Global Standards in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: The Contribution of the European Members
| Date | 01 November 2019 |
| Author | Giuseppe Gabusi |
| Published date | 01 November 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12738 |
Global Standards in the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank: The Contribution of the
European Members
Giuseppe Gabusi
University of Turin
Abstract
In 2015, seventeen European states joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as Founding Members. France, Ger-
many, Italy and the United Kingdom, among the group, have the largest share of capital and votes, giving them significant
voice in the Bank. The purpose of the European members in joining was mainly twofold: (i) to help increase financial flows
available for investment infrastructure in Asia; and (ii) to help ensure that the new Bank would adhere to global financial, envi-
ronmental and social standards, as established by the existing multilateral development banks (MDBs). It can be said that the
Europeans have largely succeeded. Existing MDBs have served as models for the standards which the AIIB is institutionalizing.
However, some European-based civil society organizations are increasingly critical of the operations of the AIIB. Moreover,
some developing countries may see the AIIB’s standards as an unnecessary burden. It can therefore not be assumed that the
AIIB will continue to expand its portfolio by merely complementing the existing MDBs.
In July 2019, the 4th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastruc-
ture Investment Bank (AIIB) was convened –for the very
first time outside Asia –in Luxembourg. The international
financial hub was also the first European country to
announce its intention to join the AIIB (‘the Bank’in this arti-
cle) on March 11th 2015, one day before the United King-
dom.
1
During the opening session in Luxembourg, Xavier
Bettel, the Prime Minister of the host country, recalled his
decision to join or not to join the AIIB as ‘not an easy one’.
2
In the end, Luxembourg joined because, in addition to
believing in Asia and multilateralism, the Prime Minister also
still believes that ‘economy and ecology are not enemies’.
Then, in an address to more than 3,000 delegates, observers
and participants to the meeting, the Grand Duke of Luxem-
bourg described the AIIB as an institution in line with the
multilateral approach that the world has come to know
since Bretton Woods and that has been serving post-WWII
Europe so well. He emphasized that only international coop-
eration leads to economic, social and political development,
and that the United Nations’Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) (United Nations General Assembly, 2015) are ‘a com-
mon duty and responsibility’for all. Finally, AIIB president
Jin Liqun remarked that the Bank embodies European val-
ues, has zero-tolerance for corruption, and supports the
green economy –hence its motto ‘lean, clean and green’,
and reflecting operational efficiency, transparent working
methods, and commitment to sustainable development. Jin
importantly acknowledged the Europeans’contribution in
bringing to the Bank the same governance structures to be
found in the existing multilateral development banks
(MDBs), in which European states are members and partici-
pants (i.e. all of the major MDBs).
3
This essay asks what is Europe’s role in the AIIB, what
interests and agendas are European member states pursu-
ing, what vision of future priorities are the Europeans try-
ing to advance? One lesson that can be drawn from the
analysis below is that with their emphasis on ‘multilateral-
ism’,‘sustainability’, and ‘transparency’, as keywords, in their
engagements with the AIIB, the Europeans are attempting
to reinforce the pillars of the international development
finance regime that has evolved since the end of WWII –
with the emphasis on environmental sustainability coming
in the later period. Due to the specific refusal of the Uni-
ted States and Japan to join the Bank, and the US Presi-
dent Donald Trump administration’s general preference for
bilateral and transactional approaches to international rela-
tions, it seems that the Europeans are left with the hard
task of standing up for global rules and standards, and
ensuring that the AIIB is developed in conformity with the
established managerial rules for international financial insti-
tutions that were created mainly by the West. For Europe,
the mission in the AIIB is to push for continuation of many
of the liberal norms in the existing multilateral develop-
ment finance regime, while also pursuing the longtime-in-
the-making progressive agenda on environmental protec-
tion and climate change mitigation, by encouraging the
AIIB to meet its commitment to support the Paris Climate
Change Agreement, the 2030 Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), and the Bank’s own motto of being ‘lean,
clean and green’.
Global Policy (2019) 10:4 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12738 ©2019 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Global Policy Volume 10 . Issue 4 . November 2019 631
Special Section Article
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