Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

EBRD participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

The transition to a full market economy and to democracy depends on openness, accountability and the creation of a level playing field for all. Corruption and fraud cripple progress and poison the investment climate. Transparency is at the heart of the mandate of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.  

The EBRD works across industries and at all levels of the corporate and public sectors to encourage sound governance and financial practice and to combat corruption. These principles are of the utmost importance in the context of natural resources.  This is a sector that can offer hope for prosperity in many countries, and enormous challenges in managing the benefits.

The EBRD and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative share the values of transparency and sound business practice in order to foster the effective management of natural resource wealth. The particular focus of the EITI is to promote disclosure by the corporate interests involved in extraction and disclosure by the national authorities, or ‘publish what you pay and publish what you receive’.

In a spirit of collaboration, sharing experience and best practice, the EBRD will actively participate in the work of the EITI and will encourage adoption of the EITI principles in its countries of operations and by its corporate partners. The voluntary, country-by-country approach of the EITI is particularly appropriate, allowing all stake-holders to learn by doing.

Specifically, the EBRD will:

• be actively involved in the EITI consultative process, including through providing input into the development of technical mechanisms for reporting (templates, aggregation of data, etc.);
  
• promote transparent revenue reporting, as well as increased financial and organisational transparency, with the draft EITI reporting guidelines providing a  useful starting point for even greater revenue transparency;
  
• work in co-operation with other international financial institutions and the participating private financial institutions to promote governance and transparency initiatives in the financial community;
  
• help to build capacity in countries of operations to enable them to implement the objectives of the EITI.

Last updated 10 June 2010