Joint civil society comments on the draft EBRD Food and Agribusiness Draft Strategy 2025
Publication | 29 November, 2024The 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.
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Holding the EIB and EBRD accountable: Are their grievance mechanisms effective?
Publication | 20 November, 2024In this report, we examine the alignment of the EIB and EBRD grievance mechanisms with the effectiveness criteria for the design and assessment of non-judicial complaints mechanisms set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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While the EBRD shows off its green credentials at COP29, its North Macedonia gas pipeline loan still brings more questions than answers
Blog entry | 19 November, 2024The EBRD has made significant investments in solar, wind and energy efficiency in recent years. But these have been undermined by its continued support for fossil fuels. This April, a EUR 98 million loan for the Greece to North Macedonia pipeline was approved, despite major leaks in the Bank’s rationale for supporting it. Recent delays have further exposed the flawed assumptions behind the project, as our new briefing shows.
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Greece – North Macedonia gas interconnector update
Publication | 19 November, 2024This briefing takes an updated look at the Greece – North Macedonia gas interconnector project and concludes that the arguments in favour of the project are still not supported by convincing evidence and that the claimed benefits are highly unlikely to materialise.
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Western Balkan cities: Pressure with no release
Publication | 24 October, 2024Using case studies from Belgrade, Sarajevo and Skopje, our report examines urban planning practices, the consequences of poor governance, and the need for sustainable infrastructure investment.
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The impact of ‘foreign agent law’ on civic space and the enabling environment for sustainable development in Georgia
Publication | 18 October, 2024This briefing outlines the current political situation in Georgia, detailing the government’s authoritarian shift and its implications for governance, economic stability, and sustainable development.
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A flawed rollout: How the EBRD’s efforts to tackle harassment on Tbilisi public transport have fallen short
Blog entry | 11 October, 2024In an effort to tackle gender-based violence and harassment across Tbilisi’s public transport network, the EBRD has provided financial and technical support to Tbilisi Transport Company – the operator responsible for managing public transport services in the city – to help them set up a tracking system to address incidents on the city’s metro and bus routes.
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Bishkek’s sustainable urban mobility development: A review of current policies and investments with recommendations for enhanced transformative impact (long version)
Publication | 14 August, 2024As Bishkek’s population grows, public transport in the Kyrgyz capital is clearly lagging far behind demand. A new research paper, produced in collaboration with our Kyrgyz partners Peshcom, maps the situation of sustainable urban mobility development in Bishkek.
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CEE Bankwatch Network comments on the draft of the EBRD Infrastructure Sector Strategy
Publication | 14 August, 2024The EBRD’s draft strategy, published in the summer of 2024, shows improvements particularly in terms of good governance, inclusion, safety, affordability, accessibility of municipal and transport infrastructure and services. In our new comments, we argue that more needs to be done to decarbonise and promote circular economy principles and sustainable waste management.
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The last trolleybus of Bishkek: mayor’s decision defies logic and undermines foreign investments in green transport
Blog entry | 19 July, 2024The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) need to investigate the impact of their public transport projects in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan as the city’s urban mobility system gets a complete overhaul without transparency or public participation.
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