The European parliament last week demonstrated its growing vigilance over the activities of the EIB with a vote related to the bank’s expansion into Central Asia that insists on any EIB loans to the region’s states being conditional upon their progress in establishing the rule of law and in respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.

A Green amendment to disallow Uzbekistan from receiving EIB financing until such time as EU sanctions against the repressive Karimov regime are lifted received overwhelming parliamentary support. In a European Voice opinion piece in July, our Counter Balance colleague Desi cited the European parliament’s point to the European Council and the European Commission from earlier this year: “human-rights issues should carry equal weight with the EU’s robust approach to energy, security and trade”

A landmark day, then, for the EIB – human rights conditions look set to play a part in its operations for the first time, and on top of this the resolution explicitly stipulates that individual projects receiving EIB support in Central Asia are subject to a Sustainability Impact Assessment carried out independently of the project sponsors and the EIB.

But what was behind the Commission’s original, condition-free proposal that now goes to a Council decision in this beefed-up form? It originally had no qualms about lumping Uzbekistan in with the other four states. And despite a tabled Green amendment (defeated) to restrict EIB loans to non-state sponsored projects only in Turkmenistan, President Berdymukhammedov may just have some inkling about why his tough guy approach to democracy is being tolerated in a “development funding” context by Brussels. Commissioner Piebalgs and the EIB are singing from the same hymn sheet at any rate.

Welcome, incidentally, to Counter Balance’s new blog.