EIB assessment of development-related aspects of projects
Article 7
1. The EIB shall carry out thorough due diligence and, where appropriate and in line with Union social and environmental principles, require the presence of appropriate local public consultation, on development-related aspects of projects covered by the EU guarantee. The EIB’s own rules and procedures shall include the necessary provisions on assessment of environmental and social impact of projects and of aspects related to human rights to ensure that only projects that are economically, financially, environmentally and socially sustainable are supported under this Decision. The Commission shall include on an aggregate basis in the annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council an assessment of the development dimension of the activities of the EIB, based on the due diligence carried out for projects. Where appropriate, the appraisal shall include an assessment of how the capacities of the beneficiaries of EIB financing can be reinforced throughout the project cycle with technical assistance. 2. In addition to the ex-ante assessment of development-related aspects, the EIB shall require the project promoters to carry out thorough monitoring during project implementation until completion, inter alia, on the development, environmental and human rights impact of the project. The EIB shall assess the information provided by the project promoters. The EIB monitoring shall include, where possible, monitoring of the performance of financial intermediaries in support of SMEs. The results of monitoring shall, where possible, be disclosed. 3. The EIB shall submit to the Commission annual reports assessing the estimated development impact of the operations financed during the year. The reports shall be based on the EIB performance indicators referred to in Article 6(2). The Commission shall present the development reports of the EIB to the European Parliament and to the Council in the framework of the annual reporting exercise provided for in Article 11 and make them publicly available so that interested stakeholders, including civil society and recipient countries, are also able to express their views on the matter. The European Parliament shall discuss the annual reports, taking into consideration the views of all interested parties. 4. The requirements referred to in this Article shall apply only to the EIB financing operations for which the EIB financing application is submitted after 30 October 2011 and which are signed after 1 January 2012.