In April 2006, the European Investment Bank (EIB) released its new information policy. The policy framework is based on EU provisions on transparency and public disclosure of information and related legislation (Read EEN related article). At the same time, the information policy aims to support the effectiveness of the Bank’s decision-making processes and operations.

The Global Transparency Initiative, a platform of NGOs monitoring transparency in international financial institutions, welcomed the EIB new information policy. Although it does not reflect all the proposals put forward by civil society organisations which engaged in the consultation process (Read EEN related article), the EIB new information policy is nevertheless welcomed as an important step in the right direction from the EU’s multi-billion euro lending house bank, which had been lagging behind other international financial institutions in terms of transparency.

Toby Mendel, from Article 19, commented: “We are pleased to see that the new EIB information policy includes an important underlying concept that we pushed for: the ‘presumption of disclosure’, namely that all the information held by the EIB is subject to disclosure unless there is a compelling reason for non-disclosure. This presumption is a necessary ingredient for any institution that is serious about transparency. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and we will be able to assess the real value of this policy and real changes in the EIB’s transparency only after testing the policy on concrete projects. There must be significantly better access to information for people affected by EIB financed projects both inside and outside the EU” (Read EEN related article).

This new EIB information policy is the result of the first ever public consultation process conducted by the bank. Initiated in May 2005, the process developed into a two phase consultation period and resulted in the EIB receiving a wide range of comments from groups around the world.