The Oil Road – How a done deal continues to unravel
Publication | 8 October, 2012The Oil Road by James Marriot and Mika Minio–Paluello is a remarkable recounting of their journey along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from Azerbaijan to the City of London. It is a narrative peppered with a wealth of cultural, social and economic history and kaleidoscopic insight from the Caspian region and beyond.
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Egypt’s turmoil is a distraction from the west’s economic agenda
Publication | 8 October, 2012The storming of the US embassy in Cairo has diverted attention once again from the real issues facing Egypt. It couldn’t have come at a better time for those who want to convince the Egyptian people to accept an International Monetary Fund loan and other western IFI interventions, and thus extend former president Hosni Mubarak’s liberalisation of the economy.
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More questions asked about EBRD and EIB transparency
Publication | 8 October, 2012The European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have been awarded some of the worst transparency scores for international finance institutions in this year’s Aid Transparency Index, published in early October by the campaign group Publish What You Fund.
Read moreOpen letter to Serbian president: Protect our property in the Vreoci cemetery
Publication | 4 October, 2012The letter is asking the Serbian government to protect Vreoci community property in the Vreoci cemetery and especially an orthodox chapel that is property of Vreoci citizens.
Read moreEuropean public banks must improve transparency
Press release | 1 October, 2012Brussels – The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) score low on transparency according to the ‘2012 Aid Transparency Index’ [1] published today by the campaign group ‘Publish What You Fund’.
Read moreCan Ukraine abandon nuclear energy? Yes we can
Publication | 30 September, 2012This briefing examines how Ukraine can reduce its dependency on nuclear energy, without sacrificing its ability to meet demands. The results show that Ukraine could very well satisfy its electricity needs even when it shuts down expired nuclear power plants, does not built new ones, and neither increases the use of coal in thermal power plants.
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Trust us, we’re euphoric – Private equity and a tax haven part of the EBRD’s first post-Arab Spring swoop
Blog entry | 26 September, 2012For its first loan to ‘Arab Spring’ countries the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has chosen vehicles and partners whose ability to deliver developmental value is highly uncertain.
Read moreLetter to DG Environment: Flaws in Environmental Impact Assessment of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia
Publication | 25 September, 2012The Environmental and Social Impact Asessment (ESIA) for the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia has been delayed for years and comes at a time when the commercial operations are soon to begin. By including only the construction phase of the mine, the impacts of its actual operations are neglected with potentially devastating impacts on water reserves in the Gobi desert – especially because the interrelation of the deep (fossil water) and shallow aquifers that are used by herders has not been thoroughly assessed and is based only on modelling and assumptions with no monitoring data publicly available.
Read moreWorld Bank and Others Poised to Invest in Rio Tinto’s Flawed Mongolian Mining Project
Press release | 24 September, 2012Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — The World Bank Board of Directors has announced plans to consider a copper and gold mining project in the Mongolian South Gobi desert even though the Bank itself acknowledges that there is not enough water in the region to support the life of the Project. Despite ongoing community opposition to Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine and its associated facilities (“OT Project”), the World Bank is considering a financing package of US$900 million in loans and up to US$1 billion in political risk insurance for the OT Project in early November.
Read moreLetter to President of Ukraine calling for veto against Khmelnistky nuclear units
Publication | 20 September, 2012Bankwatch and its members appeal to Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine, to stop the Ukrainian government’s plans to construct two new nuclear units at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant. The letter asks Yanukovych to use his vetoing power and not sign the relevant law that was adopted by Ukraine’s parliament on 6 September 2012, since the law is in direct violation of Ukraine’s international obligations.
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