Today, the Economic and Monetary Committee voted on its opinion on the European Investment Bank. The opinion welcomes the EIB’s development plans as an EU climate bank and calls for more investment. The text of the opinion was carried by a broad majority of Christian Democrats, Socialists, Liberals and Greens. The rapporteur is Bas Eickhout, a Dutch Green.
MEP Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group commented:
„Today’s opinion calls for courageous steps by the EIB on the road to becoming the EU’s climate bank. In order to get the transition going, the Member States must heed Parliament’s call and provide the EIB with more equity. The financial giant should venture riskier and more innovative financing and thus support green breakthrough technologies. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has never before been so clear about the EIB: A public bank that takes hardly any risks is useless and can contribute only very little to the fight against climate change. It is a success for us Greens that the European Parliament is now entering straight talk about the EIB’s role.
According to the opinion, the EIB should work towards ensuring that all supported companies commit themselves to phasing out fossil fuels. The EIB is called upon to apply the EU classification for sustainable investment and to take a leading role in the field of sustainable finance“.