Report from the Commission to the Council and to the European Parliament on the borrowing and lending activities of the Community in 2006.

Abstract

The Council decisions establishing the various lending instrumentsof the European Communities require the Commission to inform the Council and European Parliament each year of the use made of these instruments. As for lending activities outside the Community, the respective Council decisions1 require the Commission to inform the Council and Parliament on an annual basis of the situation regarding European Investment Bank (EIB) loans guaranteed by the Union budget in the South-Eastern Neighbours (SEN), in the Mediterranean countries (MED), in Asia and Latin America (ALA) and in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). In order to meet these information requirements, this report describes the lending operations for each of the areas concerned. To complete the picture of lending activities, it also gives a brief summary of the borrowing activities undertaken in order to finance the lending activities, of the macro-financial assistance provided by the Community to third countries and of the interest subsidies and guarantees associated with Community loans. In addition, it provides information on Euratom lending activities. The tables to this report are published in a Commission Staff Working Paper. References to tables in the text refer to the Staff Working Paper (hereinafter referred to as the “Annex”)2.