct a review of its Public Information Policy, and requested public comment on its existing policy. The consultative process will be launched in the first quarter of 2005. The EIB did not offer proposal for change, asking instead that comments focus on the EIB’s existing public […]
21 July 2004
The European Investment Bank Board of Directors has taken some steps toward disclosing some additional documents and more financial information about by key bank officials. The 25 specific changes were announced by the board in mid-June in a nine-page document that pledges to reach "a high level of transparency of its activities." The bank did […]
7 June 2004
European Investment Bank President, Philippe Maystadt, June 2 proposed to publish some additional information about EIB operations and the financial interests of key EIB officials. The proposals made at the Bank’s annual meeting, include, according to Maystadt’s statement: An annual corporate governance statement, including any report of the ad-hoc ethics committee; The publication of half-yearly […]
7 June 2004
A coalition of nongovernmental organizations June 1 issued a broad critique of the European Investment Bank, including the criticism that the EIB is "the least transparent, least accountable and least democratically controlled institution in the family of agencies entrusted with implementing EU policies and among public financial institutions." The "Public Funds for Public Benefit" was […]
13 April 2004
A committee of the European Parliament on April 6, 2004 rejected virtually all of the criticisms of the European Investment Bank by Spanish delegate Monica Ridruejo. According to supporters of Ridreujo, the Economic and Monetary Committee (EMAC) "completely watered down" the Ridruejo proposals for good governance, transparency and accountability at the EIB. Ridruejo voted against […]
18 March 2004
A committee of the European Parliament, to the surprise of some observers, did not flatly reject Spanish parliamentarian Monica Ridruejo’s critical report about governance and transparency at the European Investment Bank. Instead, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on March 16 opened up the door to amendments to the report and a vote on […]
15 March 2004
The European Investment Bank "fails to comply with good corporate governance" and does not disclose enough information to the public, according to controversial criticisms in a report prepared by a Spanish member of the European Parliament, Monica Ridruejo. After months of delay that Ridruejo considers intentional, her report will by taken up March 16 by […]
1 July 2003
Seeking to dramatize demands for more transparency at the European Investment Bank, three persons in monkey suits greeted EIB governors arriving for the EIB annual meting June 3 in Luxembourg. “The Monkeys, covering respectively their ears, eyes and mouth were sent to convey the message: EIB – SEES NO PROBLEM, HEARS NO COMPLAINTS, GIVES NO […]
1 July 2003
A lack of transparency at the European Investment Bank was one of several reasons cited by the Dutch bank ASN July 17 when it announced its plan to stop investing in the EIB. Be Sociable, Share! Tweet
1 January 2003
CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth International Dec. 4 charged that the European Investment Bank’s new information policy “fails to live up to expectations” and after two years in the making is “only a slight improvement over the previous one.” “It’s amazing how vague the new policy is,” said Magda Stoczkiewicz, EIB Campaign […]
1 January 2003
The European Investment Bank is "not comparable" to other international financial institutions, began Henry Marty-Guaquie, Director de la Communication for the EIB, in an interview about transparency with freedominfor.org Nov. 5. By this he means that the EIB should be viewed less as a policy-setting organization than as a financial institution with special needs to […]
7 November 2002
The European Investment Bank has written a new transparency policy. The new rule continues to emphasize the EIB’s willingness to honor requests for confidentiality by third parties. It indicates that the EIB will follow the disclosure practices of the banking industry. The new rule will soon be posted on the EIB web site (www.eib.org), but […]
1 September 2002
On June 28, 2002, at a EIB consultation with NGOs in Copenhagen, Martin Koehler, a staff member with the Campaign to Reform the World Bank, demanded “a formalization of the disclosure policy review process, with clear timelines regarding the publication of drafts, the status of such drafts within the institutional decision-making process, and the period […]
1 June 2002
The European Investment Bank has been working on modifications to its information policy for about a year, with the EIB’s critics scratching their heads over when a revised policy will finally emerge. More than 30 European NGOs have charged that the EIB’s disclosure policy is “critically deficient,” and called for full, timely access to all […]
In this column, Washington, D.C.-based journalist Toby J. McIntosh reports on the latest developments in information disclosure in International Financial and Trade Institutions (IFTI).
Contact: freeinfo@gwu.edu or
1-(703) 276-7748
