That leads me to another point. This institution will duplicate the efforts that the European Investment Bank and the World bank were established to undertake. As I understand it, large portions of the personnel of the eastern European branches of the World bank and the European Investment Bank have applied to join the bank. We shall have international civil servants who are accustomed to such matters simply joining the bank, thereby triplicating the effort of those institutions. That is why the bank is unnecessary. It could have been arranged through the World bank quite easily, and probably better, with greater expertise and understanding and with a higher and more secure financial base. The European Investment Bank is probably one of the least development-oriented of all the institutions. It is conservative in the way in which it lends. It certainly has not lent for environmental purposes and in promoting democracy.

The European Investment Bank's restraint in the light of the articles of association will be difficult to exact. In fact, I do not think that it will be able to do so in accordance with the articles of association. I envisage the bank losing a large amount of money. There is no way in which it can avoid doing so, given its objectives and the way in which it will be financed.

I accept that there is a need to assist the development of private enterprise and environmental concerns to be supported and cleaned up in eastern Europe. I agree with that. However, I cannot agree that this is the right institution to do it. The thinking is muddled. I do not believe that it is accountable in any way. When it begins to make losses, presumably it will call on a guarantee of the country to which it has lent. It will lend money to an institution that it will think will be profitable. That institution may lose money or go bankrupt. The bank will then call upon the national Government to repay the unsound investment, and thereby add to the indebtedness of that country.

Although I welcome the objectives that the concept is trying to put into effect, it is disastrous and ill-considered. It is the product of ill-thought-out, rushed consideration without any in-depth understanding of what is required in eastern Europe.