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

This fact sheet by Friends of the Earth International describes the European Investment Bank (EIB) as a powerful yet 'invisible' public financial institution owned by EU member states. It argues that the EIB operates with significant legal obscurity and lacks the transparency, environmental standards, and public accountability found in similar institutions like the World Bank. The document details specific criticisms from NGOs regarding the EIB's lack of environmental expertise, its failure to support the Kyoto Protocol, and its resistance to public information requests.

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) is a public institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome, owned by EU member states. It is one of the largest international financial institutions, with loan projects that are larger than those of the World Bank.
• The EIB operates with a high degree of independence and legal obscurity, allowing it to selectively follow EU norms and avoid accountability for poor project outcomes. It is not accountable to the European Commission, the European Parliament, or national citizens and parliaments.
• NGOs argue that the EIB lags behind the World Bank and the EBRD in terms of transparency, accountability, and the handling of environmental and social issues. Specifically, the EIB often refuses to provide essential project information to affected communities, claiming it is confidential internal information.
• The EIB has significant deficiencies in environmental protection and expertise. It employs approximately 1,000 people, with very few full-time environmental experts compared to the World Bank's 300 specialists. Furthermore, the EIB does not actively promote environmental protection and does little to help the EU meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments.
• The EIB's loan approval process is criticized for lacking depth and rigor. The board of directors works part-time, meeting less than one day per month, and reviews over 300 projects annually across 10 meetings, rarely refusing a loan request.
• In February 2002, environmental organizations launched the 'EIB: no reform, no money!' campaign. They urged the 15 member states to condition capital increases on reforms regarding public access to information, environmental standards, development, and supervision.
• The 2002 NGO campaign influenced the decision-making process, leading to extensive discussions among member states and parliamentary debates in Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom regarding the EIB's capital increase.

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} }