Letter to EBRD: Nuclear inspections must continue in Ukraine
Publication | 16 February, 2015In a bid to help the recession-hit Ukrainian economy, the country’s government has significantly reduced regulatory obligations for businesses and state-owned companies. This includes Ukraine’s nuclear power plants which have been plagued in the recent past by ageing reactors and accidents and whose safety upgrades are receiving support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Euratom. In this letter Ukraine Bankwatch member group is asking the EBRD to pressure the government to ensure that the Ukrainian state nuclear regulator SRNIU is able to carry out inspections of nuclear power plants.
Read more
Natural gas left, right and centre at Energy Union conference in Riga
Blog entry | 11 February, 2015Massive infrastructure for transporting natural gas is shaping up to be a centre piece of the Energy Union put forward by the Juncker Commission. This was also the impression Bankwatch campaigners had at an Energy Union conference in Riga last week.
Read more
New arrests should dampen Serbia’s appetite for coal
Blog entry | 4 February, 2015Corruption cases continue to haunt Serbia’s coal sector as a new round of arrests last week has shown. They also illustrate how the dependence on coal creates vulnerabilities for Serbia’s energy sector and potentially its financiers, in particular in the aftermath of last year’s floods.
Read more
European Investment Bank confirms plans to finance Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
Blog entry | 4 February, 2015On February 2, during the annual meeting between civil society and the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Board of Directors, the EIB revealed that the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) was among its priority projects for 2015 in the Balkans.[*] The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, planned to stretch from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy, is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, a chain of projects meant to bring natural gas to Europe from the Shah Deniz offshore gas field in Azerbaijan.
Read more
EBRD suspends loan for Romanian coal plant Turceni
Press release | 30 January, 2015Bucharest — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) confirmed this week that it has suspended plans to finance the refurbishment of the Turceni coal power plant in Romania. The project is currently subject to a number of legal challenges on environmental grounds and Romanian authorities are investigating allegations of corruption at the plant.
Read more
Citizens of Romanian town protest against EBRD long-term “strategic” client Kronospan
Blog entry | 23 January, 2015Protests against a new Kronospan formaldehyde plant in the Romanian town of Sebes continue into their third week. Their history dates more than ten years back when the company came to modernise the local plant with financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The ongoing demands for breathable air cast a shadow over the EBRD’s promises of sustainable development and transition.
Read more
Guest post: Mongolian herders file complaint with EBRD about Mongolian iron ore company
Blog entry | 21 January, 2015Herders from the Gobi Altai mountains in western Mongolia have filed a complaint with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The complaint addresses the company Altain Khuder, which at its Tayan Nuur iron ore mine has allegedly caused significant environmental pollution and the displacement of herders in the Mongolian Gobi Altai mountains.
Read morePipe Dreams: Why the Southern Gas Corridor will not reduce EU dependency on Russia
Press release | 21 January, 2015Brussels – The Southern Gas Corridor, the EU’s new pet energy project, is not only unnecessary in light of gas demand projections, but also seems likely to fall short on the much flaunted goal of bringing energy independence from Russia, according to a new NGO study “Pipe Dreams” published today.
Read morePipe dreams – why public subsidies for Lukoil in Azerbaijan will not reduce EU dependency on Russia
Publication | 21 January, 2015The study explains why the Southern Gas Corridor, the EU’s new pet energy project, is not only unnecessary in light of gas demand projections, but also seems likely to fall short on the much flaunted goal of bringing energy independence from Russia.
Read moreOhrid Lake facing damage by EBRD financed infrastructure projects
Press release | 12 January, 2015Concerns mount about increasing threats to Macedonia’s protected areas and the Lake Ohrid UNESCO site by EBRD investments in fast-tracked infrastructure projects.
Read more
