In April, Bankwatch published a report on the impact of EU funding plans on climate change, warning that the EUR 177 billion in EU funds earmarked for new Member States risked undermining the EU’s own climate commitments. 

Later in the year, we helped to launch Counter Balance, a new Europe-wide coalition aimed at holding the EIB accountable for its environmental and social impacts. Alongside Counter Balance, Bankwatch joined protests at the EIB’s annual forum in Ljubljana, targeting the planned financing of the controversial Šoštanj 6 lignite power plant. 

We also organised a fact-finding mission to Vlora, Albania, where construction of an oil and gas power plant had begun with funding from the EIB, the EBRD and the World Bank – despite ongoing concerns, the plant remains non-operational to this day. 

In Poland, we marked a major campaign success by helping to protect the Rospuda Valley – a Natura 2000 site – from being damaged by the proposed Via Baltica expressway route. 

Finally, in December, the EU signed the Lisbon Treaty, formally introducing sustainable development, including environmental and social dimensions, as a central EU objective. 

The EU also agreed on the targets for its proposed Climate and Energy Package, committing to a 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20 per cent share of renewable energy, and a 20 per cent improvement in energy efficiency by 2020.