* Admissibility date reflects the date the case was officially registered. All other dates pertain to the date in which a stage was completed.
Case Description
The Project
The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) is a fund set up by the European Community and Norway aimed at enhancing the access to energy, energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy projects, in particular in less developed and developing countries. GEEREF aims to “either support projects contributing to the development of GEEREF’s pipeline or assist projects in which GEEREF has invested”. GEEREF operates according to market standards, based on the customary procedures and analyses in fund investments.
In parallel with GEEREF a Technical Regional Fund Support Facility (RFSF) was established. RFSF aims to support the creation, the operations and pipeline development of Regional Funds and to support the value of the Eligible Beneficiary Projects and/or stimulate the renewable energy and energy efficiency market in general.
The GEEREF, run independently by its founding shareholders, is a Fund of Funds with part funding by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The RFSF is managed by the EIF and is a grant facility. GEEREF and RFSF have distinct natures governance and beneficiaries/clients; GEEREF provides (quasi) equity, to be approved by its investment committee with EIF/EIB as advisor, RFSF provides grant financing to beneficiaries selected by EIF/EIB, with the European Commission’s non objection/approval. RFSF is legally distinct from GEEREF and may provide support for the organisational build-up or technical assistance for funds in which GEEREF may, or may not, invest.
The Complaint
The complainant challenged the appropriateness of the award of a grant of EUR 1 Million to Barefoot Power PTY Limited, Australia a private for-profit firm in the solar power sector, in a fair market ignoring the rest and with no competition for the grant process. The grant might actually hurt competition.
The EIB-CM Assessment and Investigation
Based on a detailed review of all relevant documentation, policies and procedures as well as the project documentation, the EIB-CM’s findings are that 1) the Barefoot Power PTY Limited was originally identified to be supported by both GEEREF and RFSF, but for various reasons was withdrawn from the GEEREF investment-pipeline and 2) that the products and procedures of both GEEREF and RFSF provide for a close linkage between risk capital and grant support from either, with as overall objective that the RFSF is meant to support GEEREF's investments, but that no explicit exclusion of the possibility of stand-alone grants from RFSF seems to exist. In fact stand-alone grants from RFSF occur more than once.
Conclusions
Based on the above, the EIB-CM concludes that EIF/EIB services did not commit maladministration. However, there is room for improvement and clarifications; there may be a case to i) consider reviewing the need and/or the possibility of introducing an explicit exclusion of the possibility of stand-alone grants under the GEEREF and RFSF facility, which then ought to be communicated in its prospectuses and publications applied in its financing agreements with beneficiaries, ii) a limit might be introduced for technical support allowed under a GEEREF.
Generally it should have been pointed out to the complainant that if the complainant would have had an investable project or similar, the GEEREF services would have been available to discuss this with him.