(1)

In support of the European Union’s European Neighbourhood Policy, the Council wishes to make it possible for the European Investment Bank (EIB) to grant loans for certain types of projects in Russia and in the Western New Independent States (‘WNIS’), namely Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

(2)

In support of the Northern Dimension initiative launched by the Helsinki Council of December 1999, Council Decision 2001/777/EC of 6 November 2001 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under a special lending action for selected environmental projects in the Baltic Sea basin of Russia under the Northern Dimension (2), was adopted.

(3)

The EIB lending under Decision 2001/777/EC is now approaching its ceiling.

(4)

In its conclusions, the Ecofin Council of 25 November 2003 agreed to an additional allocation for lending to Russia and the WNIS by the EIB, as a further development of Decision 2001/777/EC for projects in areas in which the EIB has a comparative advantage and where there is unmet credit demand. The areas in which the EIB is considered to have a ‘comparative advantage’ are: environment as well as transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure on priority Trans-European network (‘TEN’) axes having cross-border implications for a Member State.

(5)

The lending mandate should be subject, on the one hand, to appropriate conditionality consistent with EU high-level agreements on political and macro-economic aspects, and with other international financial institutions on sectoral and project aspects, and on the other, to appropriate work-sharing between the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

(6)

EIB financing should be managed in accordance with the EIB’s usual criteria and procedures, including appropriate control measures, as well as with the relevant rules and procedures concerning the Court of Auditors and OLAF, in such a way as to support Community policies. There should be regular consultation between the EIB and the Commission to ensure coordination of priorities and activities in the countries in question and to measure progress towards the fulfilment of the Community’s relevant policy objectives.

(7)

This decision will be taken into account in the framework of the full assessment in December 2006 of EIB’s general lending mandate for projects outside the European Union,

—

environment;

—

transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure on priority Trans-European network (TEN) axes having cross-border implications for a Member State.