97/256/EC: Council Decision of 14 April 1997 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects outside the Community (Central and Eastern Europe countries, Mediterranean countries, Latin American and Asian countries and South Africa)

• Articles: 6

Article 1

1. The Community shall grant the European Investment Bank a global guarantee in respect of all payments not received by it but due in respect of credits opened, in accordance with its usual criteria for investment projects carried out in the Central and Eastern Europe countries, in the Mediterranean countries, in the Latin American and Asian countries, and in the Republic of South Africa.

This guarantee shall be restricted to 70 % of the aggregate amount of the credits opened, plus all related sums. The overall ceiling of the credits opened shall be equivalent to ECU 7 105 million, broken down as follows:

- Central and Eastern Europe countries ECU 3 520 million,

- Mediterranean countries ECU 2 310 million,

- Latin American and Asian countries ECU 900 million,

- Republic of South Africa ECU 375 million,

and shall cover a period of three years beginning on 31 January 1997 for Central and Eastern Europe, Mediterranean and Latin American and Asian countries, and on 1 July 1997 for the Republic of South Africa. If, on the expiry of this period, the loans granted by the EIB have not attained the overall amounts referred to above, the period shall be automatically extended by six months.

2. The countries included above are:

- Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia,

- Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Gaza-West Bank,

- Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela,

- Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam,

- Republic of South Africa.

3. The European Investment Bank is invited to aim to cover the commercial risk on 25 % of its lending under this decision from non-sovereign guarantees to be expanded upon whenever possible insofar as the market permits on an individual mandate basis.

Article 2

The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council every six months of the situation regarding loans signed and progress made on risk sharing according to Article 1 (3). To that end, the EIB shall regularly transmit to the Commission the appropriate information.

Article 3

The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council each year of the loan operations and shall, at the same time, submit an assessment of the operation of the scheme and of coordination between the financial institutions operating in that area.

Article 4

The Council shall evaluate the application of this Decision on the basis of a report presented in June 1998 by the Commission and the EIB.

Article 5

Detailed rules for the application of this Decision shall be laid down in an agreement to be concluded between the Commission and the EIB.

Article 6

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Done at Luxembourg, 14 April 1997.

For the Council

The President

J. VAN AARTSEN

(1) OJ No C 13, 14. 1. 1996, p. 9.

(2) OJ No C 115, 14. 4. 1997.

(3) Council Decision 93/696/EC of 13 December 1993 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects in Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Albania) (OJ No L 321, 23. 12. 1993, p. 27).

(4) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1763/92 of 29 June 1992 concerning financial cooperation in respect of all Mediterranean non-member countries (OJ No L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 5) as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1735/94 (OJ No L 182, 16. 7. 1994, p. 6).

(5) Council Decision 93/115/EEC of 15 February 1993 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects of mutual interest in certain third countries (OJ No L 45, 23. 2. 1993, p. 27).

(6) Council Decision 96/723/EC of 12 December 1996 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects of mutual interest in Latin American and Asian countries with which the Community has concluded cooperation agreements (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela; Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) (OJ No L 329, 19. 12. 1996, p. 45).

(7) Council Decision 95/207/EC of 1 June 1995 granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects in South Africa (OJ No L 131, 15. 6. 1995, p. 31).

(8) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2728/94 of 31 October 1994 establishing a Guarantee Fund for external actions (OJ No L 293, 12. 11. 1994, p. 1).