Provision of Operational Tax Advisory Services to the European Investment Fund (EIF)

The European Investment Fund (hereinafter: “EIF”) was established in 1994 and is a specialist pro- vider of risk finance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) across Europe. The EIF has a tri- partite shareholder structure including the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union represented by the European Commission (EC), and 32 banks and financial institutions. The EIF has its own legal personality and financial autonomy among the institutions of the European Union.

By developing and offering targeted financial instruments to its network of selected financial inter- mediaries, such as venture capital and private equity funds, banks, guarantee and leasing institutions and micro-credit providers, the EIF’s goal is to enhance access to finance for SMEs.

In this respect, the EIF’s mission is twofold:

• fostering EU policy objectives, notably in the field of entrepreneurship, economic growth, innovation, research and development, employment, social cohesion and regional devel- opment; and
• generating financial returns for the EIF’s shareholders and mandators, through a commer- cial pricing policy and a balance of fee- and risk-based income model.

EIF operates using either (i) its own funds or (ii) those made available through mandates entered into with the EIB, the European Union, Member States or other third parties.

Article 28(4) of the EIB’s Statute and Article 36 of the EIF’s Statutes provide that the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union applies to the EIF, to the members of its organs and to its staff on the terms and conditions laid down in the Treaty establishing the European Union. The EIF is therefore exempt from taxes to the same extent as its shareholders, the EIB and the Euro- pean Union represented by the European Commission. However, the EIF’s tax status is often different from the tax status of EIF’s mandators.

More information about the EIF may be found on the website http://www.eif.org.

Purpose