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DRAFT REPORT (2024/2052(INI))

On the control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank – annual report 2023

CONT-PR-769944

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Ondřej Knotek

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This draft report on the control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) for 2023 assesses the EIB's performance, operations, and accountability, and makes recommendations for improvement. It covers the EIB's financial results, support for EU priorities like energy security, defence, SMEs, cohesion, climate action, and activities outside the EU, while also addressing governance, transparency, and scrutiny issues. The report calls for enhanced oversight by the European Court of Auditors, better conflict-of-interest management, and a review of the Northvolt project failure.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control, through its rapporteur, proposes a resolution that assesses the EIB's 2023 activities and calls for enhanced scrutiny, transparency, and accountability, as well as specific actions on energy, defence, and governance.

Key points

  1. Notes the EIB's 2023 net result of EUR 2.272 billion, a 2.4% decrease from 2022, and total disbursements of EUR 54.4 billion.
  2. Calls on the Commission and EIB to refrain from using the Recovery and Resilience Facility as a blueprint for future financing mechanisms due to increased risk of errors and double funding.
  3. Welcomes the EIB's increased energy security financing targets to EUR 45 billion until 2027 and its support for clean technologies and energy poverty reduction.
  4. Supports the EIB's Security and Defence Action Plan and increased Strategic European Security Initiative funding to EUR 8 billion, including for space and cybersecurity.
  5. Encourages the EIB Group to continue supporting SMEs, start-ups, and scale-ups through tailored financial programmes and risk-sharing mechanisms.
  6. Calls for increased EIB involvement in agriculture and bioeconomy, and for enhanced support for digitalisation and cybersecurity.
  7. Stresses that EIB interventions in Ukraine must align with the Ukraine Plan and calls for strict conditionality, including visit rights and access to information.
  8. Regrets the lack of detailed information in the Inspectorate General's annual report and calls for more comprehensive reporting on fraud cases.
  9. Calls on the Commission to identify gaps in the EIB's exclusion process and propose remedies, including an expedited procedure to enforce exclusion decisions.
  10. Calls on the Commission to launch an internal review of the Northvolt project failure to prevent recurrence or enable early detection.
  11. Regrets that the European Court of Auditors lacks full access to EIB data and calls for comprehensive scrutiny of all operations involving the EU budget.
  12. Calls for a memorandum of cooperation between Parliament and the EIB to enhance structured dialogue and transparency.

Who is affected

  • The European Investment Bank and its Group, including the European Investment Fund, are subject to recommendations on operations, transparency, and accountability.
  • The European Commission is called upon to review the Northvolt case and to improve cooperation with the EIB on scrutiny and exclusion decisions.
  • The European Court of Auditors is urged to fully scrutinise EIB operations involving the EU budget.
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, and scale-ups benefit from continued EIB support and financing.
  • Ukraine and other non-EU countries receiving EIB financing are subject to conditionality and oversight measures.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 2.272 billion: EIB Group's consolidated result in 2023, compared to EUR 2.327 billion in 2022.
  • EUR 54.4 billion: EIB's total disbursements in 2023, with EUR 53.4 billion from own resources.
  • EUR 45.0 billion: increased financing target for energy security until 2027 (REPowerEU+).
  • EUR 8.0 billion: increased Strategic European Security Initiative for security investments from 2022 to 2027.
  • EUR 41.8 billion: EIB financing for climate action in 2023; EUR 25.1 billion for environmental sustainability.
  • EUR 8.4 billion: EIB Global financing in 2023, compared to EUR 9.1 billion in 2022.
  • EUR 5.750 billion: EIB's exposure in Ukraine as at 31 December 2023.
  • EUR 942.6 million: EIB lending package to Northvolt AB.