Statement by the Commission

Under point 49 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and sound financial management, the Commission reports to the budgetary authority once a year on the financial instruments. The 2012 report will also include the EU-EIB Project Bond Initiative.

Against this background and considering the short-lived nature of the project bond pilot phase, the Commission wishes to clarify that the expression ‘report every six months during the pilot phase’ used in recital 14, in Article 1(3)(b), Article 1(4), Article 2(3)(b) and Article 2(7), is that the Commission will inform Council and Parliament by appearing before either institution with suitable support material rather than completing an official Commission report, which would require disproportionate effort compared to the limited scope of the pilot phase.