Re: Follow‐up to my letter of 22 February 2016 on proactive transparency (SI/3/2016/AB)

Dear Mr President,

I would like to thank you for your further reply to my letter dated 22 February 2016, in which I made three suggestions to the EIB in the area of proactive transparency.

I welcome in particular the EIB Group’s decision proactively to publish, from the start of this year, the minutes of the meetings of the EIB and EIF Boards of Directors, in place of the “Summary of Decisions” taken by the EIB Board. I understand that the Bank will make every effort to ensure that the minutes are disclosed in a timely manner.

I have already welcomed the publication of the EFSI Agreement signed between the European Union and the EIB in my first follow-up letter of 22 July 2016.

I was also pleased to learn about the EIB’s ongoing efforts to improve its Public Register, notably by disseminating more environmental information. I note in particular that the EIB disclosed for the first time in 2016 Environmental and Social Completion Sheets (ESCS) and that it plans to publish the full Environmental Impact Assessment Studies/Statements/Reports for projects inside the EU. The possibility of disclosing these latter documents was raised in the context of own-initiative inquiry OI/3/2013 concerning a project financed by the EIB in Ukraine. I am greatly encouraged by the fact that the Bank now intends to publish them.

I look forward to meeting you in due course to discuss these improvements and other matters of mutual interest.

Yours sincerely,

Emily O'Reilly

European Ombudsman

Strasbourg, 27/01/2017