Bankwatch statement on the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goal and central and eastern European country positions
June 20, 2019
“With Germany now backing the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal, all eyes are on Poland and other countries of central and eastern Europe that have to date refused to back this target because of their reliance on coal.
A treasured World Heritage Site in Bulgaria is under threat from a trans-European road network – Equal Times
June 19, 2019
From Valentin Stoichkov’s terrace, the views over the Pirin Mountains are breathtaking. The deputy mayor of the small town of Kresna, in south-western Bulgaria, has built an extension to his family’s modest dacha (summer home) in the foothills of this
A false solution to a real problem?
June 14, 2019
New research by Bankwatch shows energy and climate plans (NECPs) in 7 CEE countries over-rely on unsustainable biomass to reach their renewable energy objectives.
Protests at pan-European motorway project as time runs out for key wildlife site
June 5, 2019
Dozens of activists from across Europe have protested and dropped a banner at an international road in Kresna gorge, Bulgaria, to protest against the lack of action from the European Commission and the Bulgarian government to save the key EU-protected wildlife site.
EU parliament reverses course, votes for strong action on climate with future funds for Europe’s needy regions
March 27, 2019
For immediate release. Brussels, Prague – A vote today by the Parliament has excluded fossil fuels from the EUR 320 billion European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Funds for 2021-2027, signalling a clear commitment to the EU’s obligations to reduce greenhouse gases under the Paris Agreement and its net-zero emissions Long Term Strategy.
Energy Community: Western Balkan coal subsidies worth over 1.2 billion euros in 2017
March 25, 2019
For immediate release. Energy Community countries propped up coal mining and electricity generation with direct and indirect public subsidies totalling at least 2.4 billion annually, out of which around half were provided by Western Balkan countries, shows a study (1) released today by the Vienna-based Secretariat of the Energy Community Treaty, the international treaty working to integrate the energy markets of the EU with those of its neighbours.
Review of eight national energy and climate plans (NECPs) in central and eastern Europe
March 22, 2019
Web-version of the briefing Our analysis shows that most countries in central and eastern Europe are not committed to an ambitious energy transformation and instead stay as close as possible to business as usual scenarios. Moreover, the development of
EIB and Volkswagen keen to return to business as usual
March 7, 2019
Long overdue, and short on content, a compact version of the investigation report on the role of EIB money in the Dieselgate scandal affirms Bankwatch’s revelations that helped trigger this important inquiry. But in its aftermath, there is little to suggest that the EU’s bank has done anything to ensure that the public money it manages will not be misused.
ARCHIVED: Kresna gorge / Struma motorway, Bulgaria
February 25, 2019
The Struma motorway is tragically emblematic of an EU-funded project that has wrought havoc on European biodiversity and the wishes of local communities. In spite of two decades of protest by civil society and citizens, part of the Struma motorway section is planned directly through the Kresna gorge, a Natura 2000 site and Bulgaria’s richest biodiversity hotspot.
New investigation in Kresna gorge reveals another major breach of law
February 15, 2019
An independent investigation by a Bulgarian TV channel bTV discovered progressing construction works in the Kresna gorge area even though the official procurement procedure is still ongoing.
