EIB Group Complaints Mechanism ineffective in addressing complaints submitted in relation to the Budapest Airport expansion project
January 31, 2025
In this case study, we lay bare inefficiencies of the EIB and EBRD grievance mechanisms using a real-life example – the Budapest Airport Expansion Project – and make recommendations for the next review of the EIB Group Complaints Mechanism Policy.
Rebuilding Ukraine: Opportunities for public participation with international donors
January 30, 2025
Ukrainian civil society is both the main beneficiary and the driving force behind Ukraine’s reconstruction. The Ukraine Facility Regulation invites socio-economic partners and civil society representatives to submit ‘opinions’ to the European Commission on implementation of the Ukraine Plan. However, its influence remains limited.
EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism investigates the Indorama Agro cotton project in Uzbekistan
January 16, 2025
Following multiple allegations of human rights violations by Indorama Agro on a controversial cotton project funded by public development banks, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) has finally launched an investigation to determine whether the project adheres to the EBRD’s environmental and social standards.
EIB fears ‘reputational disaster’ over revised EU green reporting
January 7, 2025
Anna Roggenbuck, policy officer at the campaign group CEE Bankwatch, said the EIB “is not transparent in how it calculates a project’s carbon emissions including all the scope of emissions, and because this is not public, there is no outside scrutiny”.
Is crypto keeping Tajikistan’s Rogun Dam project afloat?
December 23, 2024
In a letter sent earlier this year to Bankwatch, World Bank officials defended Rogun as a potentially “transformative clean energy project that will improve domestic and regional welfare and contribute to the decarbonization of regional power grids in Central Asia, provided it is managed under sound macro-economic, commercial, and social and environmental sustainability frameworks.”
Joint statement: Urgent call to IFC and EBRD to impose conditionalities on Oyu Tolgoi’s new loan
December 20, 2024
Civil society organisations from across the globe have signed a joint statement opposing a proposed new loan for the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.
The World Bank should reconsider its mega dam project in Tajikistan
December 16, 2024
Providing funding to a repressive regime to construct the ‘highest dam in the world’ is a recipe for disaster.
Bank of scandals: toxic culture of favouritism exposed at the European Investment Bank
December 11, 2024
“Compared to other financial institutions, the EIB is run with a high level of internal secrecy,” said Anna Roggenbuck, who has been following the EIB for over 15 years for Bankwatch, a civil society organisation that monitors publicly financed projects.
The European Investment Bank has a chronic ‘revolving doors’ problem
December 5, 2024
Instead of the EIB shrugging its shoulders at yet another revolving door case, it must understand these new revelations as a wake-up call to drive the necessary changes that will enable it, as a key EU institution, to retain public legitimacy.
Joint civil society comments on the draft EBRD Food and Agribusiness Draft Strategy 2025
November 29, 2024
The joint civil society review of the EBRD’s draft Food and Agribusiness Strategy 2025 highlights areas for improvement. While the strategy shifts towards sustainability, it lacks robust environmental and social safeguards. Case studies from Ukraine and Uzbekistan illustrate the potential negative impacts of EBRD investments without proper measures. We recommend enhancing collaboration with local communities and smallholder farmers, especially in regions with limited civic engagement, and developing region-specific sustainability indicators.
