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
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.
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.
Eleventh hour for protected Kresna Gorge as Bulgaria presses on with destructive motorway
November 28, 2018
With construction advancing in Bulgaria’s Kresna gorge, discussion happening now at the Bern Convention in Strasbourg having taken on an increased sense of urgency.
More efforts from the EBRD required to mainstream gender in Kyrgyzstan
September 26, 2018
It appears the EBRD funds are prioritised on the first-need service basis rather than the long-term strategy goals identified by the EBRD in both the public transportation and water sectors.
In Kenya, a motorway funded by the European Investment Bank runs over roadside dwellers
July 30, 2018
Children dropping out of school, trees cut, people living in fear of another wave of forced evictions – the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) project reveals the critical absence of human rights safeguards in the EU’s overseas development financing.
Putting human rights first at the European Investment Bank. Upcoming opportunities
July 23, 2018
The nearly 1,000 kilometre route connecting Mombasa and Lake Victoria has always been of key importance for the development of Eastern Africa. The narrow, crowded car road is still the main artery of the region. By 2020, the Kenya National Highways Aut
First report from Parliament on next EU budget funding for energy and transport infrastructure shows more work to be done
July 23, 2018
On 19 July, two European Parliament Committees – on Industry, Research and Energy and Transport and Tourism – delivered their first draft report [1] outlining what they would like to see in the new Connecting Europe Facility, one part of the EU budget after 2020 that Bankwatch is monitoring because CEF provides funding for key pieces of energy and transportation infrastructure across the bloc.
