Updates on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The people’s perspective please: are public social safety nets important?

Yesterday, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) published its Transition Report for 2011, subtitled “The People’s Perspective”. This is because the study pays unprecedented attention to how regular households in post-socialist countries are managing after almost three years of economic crisis.

Letter to EBRD re complaints against Sostanj power plant project

The letter notifies the EBRD of two complaints filed against the Sostanj lignite thermal power plant unit 6 project and calls on the EBRD to also undertake a thorough review of its involvement in the project, as it seems that when approving the project, some relevant facts were omitted by the bank.

An EBRD interpretation of biodiversity protection in the western Balkans

With potentially devastating impacts on natural habitats, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has so far offered no real commitment to environmental protection in its ambiguous decisions on two hydropower plants in Croatia and Macedonia.

Ombla hydropower plant: public money down the sinkhole

Today Bankwatch member group Zelena akcija/Friends of the Earth – Croatia held an action today outside the offices of the EBRD in Zagreb, calling on the bank not to approve a planned loan of up to EUR 123 million for the Ombla hydropower plant project. You can see some images from the demo here.

The recap on recapitalisation

As the eurozone crisis continues to unfold, lending from international financial institutions to the banking sector must be held to the task of supporting the most vulnerable – especially the SMEs in CEE – or it will continue to perform largely unsuccessful and unchecked as it has during the crisis to date.

NGO coalition urges EBRD not to finance destruction of national park in Macedonia

Skopje – A coalition of more than 30 Macedonian and international NGOs are calling on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) not to finance Boskov Most hydro power plant in north-western Macedonia. The project would seriously damage Mavrovo national park, the largest in the country and a potential Natura 2000 site, while at the same time being envisaged to produce a relatively small amount of electricity to be used only for the stabilization of the national energy system.

Complaint to EBRD: Boskov Most hydropower project, Macedonia

The Boskov Most hydropower plant would be built within the Mavrovo National Park in Croatia right where the very rare Balkan lynx lives. This official complaint to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development argues against a loan for the project (to be decided on November 8, 2011) because of the expected negative impacts on biodiversity and the inadequate environmental assessment so far. More information on the Bankwatch blog.

Questionable transition impact of the Ombla and Boskov Most hydropower plants

The EBRD has a specific mandate to promote transition to a market economy and to ensure environmental sustainability in all its operations. Additionally to the unacceptable environmental impacts of the hydropower plant projects Ombla (Croatia) and Boskov Most (Macedonia), both projects do not comply with the EBRD’s mission. We believe the bank should not support them.

Complaint to European Commission: Public procurement procedure for the Sostanj lignite power plant

Comments and proposals on the EBRD’s project level transition indicators

As pointed out in our publication Are We Nearly There Yet? Dilemmas of Transition After 20 Years of the EBRD’s Operations (pdf), environmental and social sustainability has not been as strong a focus for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as it should be. How the EBRD measures it’s success can be seen as one part of the explanation. It’s transition indicators – also at project level – are therefore an important aspect when assessing the bank’s performance.