ALSTOM nominated for “Prestigious” Public Eye Awards
Press release | 7 January, 2013The French energy and transport conglomerate Alstom is one of the seven finalists for the People’s Public Eye Awards 2013. The nomination is a result of information submitted by NGOs Focus Slovenia, SHERPA France and CEE Bankwatch Network, in which dubious business practices of the company across the world are highlighted — often linked to proven corruption or corruption allegations surrounding the awarding of contracts.
Read moreExpert assessment of Alstom’s business ethics
Publication | 4 January, 2013The French energy and transport conglomerate Alstom is one of the seven finalists for the People’s Public Eye Awards 2013. This assessment – done by experts from the Institute for Business Ethics of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland – takes a look at international treaties and Alstom’s conduct in relation to them.
Read moreThe newest EBRD member, Kosovo, does not need new coal
Press release | 22 December, 2012Pristina – As Kosovo becomes the newest member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development today, civil society groups in the country tell the bank that it should exclude from the start any investments in coal and that it could have an enormous positive impact by supporting energy efficiency measures.
Read moreInvolvement of EBRD in Ukraine nuclear sector – Greenpeace action in Kiev
Publication | 18 December, 2012The letter from Greenpeace to the EBRD explains in more detail why Greenpeace has joined Bankwatch’s opposition to the Ukraine nuclear power plant safety upgrade project and has staged a protest action in Kiev in December 2012. Both Greenpeace and Bankwatch fear that some of the crucial arguments are not taken into account by the EBRD staff and Board so far.
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EBRD mulls latest mega-corp support – for Monsanto
Publication | 14 December, 2012Monsanto, the world’s largest seed producer and one of the most well-known promoters of genetically modified crops worldwide, is in line to receive USD 40 million of public financial support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the bank disclosed last month.
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How many IFIs – and how many millions – does it take to make a safe road?
Publication | 14 December, 2012Last month, residents in the village of Krupets in Ukraine blocked the Kyiv-Chop road that runs straight through the village. Their protest – the road was blocked off for more than 90 minutes – came as a result of horrifying car accidents (including ten fatal car accidents since the beginning of this year) that have taken place in their community due to the lack of a speed limit, street lighting and appropriate traffic signs. The regional prosecutor office has initiated a case against the regional roads agency for alleged violation of road and traffic safety standards.
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Some points of departure – interview with the new president of the EBRD
Publication | 14 December, 2012Sir Suma Chakrabarti became the sixth president of the EBRD this summer. Bankwatch Mail caught up with him recently to ask him his views on the bank’s operations in central and eastern Europe and, now, further afield, as well as on a few of the more acute issues that are currently high on the agenda – both for the EBRD and watchdog organisations like Bankwatch.
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IFI negligence rife at first major post-revolution project in Egypt
Publication | 14 December, 2012A USD 3.7 billion PPP oil refinery expansion in Cairo is accompanied by contradictory project documents, making a mockery of claims by the public banks involved to be committed to ‘good governance’ or democracy. Despite being presented as merely translations of one document, the Arabic and English ‘versions’ are entirely different – with the Arabic markedly cursory and superficial.
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Never a dull moment in Slovene power plant soap opera
Publication | 14 December, 2012On November 30, the same day as the national government was under fire in the most heated protests Slovenia has seen in years, Slovenia’s ministers of finance and infrastructure added fuel to the flames by signing contracts with Simon Tot, director of the Sostanj lignite power plant for the controversial EUR 1.3 billion Sostanj Unit 6. These contracts prepare the ground for the signing of a state guarantee contract for a EUR 440 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the project.
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Grey area alert – IFI sponsored PPPs the latest big thing in Kazakhstan
Publication | 14 December, 2012While it is not to be unexpected for the public to attempt to scrutinise the effective performance of governmental agencies, in recent years in Kazakhstan it has been far from obvious that many resources and services, projects and finances are being provided by international financial institutions (IFIs). Indeed, very often it is the IFIs that act as catalysts for various government programs, reforms and ideas that are subsequently adapted via the bureaucratic apparatus to Kazakhstan’s reality.
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