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THE FIRST EVER ACADEMIC CONFERENCE ON THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK SINCE ITS CREATION IN 1958 HAS BEEN HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBOURG.
THE FOLLOW UP WILL BE IN ITALY EARLY 2020.
PROMINENT PARTICIPANTS
Acting as Chairs, Discussants and Presenters
Zareh Asatryan (ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research)
Dan Beizsley (Utrecht University/Eötvös Loránd University)
Eric Bussière (Sorbonne Université)
Eugene Chao (The Wharton Business School)
Lucia Coppolaro (Univeristy of Padova)
Barbara Costa (Head of Intesa Sanpaolo Group Historical Archives)
Loredana Federico (UniCredit Research)
Bernard Gordon (Sorbonne Université)
Stephany Griffith Jones (Columbia University)
Robert Harmsen (University of Luxembourg)
Annika Havlik (ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research)
David Howarth (University of Luxembourg)
Andrzej Jakubowski (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin)
Helen Kavvadia (University of Luxembourg)
Alexander Kentikelenis (Bocconi University)
René Leboutte (University of Luxembourg)
Moritz Liebe (University of Trier
Daniel Mertens (Goethe University of Frankfurt)
Natalya Naqvi (The London School of Economics)
Ilaria Pasotti (Ind. Researcher, collaborator of Intesa Sanpaolo Groups)
Eric Perée (The European Investment Bank)
Dora Piroska (Corvinus University of Budapest)
Emanuela Pistoia (University of Teramo)
Stuart Shields (University of Manchester)
Joachim Schild (University of Trier)
Donatella Strangio (Universita Roma La Sapienza)
PaoloTedeschi (Milan Bicocca University)
Matthias Thiemann (Sciences Po)
Mateu Turró (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)
Vukan R, Vuchic (University of Pennsylvania)
PARTICIPANTS END OF CONFERENCE PHOTO
CALL FOR PAPERS
CONFERENCE
Analysing the European Investment Bank:
Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender.
Venue: University of Luxembourg, Belval Campus,
11, Porte des Sciences, 4366 Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg
Sponsored by the Robert Schuman Institute for European Affairs of the University of Luxembourg, the University of Luxembourg, The University of Padova
Date: July 10th and 11th July 2019
After World War II, international financial institutions were established to facilitate and regulate the access to global capital markets and promote reconstruction and economic growth (Clifton et al. 2014). At European level, in 1958 the European Investment Bank (EIB) was established by the Treaty of Rome to act as the financial institution of the European Economic Community (EEC), now European Union (EU). As stated in Article 130 of the Treaty, the financial intermediation activity of the EIB was intended to channel capital so as to improve the abilities of the member states and their firms to adapt to the increased competition created by the Common Market, reducing inequalities among regions and between economic sectors, and favour development and economic integration. Today the EIB is the biggest lender and borrower among the international financial institutions and plays a leading role in long-term financing within the EU.
Despite its prominent role, the EIB has been the subject of surprisingly little research both in comparison to other regional banks but also to other EU institutions. Apart from sporadic interest previously, only over the past two decades have scholars from different disciplines started to dedicate sustained attention to the EIB (Griffith Jones et al, 2005; Robinson, 2009; Bussière et all, 2009; Coppolaro 2010; Hanchez and Wouters, 2011; Clifton, Díaz-Fuentes, and Revuelta, 2014; Mertens and Thiemann, 2017). However, a fully-fledged body of literature and models for evaluating the EIB, its operation, effectiveness, role and future relevance is still lacking. The recent opening of the EIB archives, the 60th ‘birthday’ celebrations in 2018 and of its first 60 years of operation in 2019 make this an appropriate moment to make a significant contribution to progress in EIB-focused research.
Our conference aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines (economy, history, law and political science) with a threefold aim: to investigate whether and how the EIB contributed to the economic development and integration of the European Union; to examine the evolution of the EIB as an institution; and to explore its future prospects.
Our goals are to understand which political, economic and institutional factors influenced the trajectory of the EIB and its policies, which events can be considered milestones and decisive turning points in this process, which personalities played a relevant role, and how the EIB contributed to the tasks pinpointed by the Treaty of Rome. We want to identify the distinctive operational phases that have come to characterise concrete periods of the EIB’s existence and offer a periodisation of the entity`s trajectory. We also want to ascertain how internal changes and the changes in the international economic and geopolitical context influenced the EIB, and how the EIB responded and adapted to these changes and to the changing EU institutional environment. We want to offer a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the most salient trends and changes in the EIB’s operations by looking at the patterns of loan allocations and the evolving origins of its funding sources. We also wish to look forward and to consider the EIB’s future role in a globalized, multipolar political and economic environment.
We welcome research papers in any field related to the EIB Group, including but not limited to the following topics:
- The historical origins of the Bank;
- The priorities and determinants of the EIB’s lending policy and its field of operations;
- The EIB’s funding and the borrowing policy (own funds and debt markets), and EIB resilience;
- The effect and impact of EIB operations on regional economic integration, development and economic growth;
- The financial instruments (loans, guarantees, equity participations and technical assistance grants);
- The EIB’s business model and its evolution;
- The EIB’s decision-making and management, and the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations;
- EU / EIB Membership development and its impact on the mandate, governance and policies of the Bank;
- Role of the member states and of the Commission and relationship with them;
- Role of and relationships with non-state actors such as central banks, private banks, local development institutions, multilateral and regional banks, and other non-state actors, including the society (accountability, transparency, corporate social responsibility) and checks and balances;
- Specific individuals who might be singled out for their role and influence;
- Comparative analysis with other International Financial Institutions (IFIs), multilateral and regional banks;
- Future EIB relevance in view of global transformations of political, social, economic, technological, environmental and geopolitical nature.
For each of these topics, we aim to examine continuity as well as change.
Any other topics related to the conference theme will also be considered.
Submissions
Authors are invited to submit an abstract (500 words) together with a brief bio to no later than 4 January 2019. Accepted contributors will be communicated by 17 January 2019. A paper of no more than 8000 words should be submitted by 12 June 2019.
Expenses
Reasonable (economy fare) travel and hotel costs will be covered by the organizers.
Useful links
RSI : https://wwwen.uni.lu/research/robert_schuman_institute_of_european_affairs
Publishing plans
It is our aim that the best papers from the conference be published in a top journal and/or an edited volume with a leading academic publisher. This edited volume will also include a number of additional papers – depending on goodness of fit. Conference proceedings will be also published and uploaded to the EIB Conference 2019 site.
For the Scientific Committee
Lucia Coppolaro
Associate Professor of International History
University of Padova
Helen Kavvadia
Visiting Research Associate, Department of Political Science and
International Relations, Institute of Political Science – IPSE
University of Luxembourg
ANALYSING THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK
Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender.
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Venue: University of Luxembourg, Belval Campus,
11, Porte des Sciences, 4366 Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg
Sponsored by the Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs
and the Institute of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg,
and the University of Padova
Date: 10-11 July 2019
10 July 2019
09.00 – 09.15: Registration
09.15 - 09.45: Welcome and Introduction: David Howarth (Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg) and Helen Kavvadia (Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg).
09.45 - 11.00: Session 1: Historical insights into the EIB’s operation
Chair: Lucia Coppolaro (University of Padova)
Bernard Gordon (Sorbonne Université) – From the European Project to European Projects – Sixty years of French presence and influence at the European Investment Bank (1958-2018);
Ilaria Pasotti (Independent researcher and collaborator of Intesa Sanpaolo Group Historical Archives) and Barbara Costa (Head of Intesa Sanpaolo Group Historical Archives) – The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano (IMI): a neglected relationship in the EIB's activity in Italy (1968-1978);
Donatella Strangio (Universita Roma La Sapienza) and PaoloTedeschi (Milan Bicocca University) – Developing the Mediterranean Europe: The EIB and the financing of Italy and Greece (1960s-1970s);
Discussant: Eric Bussiére (Sorbonne Université)
11.00 - 11.15: Coffee break
11.15 - 12.45: Session 2: EIB impact in European regions
Chair: René Leboutte (University of Luxembourg)
Zareh Asatryan (ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research) and Annika Havlik (ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research) – The Political Economy of Multilateral Lending to European Regions;
Andrzej Jakubowski (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin) – The impact of the European Investment Bank loans on regional economic growth and cohesion in the European Union;
6. Moritz Liebe (University of Trier) and David Howarth (University of Luxembourg) - The European Investment Bank as policy entrepreneur and the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships;
Discussant: Paolo Tedeschi (Università di Milano Bicocca-DEMS)
13.00 - 14.15: Lunch
14.15 - 15.45: Session 3: Insights into EIB decision-making
Chair: Joachim Schild (University of Trier)
Dan Beizsley (Utrecht University/Eötvös Loránd University) – A critical appraisal? Identifying weaknesses in the EIB project assessment phase;
Mateu Turró (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) – The European Investment Bank as a major player in EU urban policy;
Eugene Chao (The Wharton Business School) and Vukan R, Vuchic (University of Pennsylvania) – Quo Vadis: Infrastructure Investment - A Return to the Imperative Action;
Discussant: Stephany Griffith Jones (Columbia University)
5.45 - 16.15: Coffee break
16.15 - 17.45: Session 4: Assessing EIB efforts to counter the recent economic crisis
Chair: David Howarth (University of Luxembourg)
Stephany Griffith-Jones (Columbia University) and Natalya Naqvi (The London School of Economics) – The Juncker Plan (EFSI) and the EIB; assessing achievements and limitations;
Loredana Federico (UniCredit Research) – What has the “Juncker Plan” achieved?
Emanuela Pistoia (University of Teramo) – Supporting the development of the internal market at the peak of the crisis. Legal challenges in the role of the EIB;
Discussant: Eric Perée (The European Investment Bank)
19.00: Dinner
11 July 2019
09.15 - 11.00: Session 5: The Political Economy of EIB action
Chair: Robert Harmsen (University of Luxembourg)
Dora Piroska (Corvinus University of Budapest) – Contrasting EIB and EBRD’s role in post-accession Eastern Europe;
Stuart Shields (University of Manchester) – Never waste a crisis: The European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Bank Coordination Initiative;
Daniel Mertens (Goethe University of Frankfurt) and Matthias Thiemann (Sciences Po) – The post-crisis ascent and growing politicisation of the European Investment Bank;
Discussant: Alexander Kentikelenis (Bocconi University)
11.00 - 11.15: Coffee break
11.15 - 12.15: Conclusions by discussants: Eric Bussiére, Paolo Tedeschi, Eric Perée, David Howarth, and
closure by Lucia Coppolaro and Helen Kavvadia
13.00 - 15.00: EIB visit and Lunch
16.00 – 17.00: Optional guided tour at the EIB art collection.
PRESS RELEASE
Luxembourg, 11/7/2019: Hot academic debate on the European Investment Bank at the University of Luxembourg
The University of Luxembourg hosted the first ever academic conference on the European Investment Bank (EIB) since its establishment in 1958, and a hot academic debate on how the EIB contributed to the economic development of the European Union, its evolution as an institution and its future prospects.
Timely just after EIB’s 60th year anniversary, the conference entitled “analysing the European Investment Bank: interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender”, took place at the campus Belval on 10-11 July 2019, and brought together 25 prominent scholars from top universities of 9 EU countries and the USA, with well-known track records on EIB research, from different backgrounds such as economy, history, law and political science.
Questions central to the topic included which political, economic and institutional factors influenced the trajectory of the EIB and its policies, which events can be considered milestones and decisive turning points in this process, which personalities played a relevant role, and how the EIB contributed to the tasks pinpointed by the Treaty of Rome. After World War II, the Treaty of Rome established the EIB Bank to act as the financial institution of the European Union. Today the EIB is the largest, among the international financial institutions, multilateral lending and borrowing institution in the world and provides the EU with long-term financing.
Discussions developed around five distinct areas of research presented at the conference, which included i) historical insights into the EIB’s operation; ii) the institution’s impact in European regions; iii) insights into the EIB’s decision-making; iv) assessing the EIB’s efforts to counter the recent economic crisis; as well as v) the political economy of its action.
The first group of papers presented approached EIB’s operation from a historical angle. That includes: how France influenced the EIB from the first negotiations on its creation in the early 1950s to the present day; how Italy has been EIB’s major borrower ever since the institution’s creation and EIB’s role in the country; how the EIB contributed to the economic development of the Mediterranean Europe and in particular of Italy and Greece.
The second group of paper presentations examined the EIB’s impact on European regions: the study of the political economy of lending allocation decisions and the role of the members of its board of directors; the effects and impact of the EIB operations on regional economic growth and the reduction of disparities in the levels of development between the EU’s regions, in absolute terms and in comparison to the EU Structural Funds; the important role of the EIB in the EU’s promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
The third set of papers presented examined the EIB’s decision-making process: presentation of weaknesses in the EIB appraisal process that render it vulnerable to interference contributing toward the EIB taking credit decisions that can be inconsistent with its lending criteria and standards; explanation of the process of development of EU urban policy and the role played by the EIB, the activity of the institution in the sector and the procedures followed to approve a lending agreement, with a focus on the key criteria to assess the quality of the project to be financed; explanation of the decision-making of infrastructure investments and separation of two critical concepts, the fluctuation of asset price due to the interaction of supply and demand vs. the growth of asset intrinsic value driven by the process of value creation via managerial strategy and policy formation.
The fourth group of papers presented assess the EIB’s efforts to counter the recent economic crisis: distinguish between “economic” risks arising from natural uncertainty relating to investments in certain types of projects or sectors and “financial” risks that are related to financial products or intermediaries themselves, and create the danger of subsidising the profits of private investors, while socialising their risk of losses, as well as the trade-offs between increased leverage and policy steer; explore the main features of the Investment Plan for Europe, highlighting its achievements so far and the pending issues that still appear unresolved in the extension of the plan; supporting the development of the internal market at the peak of the crisis and the legal challenges in the role of the EIB.
The conference was co-organised by the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova, and was sponsored by The Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs, the Institute of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova.
Background information for the editors
After World War II, the Treaty of Rome established the EIB to act as the financial institution of the European Union. Today the EIB is the largest, among the international financial institutions, multilateral lending and borrowing institution in the world and provides the EU with long-term financing, yet only scantly researched by the academic community.
Contact: Dr Helen Kavvadia, Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg, email: , tel: +352 4666449386
PRESS RELEASE
Luxembourg, 9/7/2019: The University of Luxembourg sets the scene for the first ever academic conference on the European Investment Bank
The University of Luxembourg hosts starting tomorrow and the the first ever academic conference on the European Investment Bank (EIB) since its establishment in 1958.
Entitled “analysing the European Investment Bank: interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the past, present and future of the world’s biggest lender”, it takes place at the campus Belval on 10-11 July 2019.
The conference which is co-organised by the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova, comes timely just after EIB’s 60th year anniversary. Sponsored by The Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs, the Institute of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg and the University of Padova, the conference is really international, as it brings around the table 25 prominent scholars from 9 EU countries and the USA, with well-known track records on EIB research, from different backgrounds such as economy, history, law and political science.
The conference will focus on the EIB in an interdisciplinary way, in order to discuss how the EIB contributed to the economic development of the European Union, its evolution as an institution and its future prospects. Discussions will include historical insights into the EIB’s operation, the institution’s impact in European regions, insights into the EIB’s decision-making, assessing the EIB’s efforts to counter the recent economic crisis as well as the political Economy of its action.
Background information for the editors
After World War II, the Treaty of Rome established the EIB to act as the financial institution of the European Union. Today the EIB is the largest, among the international financial institutions, multilateral lending and borrowing institution in the world and provides the EU with long-term financing, yet only scantly researched by the academic community.
Contact: Dr Helen Kavvadia, Institute of Political Science, University of Luxembourg, email: , tel: +352 4666449386
NEWS AND UPDATES
This section gives regular updates on the progress of the Conference.
SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED
CEIB2019 extends our thanks to all who submitted proposals for the Conference. Accepted contributions will be communicated by January 17, 2019.
Updated 04/01/2019
NEWS AND UPDATES
SUBMISSIONS FAR EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS
The Scientific Committee extends our thanks to all who submitted proposals for the Conference.
The number of submissions far exceeded our expectations, as scholarly work on the EIB had been limited to date, and the selection process is proving very demanding. We kindly therefore ask for your understanding for not being able to respond to you as promised by the 17th January 2019.
We will do our best, to come back to you as early as possible, and we thank you again for your interest in the Conference.
Updated 17/01/2019
NEWS AND UPDATES
SECOND LEG OF CONFERENCE DECIDED TO BE HELD IN ITALY EARLY 2020
The Call for Papers was launched in November and by the deadline date early this year, we received a wealth of interesting and well-qualified submissions, coming from the EU, USA, India and New Zealand. The submissions cover a wide range of scientific disciplines ranging from history, economics, political science, law, engineering, business etc. The number of submissions far exceeded our expectations, as the topic is very narrow and scholarly work on the EIB had been limited to date.
The quality of the submissions is such that we are setting our sights on a follow up conference in Italy near the end of 2019 or early 2020.
Updated 17/01/2019
NEWS AND UPDATES
WORKING TOWARDS A BALANCED CONFERENCE PROGRAM
The Scientific Committee having responded to all who submitted proposals for the Conference, has started working on developing a balanced conference program.
The proposals to be presented fall in four broad categories, ie history, economics, political science and different other areas, including law, engineering, and decision-making, confirming the interdisciplinary nature of the Conference, while the geographical distribution of the originating academic institutions spread over eleven different countries assures its international character.
The Scientific Committee looks forward to welcoming the participants at the University of Luxembourg in July 2019!
Updated 06/02/2019
NEWS AND UPDATES
THE ORIGINAL DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF 12 JUNE 2019, HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 28 JUNE 2019.
Given that a few papers were late, the Scientific Committee has decided to extend the deadline for full paper submission to 28 June 2019. The Conference program will be published after reception of all papers to be presented.
Updated 12/062019
NEWS AND UPDATES
THE FIRST EVER ACADEMIC CONFERENCE ON THE EIB HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED
The judicious mix of well known and widely cited scholars working on the EIB, with new ones with an interest on the topic stimulated further academic interest, provoked fruitful discussions, enriched knowledge and allowed us to establish a network of researchers of the subject.
Updated 12/07/2019
OUR VOLUNTEERS
We thank warmly
Alessandro Zerbini, Student, Master in European Governance University of Luxembourg
Alexandros Schäfer-Kavvadias, Student, BSc/MSc Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens
Anastasia Schäfer-Kavvadia, Student, BSc Law, University of Athens
Stephanos Schäfer-Kavvadias, Student, BSc Pharmacy, University of Athens
Pierre Baumann-Croisier, Student, EU Politics Specialism "State and Economy", London School of Economics
STUDENTS GET INSPIRED IN VIEW OF THE CONFERENCE
The EIB: technocratic or political?
by Francesco Manti, student Master in European Governance, University of Luxembourg
In the last two decades, there has been a sort of hybridisation between politics and technocracy. A mixture between public and private, what Peter Crouch in his Post-Democracy would call private Keynesianism, as the tendency by the State to withdraw from activities of public interest (such as funds for education or research) to make room for private actors. Obviously, the EIB is a financial institution of the European Union that has as its objective the regional development and the under-developed countries’ one; but in order to answer to the question it is interesting to look at the investments, the projects and the composition of the Bank.
For what concerns the economic side, there is a strong emphasis on supporting (especially in ACP countries) the creation and growth of SMEs, with parameters that are in sharp contradiction with those listed by the European Commission and operating through loans and not funds given its role as a bank. In my opinion, it expresses a markedly neoliberal logic, arose impetuously during the Washington Consensus’ period. A vision, according to which, beyond the general lines on tariffs and investments, the private sector is seen as the main factor for structural cohesion not only limited in generating wealth and wellbeing, supporting the nascent national institutions.
Besides the technical nature, the political situation behind the EIB has to be tackled, with shareholders being the 28 Member States of the EU, based on their economic weight (GDP) within the European Union at the time of its accession. Conceptually similar to IMF, the shares’ division confers more power to the economically stronger States. Therefore, those projects follow a more coherent and interconnected policy with the investments of individual MSs, compared to Communitarian development projects.
Thus, the EIB shows a dual nature: technocratic by its means, political in the original intentions of its members.
Further to a visit of Master in European Governance students of the University of Luxembourg, at the European Investment Bank on 6th December 2018.
EIB CONFERENCE 2019 DETAILS
What, Where, and When?
Date: July 10 and 11, 2019
Starting Time on July 10: 09:00 CET
Ending Time on July 11: 16:00 CET at the latest
Location: University of Luxembourg, Campus Belval, 11, Porte des Sciences, 4366 Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg
SPONSORS
THE UNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBOURG
Belval campus
