1.   The Investment Facility Committee (‘the Committee’) shall consist of a representative for each Member State and a representative of the Commission. Only the members of the Committee designated by the Member States, or their alternates, shall vote.

2.   The Chairperson and the deputy Chairperson of the Committee shall be elected from within the members of the Committee designated by the Member States, for a period of two years. The election shall take place at the beginning of the first meeting of the Committee by secret vote. The Chairperson shall be elected among the candidates on the basis of a qualified majority, as laid down in Article 3. The election of the deputy Chairperson shall follow the same procedure.

3.   The European Investment Bank (‘the Bank’) shall provide the Committee's secretariat and support services.

4.   The Member States shall each nominate one representative and one alternate authorised to exercise voting rights. An alternate may attend meetings of the Committee as an observer, but shall only have the right to vote when his/her Member State's representative is absent. Under exceptional circumstances, where neither the representative nor the alternate can attend a meeting of the Committee, the representative may give a proxy to another representative, or may be replaced by a third person to be appointed ad hoc by the Member State. The Member States shall inform the Bank and the General Secretariat of the Council of the names and addresses of their representatives and their alternates through their Permanent Representations to the European Union.

5.   The Commission shall nominate one representative and one alternate to attend the meetings of the Committee and shall communicate their names to the Bank and to the General Secretariat of the Council. These appointees may be assisted by other officials and servants of the Commission.

6.   The Bank shall nominate two officials to attend and take part in the work of the Committee and shall communicate their names to the Commission and to the General Secretariat of the Council. These appointees may be assisted by other officials of the Bank.

7.   A representative of the General Secretariat of the Council and a representative of the European External Action Service (EEAS) shall be invited to attend meetings of the Committee as observers.

1.   The Committee shall, under the conditions laid down in Article 3 of these Rules of Procedure and in Article 16 of the Council Regulation (EU) 2015/322 (1) (‘the Implementation Regulation’):

In order to streamline the approval process for small operations, the Committee may give its favourable opinion to proposals from the Bank for a global allocation (interest rate subsidies, technical assistance) or global authorisation (lending, equity) in accordance with Article 16(3) of the Implementation Regulation.

In addition, the governing bodies of the Bank may, from time to time, request that the Committee provides an opinion on other strategy or policy issues concerning the operations of the Bank in the ACP countries.

2.   The working documents and proposals for the Committee shall be prepared and submitted by the Bank to the Committee and to the observers. Proposals shall provide details on:

3.   The detailed rules governing the technical execution of the project and the timetable for carrying it out shall be summarised in an Annex to the proposal.

1.   The Bank shall send the relevant documents and proposals to the members of the Committee and their alternates, as well as to the General Secretariat of the Council and to the EEAS at least 21 calendar days before the date fixed for the meetings.

The Chairperson may in exceptional cases waive the above time limit at the duly justified request of the Bank. Should a member of the Committee, however, inform the Secretariat that the waiving of the time limit is not acceptable, the respective agenda item will be removed.

2.   Members of the Committee shall notify the Bank in writing of any comments or requests for further information they may have on the documents circulated pursuant to paragraph 1, within the following respective time limits:

The right of Members of the Committee to receive oral answers from the Bank regarding questions raised during the meeting on the documents circulated pursuant to paragraph 1 shall not be impaired.

3.   Acting on a proposal from its Chairperson, the Committee shall adopt the agenda at the beginning of the meeting. Each member of the Committee may request that items be added to the agenda, but for discussion only. Information supplied in this connection may be given orally.

4.   An absent Member State representative shall be deemed to have approved or delivered a favourable opinion on the documents submitted, except where he/she has given the Chairperson of the Committee written notice of his/her intention not to approve or deliver a favourable opinion, or where, as an exceptional measure, he/she has given a proxy to another Member State representative. Where proxies to vote have been given or a replacement has been designated, the Chairperson of the Committee shall be duly informed in advance.

A Member State representative may receive a proxy from one other Member State representative only.

1.   The opinion of the Committee may be sought by means of a written procedure at the initiative of the Bank and with the prior agreement of the Chairperson.

2.   Where a proposal is submitted through written procedure, the Bank shall submit it together with all relevant supporting documents. If, within 21 calendar days following the submission of a proposal, a Member State representative has not cast a negative vote, he/she shall be deemed to have voted in favour of the proposal.

3.   If discussion at a meeting of the Committee is specifically requested by one of its members not later than five working days before expiry of the 21 calendar days period referred to in the paragraph 2, the proposal shall be submitted in the next scheduled meeting of the Committee. In exceptional cases of particular urgency, the Bank may then request that an extraordinary meeting of the Committee be convened by the Chairperson pursuant to Article 2.

1.   Without prejudice to Article 16(6) of the Implementation Regulation, the Committee's approval or favourable opinion may be granted subject to any comment specified by the Committee.

2.   The Committee may ask for the appraisal of a request or proposal to be supplemented in certain respects. In such an event, the request or the proposal can be put before the Committee a second time.

3.   The opinions delivered by the Committee shall be forwarded to the Bank's governing bodies.

1.   A record of the main conclusions of each meeting of the Committee and the main standpoints adopted by the members of the Committee shall be drawn up by the secretariat under the responsibility of the Chairperson within 15 working days of the date of the meeting. The secretariat shall likewise record the opinions and votes cast under written procedure. These records shall be sent to the members of the Committee.

2.   The record shall be deemed final once approved by the Committee, whether by written procedure or at a subsequent meeting.

3.   Correspondence concerning the Committee shall be addressed to the secretariat, for the attention of the Chairperson of the Committee.

4.   All representatives and observers attending meetings of the Committee shall observe the confidentiality of the Committee's work and deliberations. Documents relating to such work and deliberations shall be for the use of those to whom they are addressed, who shall be responsible for their safekeeping and the preservation of their confidentiality.

5.   Twice a year, the Bank, in agreement with the Chairperson of the Committee, will make available general information on the implementation of the Investment Facility to the EDF Committee and the Council preparatory bodies, in particular the ACP Working Party, to ensure broad coherence and complementarity of activities funded under the European Development Fund. This will be done in compliance with confidentiality rules enshrined in paragraph (4).

1.   The operating expenditure of the Committee, including travel expenses for one representative of each Member State, shall be borne by the Bank. The Member State representative chairing the Committee is also entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses in addition to the other representative from the same Member State, if any.

2.   The Bank shall place at the disposal of the Committee the premises and equipment necessary for its work.

1.   A referral shall be made to the Committee in the cases and according to the procedures laid down in Council Regulation (EU) 2015/322 (1) (‘the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation’), and in particular in Articles 7, 9 and 14 thereof and, where appropriate, in Council Decision 2013/755/EU (2) (‘the Overseas Association Decision’). In respect of the responsibilities conferred upon it by the Overseas Association Decision, the Committee shall be referred to as the ‘EDF-OCTs Committee’.

2.   In addition to the referral cases provided for in paragraph 1:

1.   The Committee shall be convened by the Chair, acting on his or her own initiative or at the request of a Member State.

2.   Joint meetings of the Committee with other committees may be convened to discuss issues falling within their respective areas of responsibility.

1.   The Chair shall draw up the draft agenda and submit it to the Committee.

2.   The agenda shall make a distinction between:

3.   Any delegation may request the inclusion of an item on the agenda of meetings of the Committee. Relevant information on these items may be given orally or in writing afterwards, as appropriate.

4.   The agenda shall include approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.

5.   At least every three months, and whenever updated information is available, an indicative long-term planning for upcoming meetings shall accompany the agenda. This planning shall include items to be submitted for an opinion, as well as strategic cross-EDF issues to be submitted for information and/or for an exchange of views. The planning shall include items to be submitted to the Committee over the upcoming six-month period. To the extent possible, the planning shall also indicate items that are likely to be submitted to the Committee over the subsequent six-month period.

1.   The Chair shall send the invitation and the draft agenda of the meeting, as well as any draft measures about which the Committee is asked to give an opinion to the members of the Committee well in advance of the meeting, taking into account the urgency and the complexity of the matter, and in any case at least 21 calendar days before the date of the meeting. Other documents related to the meeting, in particular documents for information and an exchange of views, shall, as far as possible, be submitted within the same time limit.

All documents shall be submitted in accordance with Article 15(2) and (3).

2.   In cases of urgency, and where the measure to be adopted must be applied immediately, the Chair may, on his or her own initiative or at the request of a member of the Committee, shorten the time limit for submission of documents referred to in paragraph 1. That time limit shall not be shorter than seven calendar days. Such cases of urgency shall be duly justified in writing by the Commission.

3.   By way of exception, in cases of extreme urgency in a partner country or region, for example serious economic, social and political circumstances, natural disasters suffered by the recipient country, and humanitarian crises or other external circumstances of a similar nature requiring a very rapid reaction, the Chair may, at the request of a Committee member or on his or her own initiative, depart from the time limits laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2. Such cases of extreme urgency shall be duly justified in writing by the Commission.

4.   Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not apply to Strategy Papers and Multiannual Indicative Programmes and their adjustment as a result of the mid-term and end-of-term reviews referred to in Article 7(2) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation.

5.   In the case of draft measures submitted to the Committee for its opinion by oral procedure, delegations shall inform the secretariat of the Committee in writing at least three working days before the date of the meeting of:

on the agenda referred to in Article 4(1).

At the request of a Member State, any A item may be submitted for discussion and transferred to the list of B items as early as possible before or, in exceptional cases, at the meeting.

Delegations shall also formulate any comments and requests for further information in writing and, wherever possible, at least three working days before the date of the meeting.

The Commission shall provide further information and respond to any comments, wherever possible, in writing and at least one day before the meeting.

6.   On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency, the Commission may also use the procedure set out in Article 14(4) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation. In such cases, the Chair shall submit the measures to the Committee within 14 days from their adoption in order to obtain its opinion.

1.   Where a matter is put to the Committee for its opinion, it shall be discussed under the conditions and according to the procedure set out in Article 14(3) and (4), respectively, of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation and in Article 8(2) and (3) of the Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council, on the financing of European Union aid under the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020, in accordance with the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, and on the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union applies (3) (‘the Internal Agreement’).

2.   Unless a member of the Committee objects, the Chair may, without proceeding to a formal vote, establish that the Committee has delivered a positive opinion, by consensus, on the draft measures.

3.   When the oral procedure is used, and a substantive change is made or new factual elements are added to the draft measures during the meeting, the Chair, on his or her own initiative or at the request of a Member State, may postpone the vote on a particular agenda item until the end of the meeting or until a subsequent meeting.

4.   If, pursuant to paragraph 3, the Chair decides not to postpone the vote as requested by one or more delegations, the requesting delegation(s) may enter a reservation which may be withdrawn within a maximum of three working days from the day following the meeting. The Committee's opinion shall be recorded as definitive upon expiry of this period. The Commission shall inform Member States of the definitive position adopted by the Member State(s) whose delegation(s) entered a reservation in the Committee.

5.   Subject to the second subparagraph of this paragraph, if the documents relating to a specific agenda point have not been sent to Committee members within the time limit laid down in Article 5(1) and (2) voting on an issue shall be postponed to the next meeting.

At the proposal of the Chair or at the request of a Committee member, the Committee may decide by a simple majority of its members to keep this point on the agenda due to the urgency of the matter. If necessary, the written procedure provided for in Article 11 of these rules of procedure may be applied.

6.   In the context of an examination of annual or multiannual action programmes, any delegation may request the withdrawal of a project or programme from the action programme. If that request is supported by a blocking minority of delegations, as laid down in Article 8(3) of the Internal Agreement, in connection with Article 8(2) of the Internal Agreement, the action programme shall be adopted by the Commission without the project or programme concerned. Unless the Commission, in line with the views of the delegations in the Committee, wishes not to pursue the withdrawn project or programme, it shall, at a later stage, be resubmitted to the Committee outside the action programme in the form of an individual measure which shall then be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 14 of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation.

1.   Each delegation can invite the Commission at any moment to provide the Committee with information and to have an exchange of views on issues related to the tasks described under Articles 3(3), 7(2) and 14(2) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation. Any evaluation, including recommendations and follow-up actions may also be discussed in the Committee at the request of a Member State, in line with Article 18(2) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation. As set out in Article 18(4) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation, the Commission shall review progress made in the implementation of the 11th EDF, including National Indicative Programmes, and shall submit to the Council implementation reports on a yearly basis starting from 2015. That report may also be discussed in the Committee at the request of a Member State.

2.   Such exchanges of views may lead to the formulation of recommendations by the delegations, which the Commission shall take into account. The minutes of the Committee shall reflect the interventions made. An intervention supported by a qualified majority of delegations, as laid down in Article 8(3) of the Internal Agreement, in conjunction with Article 8(2) of the Internal Agreement, shall be recorded as a recommendation.

1.   Each delegation shall be considered to be one member of the Committee. Each Member State shall decide the composition of its delegation and shall inform the Chair thereof.

2.   With the Chair's approval, delegations may be accompanied by non-governmental experts, at the expense of the Member State concerned.

Within a reasonable time, and in any case no later than five calendar days before the date of a meeting, the following information shall be communicated to the Chair:

If the Chair does not object to the participation of an expert in advance of the relevant meeting, permission shall be considered to be granted.

Ahead of the meeting the Chair shall inform delegations on the participation of a non-governmental expert, indicating the organisation he or she represents.

3.   A delegation may, if necessary, represent a maximum of one other Member State. The Chair shall be notified in writing before the start of the meeting by the delegation which is to be represented.

4.   The quorum required for deliberations of the Committee shall be that required for a qualified majority opinion to be issued in accordance with Article 14(3) and (4) of the 11th EDF Implementation Regulation.

1.   Representatives of acceding countries shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Committee as from the date of signature of the Treaty of Accession.

2.   The Chair may decide to invite representatives of other third parties or other experts to talk on specific points on the agenda of the Committee, on his or her own initiative or at the request of a member of the Committee. However, a simple majority of Member States may oppose their participation in the meeting.

3.   Representatives of third parties and experts referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and those mentioned in Article 9(2) shall not be present during, and shall not participate in, the voting of the Committee.

1.   In duly justified cases, the Chair may obtain the Committee's opinion by written procedure. The Chair shall communicate the Committee members the proposals of draft measures and shall lay down a time limit for delivery of an opinion according to the urgency of the matter.

Delegations have 21 calendar days from the sending of the proposals to adopt a position. Any Committee delegation which does not express its opposition or intention to abstain before the time limit laid down in the communication is considered to have given its tacit agreement to the proposal.

In cases of urgency or extreme urgency in a partner country or region, the same time limits as those laid down in Article 5(2) and (3) shall apply. Such cases of urgency or extreme urgency shall be duly substantiated in writing by the Commission.

2.   However, if a Committee member requests that the draft measures be considered in the course of a meeting, the written procedure shall thereby terminate and the proposed measures shall be carried over to the next meeting.

3.   The Commission shall inform the members of the Committee in writing on the outcome of a written procedure without delay, and in any case no later than seven calendar days after the expiry of the time limit.

1.   At each meeting, the Chair shall draw up an attendance list specifying the authorities or bodies to which the participants belong and shall distribute it to the participants during the course of that meeting.

2.   At the beginning of every meeting, any delegation whose participation in the work constitutes a conflict of interest with regard to a particular point on the agenda shall inform the Chair of this situation. Additionally, any person designated by the Member States, as well as experts who have been authorised by the Chair to participate in the meeting in accordance with Articles 9(2) and 10(2), and representatives of third parties who have been invited to attend the meeting in accordance with Article 10 shall inform the Chair of any conflict of interest with regard to a particular item on the agenda.

In the event of such a conflict of interest, the person concerned shall, at the request of the Chair, withdraw from the meeting whilst the relevant items of the agenda are being dealt with.

1.   Correspondence relating to the Committee shall be addressed to the Commission, for the attention of the Committee secretariat.

2.   Correspondence addressed to delegations by the secretariat shall be sent to the Permanent Representation of the Member State concerned by the most rapid and reliable electronic means. Where a Permanent Representation indicates to the Commission a specific central electronic address for correspondence related to the work of the Committees, that address shall be used for correspondence. In addition, correspondence may be addressed directly to the persons designated by the Member States to represent them in the Committee.

3.   Save in exceptional circumstances, correspondence between the Commission and delegations shall be sent in both directions by the electronic means provided for by the Commission.

1.   Requests for access to Committee documents shall be handled in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4). The Commission shall decide on requests for access to those documents pursuant to its Rules of Procedure (5). If the request is addressed to a Member State, that Member State shall apply Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

2.   The Committee's discussions shall be confidential.

3.   Documents submitted to members of the Committee, experts and representatives of third parties shall be confidential, unless access is granted to those documents pursuant to paragraph 1 or they are otherwise made public by the Commission.

4.   The members of the Committee, as well as experts and representatives of third parties, shall be required to respect the confidentiality obligations set out in this Article. The Chair shall ensure that experts and representatives of third parties are made aware of the confidentiality requirements imposed upon them.

1.   The Committee's running costs, including travel expenses for one participant per Member State, shall be borne by the Commission.

If the allocated financial appropriation allows it and within the limits of that appropriation, the Commission shall cover the travelling expenses of two delegation members who submit a request to that effect.

2.   The Commission shall make available the premises and material resources necessary for the Committee's work.