Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of contingent liabilities faced by the UK in relation to the operations of the European Investment Bank.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, the UK will maintain a declining c. €40bn financial commitment to the EIB in respect of the existing book of EIB operations approved up to exit. The UK’s liability for callable capital to the EIB is recorded in the consolidated fund of accounts. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/818268/CF_Annual_Accounts_2018-19__FINAL_TYPESET_150719__covers_final.pdf)
This liability is reported to Parliament in the accounts as having a remote probability of crystallising. The arrangement would only be called upon in very exceptional circumstances and on equal terms as other Member States. The Bank has never made a call on the callable capital since it was established. The UK will not provide backing to any new EIB operations approved following exit.