Campaign update: Protests against Monsanto in front of Serbian EBRD office
Publication | 3 December, 2012Since the news broke in early November that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is considering supporting Monsanto, one of the most controversial agricultural corporations, with up to USD 40 million, we have heard voices of protest from across Europe. Last Thursday, Serbian NGOs and anti-GMO activists took their protest to the Belgrade offices of the EBRD
Read moreDirty coal gets closer to receiving almost half a billion euros from EU taxpayers
Press release | 3 December, 2012The European Investment Bank (EIB) is gearing up to pay 440 million euros to a new 600 MW lignite plant in Slovenia at a time when calls for an end to subsidies for fossil fuels are intensifying all over the world.
Read moreComments on the draft EBRD country strategy for the Russian Federation
Publication | 3 December, 2012The EBRD is updating its country strategy for the Russian Federation. Bankwatch’s inputs in the consultation focus on assessing the needs of the updated strategy in view of the political and human rights situation, issues of corruption and transparency in Russia, development impacts of the EBRD’s activities and the energy and agriculture sectors.
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Doing more than just spotting the elephant: a new resource for campaigning on China, dams and finance
Blog entry | 27 November, 2012China has risen to become a major player in the dam building business these days, dominating the world market and appearing ever more frequently around these parts in central and eastern Europe (along with counterparts in other areas of the energy sector, notably coal – more about this on the blog in the coming weeks).
Read moreMonsanto Should Not Expand Relying on Public Money
Press release | 19 November, 2012London — Monsanto, the world’s largest seed producer and one of the most prominent promoters of GMO crops worldwide, is set to receive 40 million US dollars of public financial support via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Read moreWe will not share Monsanto’s risk – Open letter to the EBRD
Publication | 19 November, 2012Signed by more than 150 organisations, the letter calls on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to not further consider USD 40 million unfunded risk participation in Monsanto’s portfolio in Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The letter explains Monsanto’s long and controversial history of transferring its risks onto other people and the environment. It argues that support for this company and the agricultural model it represents is highly inappropriate for a multilateral development bank committed in its statute to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”.
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European public development money for Monsanto? Whatever next?!
Blog entry | 14 November, 2012The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development considers supporting one of the most criticised and controversial corporations on the planet, Monsanto. Reasons for deciding against it are plenty.
Read moreUkraine nuclear power plants safety upgrade programme
Publication | 14 November, 2012The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Euroatom plan to support the nuclear power plant safety upgrade project in Ukraine. The EU presents the project as a timely initiative to improve nuclear safety in the region. A closer inspection however shows that it in fact can increase nuclear risks, in that the project includes a significant number of measures necessary to extend the lifetime of the reactors.
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First major project in Egypt reveals transparency oversight by European public banks
Blog entry | 13 November, 2012A $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.
Read moreComments on the draft EBRD country strategy for Albania (2012)
Publication | 9 November, 2012The environmental center EDEN is convinced that the EBRD can play a significant role in supporting Albania’s sustainable development and the country’s integration into the European Union. Several examples of previously funded projects show that this is possible. However still the majority of funds go to big scale projects that often harm the environment and social cohesion. These comments pay special attention to EBRD financing in the energy sector.
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