| Author (Person) | Chapman, Peter |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.8, No.5, 7.2.02, p13 |
| Publication Date | 07/02/2002 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 07/02/02 By EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) President Philippe Maystadt says he will press ahead with plans to plough cash into information society projects - despite the economic meltdown in the sector. The Luxembourg-based EIB was given a mandate at the 2000 'dot-com' summit in Lisbon to invest €12-15 billion in the 'Innovation 2000 Initiative' (I2I) to build up Europe's high-tech infrastructure and content. The plan was a key piece of the Lisbon blueprint to make Europe the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy. Since then a global slump in the technology and telecoms sectors and a loss of confidence in e-commerce has burst the Lisbon bubble. But in an interview with European Voice ahead of the launch of the EIB's annual report, Maystadt said there were no plans to slow down investments that already total €9.1 billion. 'We have no doubt about the strategy taken at Lisbon,' he said, insisting that the goals of more investment in education, research and development, and information and communications technology networks were all 'still valid'. He also deflected criticisms from film executives that the bank had been reluctant to hand out part of the I2I cash earmarked for the sector. 'Of course, it takes some time because these are new areas for the EIB,' said Maystadt, adding that the bank was more used to dealing with engineers than movie moguls. The former Belgian central banker said he hoped to clinch approval from member states in June to increase the EIB's capital from €100 billion to €150 billion for 5 years. The bank, which gives loans from cash it borrows on the international money markets, is limited to lending a maximum of 250 of its capital. But Maystadt said that without the increase, the bank - which already has outstanding loans totaling €221 billion - would reach its €250-billion ceiling in 2003. 'We hope to get this authorisation at the annual meeting of our governors [finance ministers from member states],' said Maystadt, adding that national parliaments may then scrutinise the bid before it is approved in the second half of the year. The increase in capital would be 'self-financing' because it would not require extra funds from shareholders. 'We are just asking them to let us use the reserves in our accounts,' he said, explaining that the bank had put aside some of its €1 billion-a-year profits to pay for the upgrade. He said the bank had invested €36.8 billion during 2001. Of this total, €31.2 billion was channelled to banks or went directly to final recipients in EU member states. Most of the funds went to projects in poorer 'objective one and two' areas - fulfilling the bank's development remit. Candidate countries snapped up funding worth €2.7 billion, Mediterranean countries received €1.4 billion for growth, stability and modernisation projects, and the Balkans received €320 million for reconstruction. The bank also invested €520 million in the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, €150 million in South Africa, €178 million in Asia and €365 million in Latin America. The EIB's sister organisation, the European Investment Fund, poured €800 million into venture capital funds and made available €960 million in bank guarantees for small companies. European Investment Bank president, Philippe Maystadt, says he will press ahead with plans to plough cash into information society projects, despite the economic meltdown in the sector. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
