24, 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 78/19 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COUNCIL COUNCIL DECISION of 15 March 1982 empowering the Commission to contract loans for the purpose of promoting investment within the Community (82/169//EEC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commis- sion ('), Having to the opinion of the European Parliament (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee {%), Whereas account should be taken of the distribution and the insufficient level of economic activity, employment and investment in the Community; Whereas, in order to stimulate economic activity and support common policies, the financing scheme set up under Council Decision 78/870/EEC of 16 October 1978 empowering the Commission to contract loans for the purpose of promoting investment within the Community (¥}, with a view to making an additional contribution to investment promotion in the Commu- nity, should be pursued alongside existing Community financial institutions and bodies, whose scope should be widened ; Whereas Community action to this end would have a real follow-through effect and financial impact far beyond its apparent size, thus promoting the conver- gence of Member States’ economic trends ; () OJ No C 341, 31. 12. 1980, p. 18. () OJ No C 101, 4. 5. 1981, p. 94. () O] No C 138, 9. 6. 1981, p. 11. (% O] No L 298, 25. 10. 1978, p. 9. Whereas plentiful finance can be found on the capital markets which could be tapped to finance investments within the Community ; Whereas the Community has a credit-worthiness in its own right which must be used to best advantage to reinforce European support for the said investments and to support policies decided on at Community level ; Whereas the European Investment Bank has stated that it is willing to contribute to the implementation of this scheme, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 The Commission shall be empowered to contract loans on behalf of the European Economic Commu- nity which shall not exceed the equivalent of 1000 million ECU in principal. The proceeds of these loans shall be lent to finance investment projects which contribute to greater convergence and integration of the economic policies of the Member States. These projects shall be such that they serve the Community’s priority objectives in the energy, industry and infrastructure sectors, taking account inter alia of the regional impact of the projects and the need to combat unemployment.