Thirsty hydropower: misuse of drinking water pipelines has destroyed a river in Bulgaria
Blog entry | 30 March, 2021The Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade was planned to use only the drinking water of the town of Blagoevgrad. Eight years later, it has used more than double the water allowed, leaving the river ‘even without frogs’. Our latest report shows the need for more scrutiny of EIB and EBRD lending through intermediary banks.
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Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade (Bulgaria)
Publication | 30 March, 2021The Blagoevgradska Bistritsa hydropower cascade in Bulgaria consists of eight small hydropower plants installed on pipelines that supply the town of Blagoevgrad with drinking water. The plants were developed by the private company Blagoevgradska Bistri
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Demonstrators demand cleaner skies as Bulgaria presses on with incinerator
Blog entry | 26 March, 2021Close to one hundred people from Sofia and the industrial northern town of Devnya took to the streets of the capital in protest against incineration and the air pollution affecting both towns, where the government pushes ahead with false solutions to the EU’s circular economy agenda.
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EU bank failing on transparency and openness, warns civil society
Press release | 11 March, 2021Brussels – The European Investment Bank (EIB) is a laggard among its lending peers in terms of the amount of information it provides about its activities, finds a new analysis.The 53 civil society groups behind this analysis — including CEE Bankwatch Network, Counter Balance, Client Earth and many more — are urging the Bank to be more open about the impacts of its financing.
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Step into the light: transparency review at EU bank can end culture of secrecy
Blog entry | 11 March, 2021The European Investment Bank, one of the largest lenders globally, is currently working on a new transparency policy that will govern how and what information the bank makes public. As the EU’s house bank, the EIB must guarantee the right of all citizens to access information held by public bodies.
Read moreJoint CSO Submission on the Draft Revised Version of the EIB Transparency Policy
Publication | 11 March, 2021The European Investment Bank (EIB) is currently revising its transparency standards. Its proposal for a revised Transparency Policy (draft TP) is under public consultation until 12 March 2021. While we appreciate the EIB’s initiative to review its Tran
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Actions speak louder than words: gender equality policies in development banks
Blog entry | 8 March, 2021Promoting gender rights and women’s empowerment has become a trend among multilateral development banks (MDBs). Organising discussions on best practices and promoting gender-related issues is welcome, but it is crucial that banks ensure meaningful protection and support to the women most affected by international public investments.
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Why is the EIB still hiding one-third of its lending?
Publication | 4 March, 2021The EU’s house bank must keep up with its peers on disclosure of financial intermediary investments
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Why is the EU’s house bank still hiding one-third of its lending?
Blog entry | 3 March, 2021The EIB’s lending through intermediary banks is often claimed to be confidential. But this is public money, and the bank’s peers are increasingly doing better. As the EIB reviews its Transparency Policy, it’s high time to up its game.
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Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Publication | 29 January, 2021The transport Corridor Vc is a motorway planned to run for 330 kilometers through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various sections of this corridor are being financed by the EIB and the EBRD. This briefing provides an overview of the key issues identified by a Bankwatch fact finding mission to a section of the motorway project south of Mostar, including non-transparent decision making, a threat to the fragile balance of interests of different ethnic groups in this post-war community, illusory public consultations, and biodiversity at risk.
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