Minister’s Brief

with the delegation led by Second Secretary General Ann Nolan. Representatives from the
Central Bank (led by Governor Lane) and from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
were also in attendance. A very useful and wide-ranging series of meetings with senior
officials from the IMF and World Bank were held to exchange views and information and to
discuss a number of current issues of relevance to Ireland. There were also discussions and
engagements with private sector representatives and groups, the US Treasury and the Irish
Ambassador in Washington, our Canadian colleagues with whom we share country
Constituencies in both Institutions and with a number of other relevant contacts.
The Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group will take place in Washington during
7-9 October 2016. Due to the proximity of the Annual Meetings to Budget Day, many EU
Finance Ministers, including Ireland’s, generally do not attend those meetings and tend
instead to use the Spring Meetings as an opportunity to meet with senior management of the
IMF and World Bank Group, as well as with counterparts from other non-EU Countries.
As a member of the IMF, Ireland undergoes a regular review under the Article IV process. The
process is a strategic review of the current position of the economy and its medium-to-long
term prospects, medium-term fiscal policy and financial and banking policy. The 2016 Article
IV mission is scheduled to take place during 16-27 May and will involve a small team of IMF
officials travelling to Dublin.
There are ongoing discussions at an EU-level regarding the external representation of the
Euro Area at the IMF. These discussions are based on EU Commission proposals to have
unified representation (rather than individual EU Member State or Constituency
representation) of the euro Area at the IMF Executive Board, particularly in terms of Board
seats, common statements and EU-level committees/architecture. These discussions will
continue during 2016.
European Investment Bank (EIB)
The EIB was established in 1958, under the Treaty of Rome, as the long-term investment bank
of the European Union. The purpose of the EIB is to help implement the EU's policy objectives
by financing investments that address these policy objectives. To finance these projects, the
EIB borrows on the capital markets, passing on the benefit of its low borrowing cost due to its
high credit rating to Member States. It also provides lending for investment and development
purposes, in line with the EU’s Neighbourhood and Development policies, to pre-accession
and neighbourhood countries (Eastern Partnership and Mediterranean), to developing
countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries) and to South Africa.
As the EIB is an EU institution established under the Treaties, Ireland is a member of the EIB
by virtue of our EU membership. The Minister for Finance is Ireland’s representative on the
EIB Board of Governors which meets annually and this year will meet in Brussels on 25 May,
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