OVERVIEW

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the world's largest multilateral development bank, and acts as the financial arm of the European Union. In 2006, the EIB approved loans totalling € 47.4 billion and its subscribed capital reaches € 163 billion. In comparison, the EBRD loan activities totaled € 4.1 billion in 2004, and the World Bank provided loans worth € 17.4 billion in 2005. The Structural Funds programs offer non-reimbursable grants for projects, but loans from the EIB represent another financing possibility for the private sector. The U.S. does not hold a share in the EIB, nor does it sit on its board.

The EIB supports the same "key European policy objectives" as those supported by the Structural Funds. The EIB finances projects from both the public and the private sectors. The Bank offers preferential rates and longer payback periods than most commercial banks can offer. As a general rule, projects should contribute to growth in the less developed regions, with an emphasis on innovation and job creation. The EIB is well known for its expertise in project identification and appraisal by teams of engineers, economists and financial analysts. EIB staff prepares project monitoring, completion and post-completion evaluation reports. The EIB is ready to finance projects to be developed in Europe and elsewhere: the EIB has stated its willingness to examine large projects sponsored by U.S.-based firms.

More information can be found on the EIB website

PROJECT FINANCING

A promoter seeking to obtain a loan can contact the Bank by telephone or in writing and submit his project, which will be vetted for eligibility, i.e. for compliance with the EU objectives that the EIB serves to promote. Within the EU, projects considered for EIB financing must contribute toward one or more of the following key objectives:

• Fostering the economic development of the less favored regions
• Improving the European transport and telecommunications infrastructure
• Protecting the environment
• Promoting renewable energy
• Enhancing international competitiveness of industry
• Extending and modernizing infrastructure in the health and education sectors

Outside the EU territory, the EIB supports the EU's cooperation and development aid policies in over 120 countries in Africa, the Caribbean & the Pacific, the Mediterranean area, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Projects should be in the range of €20 to 25 million. For smaller sized projects, the EIB has agreements with commercial banks in all EU Member States to offer its financing.

TENDERING FOR EIB-FINANCED PROJECTS

The Commercial Service at the US Mission to the EU has developed a database containing two types of EIB tenders. This database is updated twice per week.

1. Tenders for supplies, works and service contracts, including technical assistance and consultancy, in non-EU countries for projects financed by the EIB, usually in developing countries;

2. Tenders where the EIB is itself the contracting authority, listed under “Luxembourg”, where the EIB is located;

Occasionally, tenders for service contracts for the European Central Bank (ECB) are listed under “Germany”, where the ECB is located.

Two different procedures for public procurement projects are applied according to the country where the project will be developed.

1. In cases where the EIB-financed project is undertaken in an EU Member State, it is the public borrower that publishes a call for tender. It is mandatory that these tenders are published in the EU Official Journal. This is accessible through TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), which contains all active notices published in the EU Official Journal and the Supplement to the Official Journal. In this scenario, the EIB requires that the loan recipient apply the EU Public Procurement Directives.

2. In cases where the project is undertaken in non-EU countries, the EIB publishes itself the call for tender in TED, even though the contracting authority is the loan recipient entity. There are on average between 40 and 80 calls for tenders in this section.

EIB Guide to Procurement

In its Guide to Procurement, the EIB outlines the policies it applies to projects that are financed by the bank, and those that are financed under loans guaranteed by the bank. Generally, the bank makes its loans conditional on international invitations to tender, through open international competition. Different rules apply to loans within and outside the EU. The guide also defines the different types of procedures and other specific procurement terms in its annexes. Please visit our EIB tenders database to access these calls.

EIB as Contracting Authority

The EIB acts as contracting authority only when it procures services, supplies and works for its own account. In December 2005, the EIB updated its Guide to Procurement, with details of the framework of procurement guidelines and in particular its reference to the EU Public Procurement Directive 2004/18 on the coordination of public works, services and supplies. EIB calls for tender for its own account are advertised on the USEU EIB Tenders Database, in the listing under Luxembourg.