Letter to European Commission: Reconsider disbursement of loans for Ukraine nuclear project
Publication | 10 August, 2015In this letter, Bankwatch asks the European Commission to reconsider the disbursement of the Euratom and EBRD loans for the Ukraine nuclear safety upgrade programme that effectively enables the lifetime extensions at Ukraine’s nuclear reactors. The letter provides evidence for the intertwined character of the upgrade programme and the lifetime extensions and for Ukraine’s refusal to meet its obligations under international conventions.
Read moreLetter to European Commission (DG ECFIN): Ukraine does not meet obligations under international law
Publication | 10 August, 2015The European Commission stated in an earlier letter that any decision by Ukraine to extend the life-span of any of its nuclear power plants will require assessment under the Aarhus and Espoo Conventions. In this letter, Bankwatch offers evidence for how Ukraine is indeed extending the lifetimes of its nuclear reactors but not meeting its obligations under the conventions.
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Guest post: Behind the glitz of oil riches – the shrinking space for democracy in Azerbaijan
Blog entry | 29 July, 2015Last week, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved a loan over half a billion dollars for Lukoil’s share in the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan. In this guest post, rights activist Emma Hughes from Platform reflects on how business as usual resumes after the media attention on Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses has faded.
Read moreEuropean funding for a Lukoil gas project in Azerbaijan tramples the EU’s commitment to both climate action and human rights
Press release | 23 July, 2015A USD 500 million loan for the share of Russian gas giant Lukoil in a major gas project in Azerbaijan has been approved yesterday by the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Yet, the decision will significantly hinder Europe’s commitments to decarbonise as well as to advance democracy.
Read morePublish What You Pay: ‘Lukoil loan would fundamentally contradict EBRD policies’
Publication | 21 July, 2015The Board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a coalition of companies, governments, investors and civil society organisations has unanimously downgraded Azerbaijan to a “candidate country”. Azerbaijan will be suspended from the EITI in April 2016 if it does not comply with a set of requirements that ensure civil society can work freely in the country.
Read moreSport for Rights to EBRD: No public money for Lukoil and mega gas project in Azerbaijan
Publication | 20 July, 2015On Wednesday 22 July the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will decide whether it will arrange a loan of up to $ 500 million to Russia’s Lukoil for the Shah Deniz II offshore gas project in Azerbaijan. Together with the campaigners of Sport for Rights and sixteen other NGOs, Bankwatch has written a letter to the EBRD’s president and its directors. We urge them to reject the project because Azerbaijan fails the EBRD’s basic requirements which include human rights, multi-party democracy, rule of law and pluralism.
Read moreLetter by Members of the European Parliament to the EBRD and Euratom regarding the Nuclear Power Plant Safety Upgrade Programme
Publication | 1 July, 2015The request is made in the context of Ukraine’s obligations under the Espoo convention, such that the EBRD and EuroAtom should “take steps for suspending the loan proceedings until a full trans-boundary EIA process for nuclear units lifetime extension is launched and carried out in accordance with international treaties to which Ukraine is a party.”
Read morePreliminary comments on the Nenskra Environmental Impact Assessment and its consultation process
Publication | 25 June, 2015Following an on-site visit in the Upper Svaneti region in Georgia, these comments find substantial weaknesses in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Nenskra hydropower plant, in particular with regards to the engagement and consultation of local communities. See also the comments on the final Nenskra EIA report.
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Azeri regime stifles criticism ahead of European Games. European lender must finally take measures.
Blog entry | 10 June, 2015UPDATE 1 12h CET 12 June 2015 Platform have taken to the streets of London to protest the opening of the European Games. See a video of the action below, and read more in their book published Friday, All that glitters, which explores how the European Games belong to the Aliyev regime and the British oil company BP and how sport is being co-opted in the service of a dynasty and fossil fuels. ––––
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Italian mayor stands up against EU priority gas pipeline
Blog entry | 8 June, 2015Local opposition against the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP) is growing as an Italian mayor made clear in an open letter to the European Commission and European public banks.
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