Frequently Asked Questions

• Any person, community group, organisation or business
• Individuals or groups of all nationalities and country origin
• It is also possible to bring a complaint to the Complaints Mechanism on behalf of an affected person or community

• In any of the 24 official languages of the European Union
• We also accept complaints in non-European Union languages whenever possible
• Complaints can be sent to us online, by e-mail, fax or letter. Read more on Submit a complaint

• Within one year from the date when the alleged action, decision or omission could be reasonably known by the complainant

• When the EIB Group fails to act in accordance with its established policies, standards and procedures, respect the principles of good administration.
• Maladministration complaints that may relate to environmental and social impacts or alleged violations of human rights in the EIB Group’s financed operations.
• In operations financed by the EIB, complaints can be submitted at any stage of the project cycle as far as the EIB has financed, approved or is at least actively considering financing the operation/project.

We do not accept complaints about:

• The EIB’s investment mandate, credit policy or the financial decision made to award or refuse a loan to a customer
• Project procurement complaints
• Allegations of fraud or corruption. These should be addressed to EIB Fraud Investigation.
• International organisations, EIB Group counterparts such as Borrowers/Promoters, EU institutions and bodies, national, regional or local authorities
• Complaints challenging the legality of the EIB Group policies decided by the Governing Bodies
• Claims brought before other administrative or judicial review mechanisms, or is already settled by the other administrative or judicial review mechanisms. However, pending or concluded reviews of complaints against a third party before other administrative or judicial review mechanisms will not preclude the EIB-CM from reviewing the actions of the EIB Group for acts of maladministration.

If you’re unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you can seek a review of the Complaints Mechanism’s decision by the European Ombudsman.

The European Ombudsman is an independent body responsible for conducting inquiries concerning instances of maladministration in nearly all the activities of EU institutions and bodies, including the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund. Both EU and non-EU citizens are able to refer their complaint to the European Ombudsman.

For the sake of transparency, complaints are considered to be non-confidential. A non-confidential treatment means that the EIB Group has permission to disclose the information communicated in any representations to the relevant internal and external parties for the handling of the complaint. However, complainants have the right to indicate in their communication that their complaint should be treated confidentially.

The EIB Group is bound to ensure that complainants are not subject to any form of retaliation or discrimination from exercising their right to complain. Where there is a risk of retaliation by a third-party working in relation with the EIB Group, the Complaints Mechanism will take account of the risks and handle the complaint accordingly. This may include, amongst others, to limit the access to personal information and hold separate meetings within complainants.

Complaints received before the 13 of November 2018 are handled in accordance to the policy and procedures in force at the time of receiving the complaint (The EIB Complaints Mechanism - Principles, Terms of Reference and Rules of Procedure). Complaints received after the 13 of November 2018 are handled in line with the revised Policy.