Counter Balance

The pilot phase of the EU Project Bond Initiative is about to come to an end. Over the last two years nine infrastructure projects have been approved for refinancing through this risk sharing facility developed by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB). And much more will follow as this financial instrument and […]

  Where and When? Tuesday 2 December 2014, 13:00-16:00 European Parliament, Brussels, Room P1C051,   What ? In 2012, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched the pilot phase of the ‘Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative’ – the so-called project bonds – in order to steer private sector investments in large infrastructure […]

First EU project bonds pilot project fails Cost will fall on Spanish citizens as government goes for most expensive option EU responsibility in increasing Spanish debt is overwhelming The pilot phase of the European Project Bond Initiative was launched by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2012 as an instrument to […]

As  the  pilot  phase  of  the  Project  Bond  Initiative  descends  into  acrimony  amid  the closure of its flagship pilot project, the recent downgrading of the Castor bonds to junk status and the Spanish government’s announcement that it expects to compensate investors  for  the  project,  it  is  hard  to  imagine  that  this  is  what  the  European […]

The Castor project, a gas storage platform in Spain might be on hold for ever after a scientific report proves it is responsible for hundreds of earthquakes in the region of Valencia in autumn last year. If no solution is found by the end of November 2014 the Spanish government is obliged to take over […]

Brussels – Today three NGOs [1] filed a complaint with OLAF, calling on the EU’s anti-fraud office to open an investigation into a EUR 350 million European Investment Bank (EIB) loan for a motorway project in Italy. The project and several subcontracting companies are under investigation by the Italian authorities for alleged fiscal fraud and […]

A test case for the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative Large infrastructure projects are at the core of the EU’s plan to drag the ‘old continent’ from one of the most profound periods of crises in modern Europe. According to the European Commission, in order to meet its Europe 2020 objectives on climate change, infrastructure […]

The use of one of Europe’s first project bonds to help finance a gas storage plant off Spain’s coast has run into trouble. This does not bode well for the future use of such bonds, or the types of project that they are being used to finance, write Elena Gerebizza and Xavier Sol. Elena Gerebizza […]

Brussels – Several Spanish civil society groups have sent an open letter [1] today to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission (EC) questioning the Castor Project in Spain because of its environmental impact and the potential costs involved for Spanish tax payers. The Castor Project is a EUR 1,634 bn gas storage […]

  Ahead of the backloading vote at the European Parliament that will take place tomorrow, a coalition of 42 civil society organisations released a statement today rejecting the EU ETS, which they say is entrenching fossil fuel use in the EU. They call for MEP attention to be re-directed urgently toward genuine measures to tackle […]