Both ENDS criticizes lack of transparency EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced a worrying change in their policy on transparency. One of the changes would result in EU citizens no longer being able to access internal EIB documents, even if they are of public interest. Several campaigners, including Both ENDS’ Pieter Jansen, have therefore urged the the Dutch Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem to speak out against these plans on the next board meeting on September 16th.
More secrecy
“The bank’s planned lurch towards secrecy is extraordinary,” says Jansen. “At a time when the rest of the world has recognized that companies behave better when the public can find out what they’re doing, the EIB is proposing to conceal more than ever. Even more shocking is that this is being proposed by a bank that is effectively owned by us, the people of Europe. The European Parliament has made numerous calls on the EIB to act more transparently, but its response is to move in the opposite direction.”
Poor rating
The EIB already has a bad track record in terms of transparency. According to the 2013 Aid Transparency Index, the EIB is lagging behind other multilateral organizations in terms of transparency. The Index rated the EIB as ‘poor’ (one rung above the worst rating of ‘very poor’) as part of an assessment and ranking of 60 donor organizations. The proposed policy changes would turn the EIB into one of the least transparent financial institutions in the world. Therefore Both ENDS hopes that the Dutch government will take the opportunity to speak out against the proposed policy changes.
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