Decision 97/256/EC is hereby amended as follows:
1. In the title, '. . . Asian countries, South Africa and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia` shall be replaced by '. . . Asian countries, South Africa, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina`.
2. The following recital shall be inserted after recital No 9:
'(9a) Whereas the Community guarantee to the EIB against losses under loans for projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an exceptional and special action and does not constitute a precedent for any future guarantees;`.
3. In Article 1
(a) paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:
'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, in the Republic of South Africa, in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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 7 355 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
- Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia:
ECU 150 million
- Bosnia and Herzegovina:
ECU 100 million.
That ceiling shall cover a period of three years beginning on 31 January 1997 for Central and Eastern Europe, Mediterranean and Latin American and Asian countries, on 1 July 1997 for the Republic of South Africa, and on 1 January 1998 for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. For Bosnia and Herzegovina it shall cover a period of two years beginning on the date of publication of this Decision. If, on the expiry of each of these periods, the loans granted by the EIB have not attained the overall amounts referred to above, the relevant period shall be automatically extended by six months.`
(b) the following seventh indent shall be added to paragraph 2:
'- Bosnia and Herzegovina.`
4. The following Article shall be inserted:
'Article 1a
1. This Article shall apply to EIB lending in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. The Community guarantee shall be conditional upon clearance in full by Bosnia and Herzegovina of its outstanding financial obligations towards the EIB and the Community and upon the acceptance by Bosnia and Herzegovina of responsibility by way of guarantee for such of those obligations as are not yet due.
3. EIB lending in Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be consistent with the policy of the Community in this country. The EIB shall operate within the framework of the reconstruction programme agreed at the various donors' conferences and shall finance projects of mutual interest in general infrastructure, including transport, energy and the environment, with the focus on the water, waste-water and sanitation projects designed to speed up the reconstruction process.
4. The Commission shall ensure appropriate coordination and consistency between operations undertaken pursuant to this Decision and those undertaken pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1628/96 (*).
5. Grants from the Community budget for projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina under this Decision shall take the form of interest-rate subsidies for loans granted by the EIB. The subsidy rate shall be 2 %.
Financial decisions relating to this Decision shall be adopted in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Regulation (EC) No 1628/96.
6. Article 1(3) shall not apply to EIB lending in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
7. The Commission and the EIB shall cooperate whenever appropriate with all international financial institutions active in fields similar to its own in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(*) OJ L 204, 14.8.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 851/98 (OJ L 122, 24.4.1998, p. 1).`
5. The following paragraph shall be added to Article 2:
'The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council, at the latest by the end of 1999, a report on the implementation of this Decision, including an assessment of its impact. This report shall in particular take into account the evolution of the economic and financial situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the commitment level of EIB loans and shall make appropriate recommendations. To this end, the EIB shall transmit to the Commission the appropriate information.`