Le pouvoir invisible dans l’Union européenne la Banque européenne d’investissement

The document describes the European Investment Bank (EIB) as a powerful but 'invisible' institution that operates with significant independence from EU oversight. It details systemic failures identified by NGOs, including a lack of clear environmental standards, insufficient staffing for environmental expertise, and a refusal to provide public access to project information. The text highlights the EIB's failure to support the Kyoto Protocol and its tendency to fund technological 'fixes' rather than proactive environmental protection. It also outlines civil society campaigns, such as 'EIB: no reform, no money!', which pressured EU member states to link capital increases to institutional reforms.

• The EIB operates with a level of 'invisibility' and legal obscurity that allows it to avoid EU principles regarding transparency, public participation, and sustainable development, making it difficult to hold the bank accountable for poor project outcomes.
• The bank lacks comprehensive environmental policies and procedures, particularly for projects outside the EU or in developing countries where national standards may be insufficient or non-existent.
• The EIB frequently denies public access to essential project information, claiming confidentiality, which contradicts the Aarhus Convention and EU directives on environmental impact assessments.
• The bank's environmental protection capacity is severely limited by a lack of specialized staff; it employs approximately 1,000 people with very few full-time environmental experts, a sharp contrast to the World Bank's 300 specialists.
• The EIB does not actively promote environmental protection or help the EU meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments, instead favoring the financing of technological 'fixes' for existing problems.
• Supervision of global loans is inadequate because the bank uses intermediaries (national or local banks) that often refuse to disclose information regarding the application of environmental standards.
• The EIB's governance structure is criticized for lacking rigor, with part-time directors who meet less than one day per month and rarely refuse loan requests, leading to projects with negative social and environmental impacts.
• NGO campaigns, specifically 'EIB: no reform, no money!' in February 2002, successfully pressured EU member states to debate the bank's capital increase in the parliaments of Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). Le pouvoir invisible dans l’Union européenne la Banque européenne d’investissement. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/EIBfactsheet1.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Le pouvoir invisible dans l’Union européenne la Banque européenne d’investissement. n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/EIBfactsheet1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Le pouvoir invisible dans l’Union européenne la Banque européenne d’investissement |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/EIBfactsheet1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternationalndpouvoir, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Le pouvoir invisible dans l’Union européenne la Banque européenne d’investissement}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/EIBfactsheet1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }