Ulog and Upper Neretva hydropower plants, Bosnia and Herzegovina
June 14, 2023
A 35 MW hydropower plant is currently under construction on a pristine section of the Neretva river at Ulog. Seven more plants are also planned further upstream.
Garden of Eden or desert? Water retention in the Great Hungarian Plain and the Recovery Facility
June 5, 2023
The 2022 drought demonstrated what experts have known for years, that Europe’s next crisis will be water. Ill-considered water management practices, damming, irrigation, and overuse of subsurface water have damaged entire landscapes on our continent.
Skavica hydropower plant, Albania
April 28, 2023
Instead of increasing its energy security, Albania is pushing the construction of yet more hydropower. The Skavica project may flood several villages, displace thousands of people and bring the Balkan lynx to extinction
EU’s house bank breached environmental standards on Serbia hydropower project
April 14, 2023
The European Investment Bank (EIB) breached its environmental standards during the approval of the Komalj small hydropower plant in Serbia, the Bank’s Complaint Mechanism has concluded, in a report published today. (1)
Activists call on EU to better protect nature from energy infrastructure in the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
March 14, 2023
60 civil society organisations have sent a joint letter to the EU Commissioner for Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, calling on the EU to better protect nature during energy infrastructure development under the Energy Community Treaty (1).
Environmental groups challenge backdoor dismantling of EU nature safeguards
March 9, 2023
CEE Bankwatch Network and ÖKOBÜRO have initiated legal action (1) to uphold EU environmental law and public consultation requirements when building renewable energy facilities. The groups argue that an emergency regulation adopted by the Council of the European Union in December 2022 breaches EU and international law.
Successful renewables acceleration needs more public participation, not less
February 27, 2023
In December 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted an emergency regulation aimed at speeding up renewable energy deployment. But Member States have to uphold environmental safeguards and consult the public if they don’t want to end up doing the opposite, warns our new position paper.
Position paper for EU Member States on applying Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy
February 27, 2023
Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 of 22 December 2022 rightly aims to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy. But although it contains some useful provisions, it raises serious concerns about the legal basis used for its adoption, the extent to
Western Balkans: scientists and NGO representatives call for more rivers to be protected as part of the Emerald Network
February 13, 2023
Today, scientists and non-governmental organisations from 11 countries have published a list of 88 rivers they consider high priority for protection, urging Western Balkan countries that have signed the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) to expand the Emerald Network in the region.
Joint Statement On the Expansion of the Emerald Network in Countries of the Western Balkans by scientists and representatives of NGOs
February 13, 2023
In early December 2022, 39 scientists and representatives of NGOs from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Switzerland joined efforts to prepare a shadow list and a map o