Transition triumphs and traps – Assessing Poland’s recent economic journey, and where it goes next
Publication | 4 June, 2014During last month’s EBRD annual meeting in Warsaw, Bankwatch Mail convened a discussion about the state of the Polish economy between a financial journalist and a sociologist – both residents of the Polish capital – to hear their views on some of the pressing economic issues of the day, as well as the ongoing Polish ‘transition’ process. With the 25th anniversary of the end of communist rule in Poland a few months away now (today in fact marks a quarter of a century since the first Polish elections under communism), what have been the achievements and the lessons to be learned from the last two and half decades?
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When water mixes with coal – The impacts of the floods in Serbia on people living next to lignite mines
Blog entry | 30 May, 2014People living next to the Kolubara lignite mine in Serbia have suffered more under the floods due to the vicinity of the mine. Their demands for resettlement and compensation have now become more urgent than ever.
Read moreGuidebook to the European Neighbourhood Instrument and the international financial institutions
Publication | 30 May, 2014The new European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), will be the key financial instrument for 16 partner countries to the East and South of the EU’s borders (Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine). At the same time the new approach includes an increased external mandate for the EIB for both eastern and southern neighbours, as well as the extension of the EBRD mandate to selected southern Mediterranean countries.
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More repression, more money – Financing transition in Egypt
Blog entry | 27 May, 2014New cases of arbitrary repression against civil society happened in the run-up to the presidential elections in Egypt. A look at the loans so far approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development suggests that those in power have been more successful in receiving the bank’s support.
Read moreWho is Jan Kulczyk, the man behind Serinus Energy?
Press release | 19 May, 2014In the summer of last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a 60 million euro loan to Serinus Energy for financing the development of four oil and gas fields in Tunisia (Sabria, Chouech Essaida, Ech Chouechand Sanrahr) between 2013 and 2017.
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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.
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Balkan 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).
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Funny 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
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Nuclear shadows – transparency failings persist with Ukrainian safety project
Publication | 14 May, 2014Twenty years of limited – if not downright poor – transitional progress has demonstrated the inability of European and global institutions to effectively impact development processes in Ukraine.
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