Deja vu for Vienna II – a sustainable recovery is needed for the CEE financial sector
Blog entry | 16 January, 2012As pressures mount on western European banks to shore up capital ratios and with 2012 economic growth forecasts for Europe falling close to zero, officials from the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and several international financial institutions (IFIs) are meeting today in Vienna with regulators from CEE countries to discuss a second round of financial support for a fragile CEE banking sector.
Read moreThe Ukrainian nuclear power plant safety upgrade project and the EBRD’s contribution to extending outdated Soviet reactors
Publication | 15 January, 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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Prison netbook – Russia and the arrest of an environmental activist
Blog entry | 13 January, 2012Shortly after 80 000 people took to Moscow’s streets at the end of December to oppose the 4 December controversial parliamentary elections that resulted in United Russia retaining control of parliament, Bankwatch ally and Khimki forest defender Yaroslav Nikitenko was forced to spend ten days in jail over a fabricated administrative crime.
Read moreComplaint to EBRD’s Public Complaint Mechanism: Rivne-Kyiv High Voltage Line project
Publication | 10 January, 2012The loan agreement between Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Rivne-Kyiv High Voltage Line project (connected to the controversial “Second Backbone Corridor”) included significant parts of the project that were not assessed in the obligatory environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) prior to project approval.
Read moreCroatian civil society groups ask new government to withdraw from Ombla hydro project
Press release | 16 December, 2011Croatian environmental groups today held a protest action outside of the Croatian parliament calling on the country’s new government not to go ahead with the controversial EBRD-financed EUR 150 million Ombla HPP project.
Read moreLetter to EBRD: Insufficient environmental assessment of Ukraine NPP Safety Upgrade Programme
Publication | 15 December, 2011The letter criticises the environmental assessment of the Nuclear power plants safety upgrade programme (SUP) in Ukraine. It concludes that the assessment insufficient and does not fully elaborate the objectives and consequences of the SUP.
Read moreThe EBRD’s energy lending at a glance
Publication | 5 December, 2011The graphs in this briefing illustrate the EBRD’s energy lending 2006-2010. Investments in renewable energy were at least 6 times higher in the EU New Member States than in eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Although all EBRD countries of operation need such investments dearly, non-EU countries that are not stimulated by EU renewable energy targets arguably need the EBRD’s support even more.
Read moreTen ways to improve the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative
Publication | 1 December, 2011The European Commission has set the goal of becoming a resource-efficient, renewables-based economy by 2050. This means a near-total decarbonisation of the EU energy sector is needed by 2050, as well as that of the industry and residential sectors. If the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) wants to help achieving this, it has to be tightened up significantly. Bankwatch suggests 10 ways to do this. See our official comments to the EBRD’s SEI consultation here
Read moreComments on the European Neighbourhood Policy and the forthcoming European Neighborhood Instrument
Publication | 30 November, 2011The primary goal of the EU’s neighbourhood policy should be based on an insistence on increased democracy in EU neighbourhood countries. This should happen through public participation in decision-making processes, the establishment of good governance and sustainable development practices, increased environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as increased welfare and social security across these countries.
Read moreLetter to European Commission: Suggestions to improve the financial regulation for the European Neighbourhood Instrument
Publication | 30 November, 2011Also available on our website are detailed Comments on the European Neighbourhood Policy and the forthcoming European Neighborhood Instrument.
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