Updates on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Ukraine’s addiction to nuclear energy poses a decades-long threat to Europe

Despite an urgent need to rebuild and reshape its highly inefficient and outdated energy sector, Ukraine has recently presented a draft of its new energy strategy that looks more like of the same. While the strategy makes mention of modern renewable en

Concerns regarding the EBRD’s Project Complaint Mechanism and recommendations for improvements – letter to EBRD directors

This letter to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Board of Directors summarises civil society organisations’ concerns regarding bank’s Project Complaints Mechanism, specifically the handling of several complaints, and makes specific recommendations for improvements, based on experience with these cases and with the accountability mechanisms of other institutions.

Investigation needed into Bratislava Bypass project – letter to EBRD compliance office

Revealed: the EU’s flagship energy project is built by companies with a legacy of corruption

No less than 15 firms contracted to build the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), the two main sections of the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, have been implicated in various forms of corruption in the past, according to a CEE Bankwatch Network report published today.

‘Southern Graft Corridor’ or the shady history of companies involved in Europe’s pet energy project

A new Bankwatch study reveals a worrying track record of criminal and corrupt activities among the companies that are building Europe’s flagship gas pipeline project, the Southern Gas Corridor.

Risky business – Who benefits from the Southern Gas Corridor

The Southern Gas Corridor, a string of pipelines meant to bring gas from Azerbaijan into Europe, is presented as a panacea for all ills and is set to benefit from some of the biggest loans in the history of European public banks. But as this report reveals, Europe’s flagship energy project is set to benefit a host of companies and individuals with a particularly shady track record. Several companies contracted to build the Southern Gas Corridor have a worrying history of corruption.

Skeletons are hiding in the closet of Europe’s energy policy – letter to Maroš Šefčovič on the EU’s support for nuclear energy

Accompanied by a public action, Bankwatch and Global 2000 presented European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič with this open letter. The letter points out the inconsistencies behind European public money supporting lifetime extension of soviet era nuclear reactors in Ukraine, which are made in violation of international environmental conventions and with insufficient implementation of safety requirements. So far, the EU’s support for Ukraine is a bad precedent for nuclear decision-making across Europe. It is time to set things straight!

Azerbaijan: Crackdown on critics undermines sustainable development – Human Rights Watch letter to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

In this letter, Human Rights Watch and Bankwatch highlight the ongoing repression of independent civil society in Azerbaijan and its impact on sustainable develpoment and urge the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to limit its engagement in the country, specifically to not provide financing for projects related to the country’s extractives sector such as the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

New cases at UN and EU bodies against Ukraine’s prolongation of nuclear licenses

As pressure from civil society and governments is mounting, UN and EU bodies acknowledge Ukraine’s lack of accountability for plans to extend the lifetime of its nuclear fleet. The country could be found in breach of international law. Once again.

Tavan Tolgoi coal power plant

Mongolia’s plans to build a 600 megawatt (MW) coal power plant at Tavan Tolgoi in the South Gobi Desert appear at odds with international commitments on climate change and with local realities.