See also:

• European Central Bank
• European System of Central Banks

OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND COMMITTEES RELATED TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

European Investment Bank (EIB)   www.eib.org/

The European Investment Bank is one of the most important financial institutions of the European Union. It gives long-term loans for capital investments (for both private and public sector projects), promoting the balanced development and integration of the Community's economy.

The EIB operates in the European Union and in about 140 countries across the world with which the EU has a cooperation agreement.

Economic and Financial Committee (EFC)

The Economic and Financial Committee is a committee of the Council of Ministers consisting of members from all 27 Member States (from each state, two high representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the central bank), from the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

The Committee meets 12 times a year; the meetings are preceded by a preparatory deputies' meeting (also 12 times a year).

The main function of the Committee is to help prepare the meetings of the Council of Economic and Financial Ministers (ECOFIN). For this purpose, the Committee:

• observes the Member States' and the EU's economic and monetary situation and draws up regular reports for the Council and the Commission;
• at least once a year, examines the freedom of capital movements and payments and submits the respective report to the Commission and the Council;
• delivers opinions on economic and financial issues at the Council's or the Commission's request or on its own initiative.

Economic Policy Committee (EPC)

The Economic Policy Committee is a committee of the Council of Ministers where every Member State is represented by up to four members - senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the central bank.

Compared to the Economic and Financial Committee, the Economic Policy Committee deals mainly with structural issues, which are:

• the functioning of goods, capital, services and labour markets;
• the role and efficiency of the public sector and the sustainability of public finances;
• the implementation of specific policies (those concerning, for instance, environmental issues, research and development).

Economic and Social Committee, (ESC)

The Economic and Social Committee is an advisory body of the Council, representing various interest groups: employers, trade unions, farmers, consumers, etc. ESC delivers their views and protects their interests in policy discussions with the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.

The three main functions of the Committee are:

• advising the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament at their request or on its own initiative;
• encouraging civil society to participate more in the European Union's policy-making process;
• strengthening the role of civil society in third countries and assisting the creation of advisory structures.

The Economic and Social Committee has 344 members. The number of the Member State's representatives depends roughly on its size of population.

Monetary Committee (MC)

The Monetary Committee is the predecessor of the Economic and Financial Committee in the second stage of Economic and Monetary Union. MC's activities and membership were similar to those of the Economic and Financial Committee, differing only in its function of monitoring the money market.

Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is an advisory body at the Council, consisting of the representatives of different regions and local governments of the European Union.

The Committee should be consulted before taking European Union decisions on issues concerning regional and local governments, such as regional policy, environment, education and transport. Therefore, the Committee's task is to present local and regional views on EU legislation. The views are expressed by delivering opinions on the Commission's proposals.

The Committee consists of 344 members.

TARGET (Trans-European Automated Real-Time Gross Settlement Express Transfer)

TARGET is a trans-European automated real-time gross settlement system consisting of national real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems and the interlinking mechanism between national central banks. With TARGET, European System of Central Banks is going to exercise its monetary policy.