“Despite large-scale financial support from the EIB, urban transport modernization projects are implemented with delays and focus mainly on the purchase of equipment without proper infrastructure development and strategic planning. This reduces the long-term effect for cities,” says Kateryna Melnyk, a specialist in greening investments at Ecoaction and an expert at CEE Bankwatch Network.
As Kateryna Melnyk emphasizes, in order for international loans to work more efficiently, it is necessary to finance transport comprehensively together with infrastructure, as well as reduce delays in the approval and implementation of projects.
EUR 400 million urban transport loan: what went wrong and how to fix it
17 February 2026 | The page
Over the past ten years, Ukraine has received EUR 400 million from the European Investment Bank to modernise urban public transport.
Fast and furious? Europe hunts for raw materials
12 January 2026 | The European Correspondent
The roar of heavy machines, forests and meadows pushed back by steel giants – the traditional image of mining has become rare in Europe. But that could soon change, as access to critical raw materials becomes a global power play.
The Czech mining town saying ‘no thanks’ to Europe’s critical raw materials push
12 January 2026 | The Parliament Magazine
As Brussels races to secure raw materials and cut its reliance on China, it’s facing resistance from a Czech region that’s thought to hold a significant lithium deposit.
Europe’s big trash-burning experiment has become a dirty headache
27 July 2025 | Politico
“Many of these installation plans would turn out to be obsolete,” says Anelia Stefanova, energy transformation area leader for CEE Bankwatch, since EU countries are expected to meet waste reduction and recycling targets enforced by EU laws.
