EBRD fresh plans show intent to pour more public money into coal
Press release | 26 April, 2012Brussels – In a draft mining strategy published yesterday, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) made it clear that it intends to continue investing in the coal sector for years to come.(1) Supporting the coal sector with European public money is unacceptable, according to CEE Bankwatch Network, as it undermines the EU’s climate policy and the transition to a decarbonised European economy that the EU and the EBRD both claim to support.(2)
Read moreChernobyl at 26: nuclear dynamite is growing in Ukraine
Blog entry | 26 April, 201226 years ago, the days after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl had been marked by the glaring lack of information. Today, Europe’s population is similarly clueless as back then about the nuclear risk brewing in Ukraine.
Read moreSlovenia: The EBRD freezes loan disbursements in Alstom’s coal project over corruption allegations. NGOs call on the EIB to follow suit
Press release | 18 April, 2012Paris, 18 April 2012 — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that it is freezing the disbursement of the promised EUR 100 million loan for the construction of a new lignite block at thermal power plant TES 6 in Šoštanj, Slovenia. The decision by the EBRD comes after a group of Slovenian and international NGOs approached the EBRD asking for the bank to halt the loan until corruption allegations are investigated.(1)
Read moreSuspension or no suspension, the EBRD freezes disbursements for the Šoštanj lignite power plant
Blog entry | 18 April, 2012With the decision to freeze the disbursement of a loan for the Šoštanj lignite power plant in Slovenia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development seemingly reacts to the many controversial points Bankwatch and other organisations have raised about the project.
Read moreKhimki Forest activist wins Goldman Environmental Prize
Blog entry | 16 April, 2012One of this year’s winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize is Russian Khimki Forest defender Evgenia Chirikova, but the good news is being overshadowed by continued violence against other Khimki activists.
Read moreGazela reloaded: another illegal Roma resettlement in Serbia on account of an EIB funded project
Press release | 13 April, 2012Belgrade – By the end of April, one hundred Roma families are expected to be illegally resettled from Belgrade neighbourhood Buvljak to several locations including Resnik, where current inhabitants are these days protesting against their arrival [1]. The resettlement is being carried out by Belgrade authorities without a proper resettlement plan or any consideration of the needs of the Roma and potential for inter-racial conflict [2]. The move is deemed necessary as part of the Sava Bridge and adjacent road construction, financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank respectively. [3]
Read moreCampaign asks UniCredit to ‘get out of coal’
Blog entry | 12 April, 2012Pressure is growing not only on international financial institutions but also on private banks to stop financing fossil fuels.
Read moreEBRD: New president – new direction for the bank?
Press release | 2 April, 2012With the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the process of selecting a new president [1] as the term of current office holder Thomas Mirow approaches its end, CEE Bankwatch Network, an NGO that has been monitoring the EBRD for over a decade, makes a call on the bank’s shareholders and new president to reassess some of its past – faulty – approaches:
Read moreYet another bail-out package? A comeback to ‘The Vienna Initiative and financial stability in emerging Europe’
Blog entry | 30 March, 2012The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development promotes the support for western European banks in central and eastern Europe although evidence for this initiative’s success is disputable at best.
Read moreMining in protected areas, an update on Kumtor and Centerra Gold
Blog entry | 28 March, 2012Centerra Gold is being criticised for its activities in protected areas at the Kumtor gold mine and at another project in Mongolia. More lessons to be learnt for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Read more