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Three years on: mapping Ukraine’s recovery through the Single Project Pipeline
24 February 2025
Host: Andrew Porter, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Vladlena Martsynkevych, Project leader, CEE Bankwatch Network, Mykola Kobets, Researcher, Ecoation, Anastasiya Nahorna, Analyst, Transport and Environment
As Ukraine marks three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, we examine the Single Project Pipeline – the key mechanism for managing the country’s reconstruction. Our expert guests unpack how this USD 486 billion recovery programme is being planned and implemented, exploring critical questions of transparency, local participation and project management. From railway reconstruction to energy infrastructure, discover how Ukraine is planning its recovery while still at war.
Our podcast explores the importance of the Single Project Pipeline in shaping Ukraine’s reconstruction strategy, the challenges of project planning and implementation, the crucial role of local authorities and civil society in increasing the transparency of recovery initiatives, and ways to make international funding more efficient.
Expanding the Emerald Network and the rocky road to nature conservation in the Western Balkans
23 December 2024
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Andrey Ralev, Biodiversity campaigner, CEE Bankwatch Network, Friedrich Wulf, ProNatura
However, widening the network in some areas has proved challenging. For example, important river stretches, especially in the Western Balkans, are still not protected.
In this episode, Andrey Ralev and Friedrich Wulf discuss the challenges and opportunities for nature protection in different parts of Europe.
What does the future hold for the just transition?
24 November 2024
Host: Ana Kuzmanić, Communications manager, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Miłosława Stępień, Just Transition coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network, Mags Bird, senior policy officer for the Just Transition, WWF European Policy
Our latest podcast episode explores the future of the just transition in the EU. Is the just transition a priority for the new European Commission? What’s next for the Just Transition Fund? These and more questions will be answered by our guests Miłosława Stępień, just transition coordinator at CEE Bankwatch Network, and Mags Bird, senior policy officer for the just transition at the WWF European Policy Office.
Addressing gender-based violence on public transport: Lessons from the Western Balkans and South Caucasus
24 October 2024
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Amina Dizdar, Sarajevo Open Centre, Kosana Beker, FemPlatz, Mariam Patsatsia, Green Alternative and Bankwatch, Ivana Petrisková, Centre for Research and Policymaking and Gender Budget Watchdog Network
Gender-based violence and harassment on public transport is a serious but under-researched issue. In cities such as Tbilisi, Sarajevo and Belgrade, overcrowding and inefficient transport systems increase the vulnerability of women and gender minorities.
In this podcast episode, we bring together experts and civil society members from our recent webinar to discuss the challenges and propose solutions for tackling gender-based violence on public transport.
Is the EBRD ready to take full responsibility for its investments and adopt policies that prevent human rights abuses?
7 May 2024
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Nina Lesikhina, EBRD policy officer, CEE Bankwatch Network; Mark Fodor, Coalition for Human Rights in Development, Megan Pearson, Accountability Counsel
Over the past decades, Bankwatch with its civil society partners have been monitoring the development projects financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Our experience has shown that the Bank’s existing approach to human rights due diligence does not effectively prevent human rights violations.
As the Bank is revising its good governance policies, it has a unique opportunity to change this and lead the way in improving human rights due diligence among development banks. In this episode, Nina Lesikhina (CEE Bankwatch Network), Mark Fodor (Defenders in Development) and Megan Pearson (Accountability Counsel) share their insights about what is wrong with the EBRD policies and what needs to change.
Role of youth in just transition
19 April 2024
Host: Ana Kuzmanić, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Joanna Jakubowska, Just Transition Policy Support, CEE Bankwatch Network; Luisa Marchionni, project manager, Startup Europe Regions Network
This episode explores the crucial role young people play in the just transition. Listen to our guests, Luisa Marchionni, project manager at Startup Europe Regions Network, and Joanna Jakubowska, just transition policy officer at CEE Bankwatch Network, share their valuable insights on the EuTeens4Green initiative. They discuss how young people can get involved in decision-making processes, especially when it comes to the just transition and cohesion policy.
Ukraine reconstruction 2 years after full-scale invasion
21 March 2024
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Vladlena Martsynkevych, Ukraine reconstruction officer, CEE Bankwatch Network, Olga Polunina, Executive Director, Ecoaction, Ukraine
Last month, Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine entered its third year. Since February 2022, Bankwatch and our civil society partners in Ukraine have been closely monitoring the country’s remarkable resilience in facing the challenges of war while trying to meet its immediate reconstruction needs.
How have reconstruction efforts advanced over the past two years? And is Ukraine’s recovery green and participatory enough?
What’s ahead for Bankwatch in 2024
13 February 2024
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Branka Španiček, EU Funds and Biodiversity Strategic Area Leader, Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, Cities for People Strategic Area Leader, Anelia Stefanova, Funding the Energy Transformation Strategic Area Leader, Ioana Ciuta, Beyond Fossil Fuels Strategic Area Leader, Manana Kochladze, Rights, Democracy and Development Strategic Area Leader
In our first episode of 2024, we shift the focus from our campaigns and projects to the bigger questions that will frame the work of Bankwatch, our civil society partners from Central Europe to Central Asia, and the field of international public finance in the coming year and beyond.
It’s a big year ahead for our 5 main areas: energy transformation and EU funds, the fossil fuel phase-out, democratisation and human rights, biodiversity and finance, and cities for people.
So what can we expect in 2024? Bankwatch’s strategic area leaders share their predictions!
Looking back at 2023: Bankwatch highlights and achievements
28 December 2023
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Anna Roggenbuck, EIB Policy officer, Christophe Jost, Senior EU policy officer, Joanna Jakubowska, Just Transition policy officer, Branka Španiček, EU Funds and Biodiversity Strategic Area Leader | CEE Bankwatch Network
2023 was an eventful year for many of our campaigns. In this year-end episode, we review highlights and achievements in 4 different areas of our work at Bankwatch. Branka Španiček discusses the state of Europe’s rivers in the context of hydropower, Christophe Jost talks about the EU’s energy transition, in particular the REPowerEU plan, Joanna Jakubowska shares her views on the just transition, and Anna Roggenbuck dissects the European Investment Bank’s problematic approach to transparency and public participation.
New investments aim to make cities greener. But can they also make them more liveable?
4 December 2023
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, Cities for People Strategic Area Leader, Saša Jovanović, Campaign Leader – Cities for People | CEE Bankwatch Network
Climate change has a major impact on urban life, and cities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. International investors are spending billions to help cities tackle environmental problems and adapt to the climate crisis. But are these investments really transformative for the people who live there? Are these billions also making cities more liveable, just and accessible?
In this episode, Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath and Saša Jovanovic (Bankwatch) discuss international public investments in cities from eastern Europe to Central Asia, focusing on recent transformations, challenges and opportunities in the urban transport and waste sectors. Bermet Borubaeva, a researcher and activist in Kyrgyzstan, shares her insights about the issues with Bishkek landfill.
The EBRD wants to expand mining to drive the green transition. But has it learned from its past mistakes?
28 September 2023
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Nina Lesikhina, EBRD Policy officer, Pippa Gallop, Southeast Europe Energy Officer | CEE Bankwatch Network
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is set to adopt a new mining strategy for 2024-2028. In a draft document, the Bank announced its intention to increase investments in the sector, as more critical raw materials are needed for the green transition. But given the mining industry’s appalling history of environmental pollution, human rights abuses and reprisals against activists, the EBRD must do much more to prevent harm and reduce demand.
Read about the problematic mining cases that Bankwatch has monitored in the past: Amulsar gold mine, Adriatic metals, Oyu Tolgoi.
When EU money is used for feeding countries’ gas addiction
6 July 2023
Host: Ido Liven, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Raluca Petcu, Gas campaigner, CEE Bankwatch Network, Krzysztof Mrozek, Polish Green Network
Just as the EU is working to end its dependence on Russian fossil gas imports, and the climate crisis is wreaking havoc throughout the world, some European governments are just as keen to channel billions of euros to cement the dependence on fossil gas.
In this episode, Raluca Petcu (Bankwatch Romania) and Krzysztof Mrozek (Polish Green Network), discuss a recent report they co-authored, that revealed that the Romanian and Polish governments have together earmarked nearly EUR 4 billion from various EU funds for a raft of fossil gas projects that threaten to derail the energy transition in the two countries.
The EBRD Annual Meeting from the perspective of Central Asia’s activists
29 May 2023
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Gulnoz Mamarasulova, director of the Representative Office of the Sweden-based Association Central Asia in Uzbekistan, Nezir Sinani, Co-director, Recourse, Tolekan Ismailova, Director of Human Rights Movement: Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan, Diyora Rafieva, Samarkand resident and activist in cultural heritage protection
On 16-18 May 2023, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) held its Annual Meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. This year, human rights violations, shrinking civic space and marginalisation of communities in Central Asia were particularly high on our agenda. In our new podcast episode dedicated to the EBRD Annual Meeting, we interview some of our civil society partners working in the region. Activists from Central Asia share their concerns about human rights and gender equality in Kyrgyzstan, the EBRD’s approach to human rights due diligence in Uzbekistan, the challenges faced by the LBGTIQ community in Central Asia, and more.
The Baltic dash for LNG: where is the energy transition heading?
28 April 2023
Host: Ido Liven, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Johanna Kuld, Estonian Green Movement, Liene Krauja, Green Liberty, Latvia
The scramble for fossil gas supplies to replace imports from Russia, triggered by the war in Ukraine, has driven governments in the Baltics to prioritise plans for liquified fossil gas – commonly known as LNG. But this LNG infrastructure spree is reckless.
In this episode, Liene Krauja of Green Liberty in Latvia and Johanna Kuld of the Estonian Green Movement discuss the implications of this rash approach and what the latest developments mean for the Baltic energy transition.
They say the focus of the Lithuanian, Estonian, Latvian and Finnish governments should be on enhancing regional cooperation. The actual priority should be to accelerate the energy transition with a view to ending dependence on fossil gas altogether.
Biodiversity on the brink: what’s holding back financing for nature in the EU?
28 April 2023
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Thomas Freisinger, EU Policy officer, EuroNatur, Katerina Rakovska, Biodiversity campaigner, Bulgaria, CEE Bankwatch Network
Listen to Katerina Rakovska, Bulgarian biodiversity campaigner, and Thomas Freisinger, EU policy officer at EuroNatur, talk with our host Michaela Kožmínová, Bankwatch communications officer. We discuss the main barriers and bottlenecks at the national level in central and eastern Europe that are preventing an increase in the quantity and quality of EU funds for biodiversity. Our experts also provide recommendations on how we can more effectively use EU funds for nature conservation and restoration.
For more, see our report: Biodiversity on the brink: What’s holding back financing for nature in the EU? – Bankwatch
This publication was produced in collaboration with EuroNatur under the framework of joint research and advocacy work financed by EURENI.
Reconstruction of Ukraine one year after invasion: how far did we get?
24 February 2023
Host: Ana Kuzmanić, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Anna Ackermann Board member, Ecoaction; Policy analyst, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Valeriya Izhyk, EU policy officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
One year ago, Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To face the damages, Ukraine’s and international efforts to plan the reconstruction and rebuild the country, are underway. On 24 February 2023, we look back and evaluate the progress in Ukraine’s reconstruction planning throughout the past year. What worked well and what didn’t? And what will be the next steps?
Listen to our discussion with Anna Ackermann, Board member at Ukraine’s NGO Ecoaction and Policy analyst leading work on a green reconstruction of Ukraine at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and Valeriya Izhyk, EU policy officer within Ukraine Reconstruction team at Bankwatch.
Just transition moving forward in spite of obstacles
27 January 2023
Host: Ana Kuzmanić, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Alexa Botar, Climate and Energy Program Director, Friends of the Earth Hungary, Ventzeslava Kojouharova, Energy and Climate Coordinator, Za Zemiata, Bulgaria
Territorial Just Transition Plans should steer carbon-intensive regions towards climate neutrality while addressing social, economic and environmental issues and engaging stakeholders. After two years of planning and drafting the plans, Member States should be ready to implement them. In this episode, we explore the just transition in Bulgaria and Hungary with the help of our guests Alexa Botar, climate and energy program director at Friends of the Earth Hungary, and Ventzeslava Kojouharova, just transition campaigner at Za Zemiata, Bulgaria.
Heating and energy crisis: it’s time to stop spending EU money on new fossil fuel projects
27 December 2022
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Morgan Henley, EU Heating Sector Decarbonization Campaigner, CEE Bankwatch Network
This winter, hundreds of millions of people in Europe are struggling to stay warm without the usual stream of Russian gas, which makes our over-dependence on this fossil fuel more apparent than ever. In fact, about 70 per cent of the energy used for the EU’s heating still comes from fossil fuels. What needs to change to ensure sustainable heating for everyone? How can we prevent future energy crises? What are the plans for decarbonising heating and how far along are we in the process? We discuss these questions with Morgan Henley, EU heating sector decarbonisation campaigner at CEE Bankwatch Network.
REPowerEU: addressing the energy and climate crisis, or prolonging the status-quo?
24 October 2022
Host: Ana Kuzmanić, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Christophe Jost, Senior EU Policy Officer, CEE Bankwatch Network, Olivier Vardakoulias, Climate Action Network Europe
REPowerEU, the European Commission’s response to the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, has the potential to accelerate the roll-out of renewables and influence energy savings, but will the funds be used for more fossil fuels projects? In this episode we take a deep dive into REPowerEU with our guests, Olivier Vardakoulias, Finance and Subsidies Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe, and Christophe Jost, Senior EU Policy Officer at CEE Bankwatch Network.
Lung Run 2022: kickstarting just transition in Bosnia and Herzegovina
6 October 2022
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Ioana Ciuta, Balkan Energy Coordinator, Davor Pehchevski, Balkan air pollution monitoring coordinator, Majda Ibraković, Energy and climate change programme coordinator, Center for Environment
The 2022 Lung Run is a trail running race designed to raise awareness in communities in the Western Balkans about the need to move away from polluting practices and industries.
In this episode of the Bankwatch podcast we discuss the original idea behind the run, how we chose the location and where does the local community stand regarding just transition process.
Post-war reconstruction of Ukraine
24 August 2022
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Vladlena Martsynkevych, Project leader, Natalia Gozak, Executive Director of Ecoaction
While the fight to liberate Ukraine is still ongoing, discussions about the reconstruction process have already begun. Several proposals developed by a variety of stakeholders already exist. How do they reflect green reconstruction principles and the Ukrainian people’s needs? Listen to the latest episode of the Bankwatch podcast to find out.
Western Balkan coal pollution still massive, illegal and deadly
27 July 2022
Host: Ana Kuzmanić, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Pippa Gallop, Southeast Europe energy advisor, Ioana Ciută, Energy coordinator for the Western Balkans | CEE Bankwatch Network
More than four years have passed since the deadline for the Western Balkan countries to comply with pollution limits. These limits are meant to reduce the deadly impacts of coal power plants on human health and the environment. For four years, Bankwatch has been tracking the emissions of harmful air pollutants from Western Balkan coal plants. Our annual Comply or Close report assesses whether these plants’ emissions are within the legal limits, or dangerously exceed them. What is the current situation, and has anything changed in the last year?
Listen to Bankwatch’s Southeast Europe energy advisor Pippa Gallop and Ioana Ciuta, energy coordinator for the Western Balkans, discuss these questions with our host Ana Kuzmanić, Bankwatch communications officer.
For more about coal-generated air pollution, see our fourth Comply or Close report.
Behind the ‘green recovery’
29 June 2022
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Daniel Thomson, EU Policy Officer for Biodiversity, CEE Bankwatch Network, Thomas Freisinger, EU Policy Officer, Euronatur
For more, see our report: Behind the ‘green recovery’
This publication was produced in collaboration with EuroNatur in the frame of the joint research and advocacy work financed by MAVA Foundation.
Our call for sustainable finance at the EBRD annual meeting
26 May 2022
Host: Michaela Kožmínová, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Cash for just transition: are CEE countries ready to spend it well?
20 October 2021
Host: Claudia Ciobanu, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network,
Guest: Miłosława Stępień, Just Transition coordinator, Bankwatch
The deadly toll of Balkan coal: air pollution limits exceeded for 3 years in a row
9 September 2021
Host: Claudia Ciobanu, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Ioana Ciută, Energy coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network, Erika Uusivuori, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Denis Žiško, Centre for Ecology and Energy from Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Western Balkan governments are primarily responsible. But the EU is also supporting the status quo by importing dirty electricity from the Western Balkans. Listen to air pollution experts: Erika Uusivuori of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Denis Žiško of the Centre for Ecology and Energy from Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bankwatch’s Ioana Ciuta discussing the report’s findings with our host Claudia Ciobanu.
Breaking down biodiversity
8 July 2021
Host: Claudia Ciobanu, Communications officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guests: Rolands Ratfelders, Katerina Rakovska, Biodiversity campaigners, CEE Bankwatch Network
Listen to Bankwatch’s biodiversity experts Katerina Rakovska from Bulgaria and Rolands Ratfelders from Latvia talk with our host Claudia Ciobanu, Bankwatch Communications officer. We discuss the complex and alarming situation of biodiversity in Europe and how and why Member States need to support biodiversity. Our experts also provide insights into why the EU recovery funds are a major missed opportunity to increase funding for biodiversity. We conclude by discussing what more can be done to halt biodiversity loss and support nature protection.
For more, see our publication: Building back biodiversity: how EU Member States fail to spend the recovery fund for nature
This publication was produced in collaboration with EuroNatur in the frame of the joint research and advocacy work financed by MAVA Foundation.
No time to celebrate: the 30th EBRD’s annual meeting
28 June 2021
Host: David Hoffman, Communications manager, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guest: Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, EBRD policy officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Listen to Fidanka McGrath, Bankwatch’s EBRD policy officer and David Hoffman, Bankwatch’s Communications coordinator in a special episode on the occasion of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 30th annual meeting (28.06-02.07.2021). We discuss the bank’s unique political mandate, its approach towards human rights and democracy and the ongoing operational expansion to sub Saharan Africa. On top of that, we ask whether EBRD’s new president Odile Renaud-Basso can take a strong stand in human rights and democracy.
If you wish to dive deeper, read our new publication: No time to celebrate: a breakthrough for human rights is needed after 30 years of the EBRD
What is just transition?
22 June 2021
Host: Rosa Hergan, Balkan community support coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network
Guest: Aleksandru Mustata, just transition coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network
The first episode of the BankWatch podcast is live. Listen to Aleksandru Mustata (Bankwatch just transition coordinator) interviewed by Rosa Hergan (Bankwatch Balkan community support coordinator) sharing his insights about working with coal mining communities across central and south Europe.
