EIB: Public Funds for Public Benefit

In June 2004 an international coalition of civil society groups launched the campaign "EIB: Public Funds for Public Benefit”, which sets out a clear vision for reforming the EIB into a positive European source of public finance. With support from almost sixty national and international organisations and networks, CEE Bankwatch calls on concerned citizens and European policy-makers to join efforts to make the EIB an institution that supports people and the environment. We envision an EIB that is fully accountable to the public and transparent in all of its operations. We envision an EIB lending only for environmentally and socially sustainable projects, based on clear policies, standards and rules, both inside and outside the EU, which can proudly state that it supports only projects that enjoy the demonstrable free and prior informed consent of all affected communities.

As part of the campaign efforts, Bankwatch is coordinating and stepping up our public awareness raising and advocacy efforts to ensure that key reform steps are accepted and implemented by the EIB in the following areas:

Based on the document “Public Funds for Public Benefit: Making EIB Support People and Environment” we invited artists from Central and Eastern Europe to participate in a poster design contest aimed at developing an artful message about the EIB's power and the long overdue need for reforms.

In November 2006, in conjunction with a number of international NGOs, CEE Bankwatch Network organised a conference on EIB accountability: "Right to Appeal" - International Financial Institutions and accountability - on the way to independent compliance and appeal mechanism for the European Investment Bank. The conference was attended by speakers and participants from the EIB and other IFIs, the EU institutions, independent researchers, NGOs and the media.