BRUSSELS — European Union finance ministers have given the European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development until the end of January to weigh in on sweeping changes being considered to the bloc’s climate and development investments.
Ministers met Thursday in Brussels, where they issued their response to an October report by an expert panel designed to improve the coordination and visibility of European development efforts, particularly in Africa. The High-Level Group of Wise Persons had recommended three long-term options for the creation of a new European climate and sustainable development bank: Build on EBRD, create a new mixed-ownership institution, or use a subsidiary of EIB.
As expected after a debate between EU development ministers last week, the official response issued Thursday discarded the second option. Thomas Wieser, who chaired the expert group, told Devex that a new institution would have produced the best development impact in the long run, but it was the most difficult choice politically, would have taken a long time, and would not have resolved the sometimes overlapping roles of EIB and EBRD.