Zagreb Mayor arrested – and not before time
Blog entry | 20 October, 2014Something quite amazing happened yesterday evening in Zagreb. The Croatian police and the State Prosecutor announced that several people had been arrested on suspicion of a number of criminal corruption offences, abuse of office and peddling influence. Among the arrested were Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, Head of Zagreb Holding municipal company Slobodan Ljubicic, the head of the ZET public transport company Ivan Tolic, head and part-owner of the CIOS metal recycling company Petar Pripuza and around 15 more un-named people.
Read moreBig EU energy projects cannot be chosen behind closed doors, say NGOs
Press release | 29 September, 2014Brussels — As a new process of identifying big EU energy Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) kicks off in Brussels today, environmental NGOs warn that the EU must only prioritise energy projects which are not destructive of the environment and climate, and that the choice of these projects must be done through a transparent process.
Read moreOn Evgeny Vitishko, multilateral development banks and the criminalisation of public criticism
Blog entry | 26 September, 2014The recent rejection to release Evgeny Vitishko’s, an imprisoned environmental activist in Russia, illustrates the backlash against fundamental rights and freedoms in some countries. Multilateral development banks need to take notice of this trend and be more wary of the risk that their lending may strengthen authoritarian regimes.
Read moreEurope’s finance ministers urged to stop EU Bank’s ‘extraordinary’ slide towards secrecy
Press release | 11 September, 2014Campaigners across Europe are urging the European Commission and their Ministers of Finance to halt a dangerous slide towards secrecy of the giant European Investment Bank (EIB), of which the EU member states are owners.
Read moreCorporate interest on way to win over the EU bank’s transparency policy
Blog entry | 10 September, 2014In the draft version of its new transparency policy the European Investment Bank is making access to information on its tens of billion euros lending harder than ever.
Read moreCity of Zagreb still playing with fire
Blog entry | 18 July, 2014Seasoned Bankwatch-watchers may recall our successful four-year campaign to stop the EBRD from financing a waste incinerator just outside Zagreb. Between 2005 and 2008, we supported Zelena akcija/Friends of the Earth Croatia and local group UZOR to prevent the City of Zagreb from building a huge 385 000 tonnes per year waste incinerator in Resnik on the outskirts of Croatia’s capital.
Read moreA Private Affair: Report shows how development finance institutions benefit the rich in Western countries
Blog entry | 11 July, 2014A new report shows how private western-based companies are benefiting from multilateral development banks’ support while governments and citizens in recipient countries are delegated to the sidelines.
Read moreMassive EU infrastructure priority projects lack mandatory environmental assessment
Press release | 26 June, 2014EU heads of state gathering today and tomorrow will discuss the European Energy Security Strategy promoting a number of massive infrastructure projects which include gas pipelines, LNG terminals and storage facilities even though their overall environmental impact has not been adequately assessed. Environmentalists are currently battling the European Commission over this issue in Court.
Read moreWill Georgia go green after EU association agreement?
Blog entry | 26 June, 2014On Friday Georgia will sign an association agreement with the European Union, meaning that our country will start cooperating more closely with the EU and even implement more European legislation. This is good news, particularly when it comes to the environment.
Read moreNew mega gas pipelines redundant according to EU’s own projections
Press release | 12 June, 2014The EU’s plans for large new gas import pipelines and LNG terminals to Europe, outlined in the European Commission’s October 2013 list of priority energy projects as well as in the May blueprint for energy security to be discussed during tomorrow’s Energy Council, are not only counter to the EU’s long-term climate goals but also unjustified according to the EC’s own demand forecast.
Read more