Guest post: EBRD justification for supporting coal in Egypt’s cement industry is negligent
Blog entry | 15 May, 2014Colleagues from the Egyptian Centre of Economic and Social Rights criticise the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s too lax approach when examining its activities in Egypt’s cement sector.
Read moreBalkan lynx stage protest at annual meeting of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Blog entry | 15 May, 2014A delegation of 20 lynx from Mavrovo National Park in Macedonia today occupied a corridor in the Polish National Stadium in Warsaw, where the EBRD Annual General Meetings are taking place 14-15 May. Their message: “EBRD, don’t finance the Boskov Most dam, as it will destroy the forest in which we live and eventually kill us.” The 20 delegates from Mavrovo Park constitute almost half of the little over 50 lynxes which still survive in the park today (the Balkan lynx is an endangered species).
Read moreFunny business at EBRD meeting: sustainability champion Garanti fancies coal
Blog entry | 14 May, 2014The Turkish Garanti Bank, one of the winners of the Sustainability Awards of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is among the main coal investors in Turkey.
Read moreBankwatch analysis of EBRD operations in CEE at 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall
Press release | 14 May, 2014Warsaw – As the EBRD celebrates 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the benefits it has brought to its countries of operation in the post-socialist space, a new Bankwatch report criticises the bank for having systematically promoted a „markets above all” approach, which has often put democratic and environmental concerns on the back burner, and occasionally proved straightforwardly detrimental to the region. The Bankwatch analysis is available for download here: https://bankwatch.org/EBRD-stuck-in-market
Read morePlanned contract for Plomin C coal plant most likely illegal state aid, says legal analysis
Press release | 5 May, 2014Zagreb, 05.05.2014 – A planned long-term power purchase agreement in which Croatian electricity company HEP will commit to buying at least 50% of electricity from the planned Plomin C power plant for 20-30 years will most likely be illegal under EU state aid rules, according to a new legal analysis by Hungary’s Environmental Management and Law Association (EMLA).
Read moreNew online toolkit to help tackle the Kings of Coal in southeast Europe and Turkey
Blog entry | 5 May, 2014Coal investments are a dying breed in many countries, but some investors are still ready to try their luck in southeast Europe and Turkey. For campaigners who want to communicate with these actors Bankwatch has developed the user-friendly online toolkit Kings of Coal in three languages.
Read moreStatement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threat of war
Press release | 29 April, 2014CEE Bankwatch Network strongly condemns the Russian government’s military invasion and annexation of Crimea and Sebastopol. We hope that in the end the voices of those who have been demonstrating for peace in Moscow and elsewhere, in both Russia and Ukraine, will prevail. The European Union has already responded to the Crimean declaration of independence by announcing travel bans and bank account freezes for 48 individuals from Russia and Ukraine linked to the Crimean breakaway.
Read moreThe case of a ‘secret’ coal plant in Turkey suggests a polluted future for the country
Blog entry | 28 April, 2014The SOCAR Refinery project and its ‘secret’ coal power plant show the magnitude of the problems that the mixture of business interests, coal and neglect of local health concerns may cause in Turkey.
Read moreSerbian NGO presses criminal charges against Kolubara mining company over landslide
Blog entry | 16 April, 2014One year after a landslide destroyed thirteen houses the Kolubara mining company continues to dump waste in the same area without information from its investigations forthcoming. Locals fear that more landslides may occur. Bankwatch member group CEKOR has now increased pressure on the company and the EBRD.
Read moreThreat posed by hydro to Mavrovo National Park under the spotlight at Skopje conference
Blog entry | 15 April, 2014On Thursday in Skopje, over 100 people attended the first public conference [mk] regarding the two planned hydropower plants in the Mavrovo National Park, one of the oldest and most valuable protected areas in the country. A petition to save the park that was launched one day earlier has already gathered over 13 000 signatures.
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