Tragedy or comedy, what is the Nabucco pipeline really?
January 19, 2012 | Read more
The announcement of German energy giant RWE to reconsider its plans for the Nabucco pipeline is just the last in a series of confusingly conflicting signals regarding the fate of this gargantuan project.
As pressures mount on western European banks to shore up capital ratios and with 2012 economic growth forecasts for Europe falling close to zero, officials from the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and several international financial institutions (IFIs) are meeting today in Vienna with regulators from CEE countries to discuss a second round of financial support for a fragile CEE banking sector.
Prison netbook – Russia and the arrest of an environmental activist
January 13, 2012 | Read more
Shortly after 80 000 people took to Moscow’s streets at the end of December to oppose the 4 December controversial parliamentary elections that resulted in United Russia retaining control of parliament, Bankwatch ally and Khimki forest defender Yaroslav Nikitenko was forced to spend ten days in jail over a fabricated administrative crime.
Video: An EIB holiday
January 3, 2012 | Read more
Baffled by an EIB loan to a holiday resort in Morocco, our friends from Counter Balance – Challenging the European Investment Bank had a closer look at the kind of development promoted there and came back with this wonderfully illustrative video.
The new EIB transport policy: not yet ready for sustainability
December 12, 2011 | Read more
On December 13, the EIB’s Board of Directors is about to approve the institution’s new Transport Policy. This new document constitutes an upgrade of the older 2007 Transport Policy of the bank which tries to incorporate the EU’s progressive agenda on the prevention of climate change (documents such as the “Europe 2020 Strategy” and the “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050”).
The struggle for a green Cohesion Policy has only just begun
December 1, 2011 | Read more
While the potential of green investments is undeniable, statements from EU decision makers don’t paint the rosiest picture for a climate friendly Cohesion Policy 2014-2020.
