CSO letter to the EBRD on the revision of the Good Governance policies related to Financial Intermediaries (FIs)
March 13, 2019
The undersigned CSOs welcome this opportunity to submit comments on the EBRD’s revision of its environmental and Social Policy, Access to Information Policy and Project Accountability Policy relating to financial intermediary lending. As it was documen
Milestone bank summit in Belgrade a step towards protecting Balkan rivers, but greater transparency still needed
March 1, 2019
For immediate release. Belgrade – The ‘Save the Blue Heart of Europe’ campaign [1] gave a cautious welcome to a first-of-its-kind summit between the financial sector and green activists, where a roundtable about the role of banks in the destruction of Balkan rivers by hydropower dams was centre stage.
U Novom danu o evropskim udruženjima za zaštitu reka
February 28, 2019
Da li je posao koji zbog državnih subvencija garantuje profit investitoru istovremeno opasnost za životnu sredinu? Izgradnja malih hidrocentrala u Srbiji postala je jedna od glavnih tema kada su se pobunili meštani oko reka na kojima je trebalo da budu izgrađene. U međuvremenu, bunt je dobio formu građanskog ekološkog pokreta.
The EBRD Country Strategy for Azerbaijan
February 26, 2019
As the EBRD reviews its Country Strategy for Azerbaijan, Civil society organisations approached the Board of Directors to share their concerns about the situation in the country and asked the Bank to be clear that funding should be linked to the perfor
ARCHIVED: Kresna gorge / Struma motorway, Bulgaria
February 25, 2019
The Struma motorway is tragically emblematic of an EU-funded project that has wrought havoc on European biodiversity and the wishes of local communities. In spite of two decades of protest by civil society and citizens, part of the Struma motorway section is planned directly through the Kresna gorge, a Natura 2000 site and Bulgaria’s richest biodiversity hotspot.
Environmental organisations ‘very disappointed’ with new ERDF Regulation
February 19, 2019
The European Parliament’s REGI committee voted on the regulation for the regional development fund on Thursday (14 February). Environmental activists criticized the fact that key concessions to climate protection were withdrawn and the proposal reportedly contradicted a vote from the day before.
New investigation in Kresna gorge reveals another major breach of law
February 15, 2019
An independent investigation by a Bulgarian TV channel bTV discovered progressing construction works in the Kresna gorge area even though the official procurement procedure is still ongoing.
Macedonian hydropower complaint highlights EBRD’s enduring opacity
February 11, 2019
After almost a year of struggling to get basic environmental information from the EBRD about the Krapska hydropower project, Bankwatch has submitted an official complaint [1] to the bank’s Secretary General. As we run the same administrative circles over and over again, another precious river valley has been irreversibly damaged.
Changing lives and doing no harm
February 8, 2019
“We invest in changing lives” is the slogan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, whose investments in 2018 reached EUR 9.5 billion through 395 projects. Whether the change is for better depends on the bank’s environmental and human rights safeguards.
The EU’s bank downplayed climate risk in granting record loans to Europe’s largest fossil fuel project
February 7, 2019
Brussels – In a complaint lodged today with the European Investment Bank (EIB), civil society groups protest that the bank systematically underestimated the climate footprint of a fossil fuel mega project, the Southern Gas Corridor, which helped justify providing it with major financial support using EU public money.
