Regarding the Energa Hybrid Bond project
Publication | 20 January, 2017An inquiry from Polish and European NGOs to the EIB about its planned support of EUR 250 million for the modernisation and extension of Polish utility Energa’s electricity distribution network.
Read moreSupport to fossil fuel projects from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
Publication | 13 January, 2017In September 2016 the European Commission published its proposal for the prolongation of the EFSI until 2020, to be achieved by amending the existing regulation. We welcome several improvements, but are concerned that they fall short of properly tackling the challenges and shortcomings identified, namely to provide additionality and catalyse the unambiguous move to reduce GHG reductions. On the basis of our in depth report Best Laid Plans, which analysed the 93 projects approved until July 2016 and further analysis of the EFSI entire portfolio till the end of 2016 under the Infrastructure and Innovation Window (IIW), we consider that the EFSI regulation needs considerable improvements in the energy area.
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The Bratislava bypass – a public-private partnership to get around traffic problems and debt statistics
Publication | 19 December, 2016In this report, Bankwatch and Counter Balance trace the murky story of the Bratislava bypass, a EUR 1.76 billion project supported by the Slovak government and promoted as the biggest project in central eastern Europe that was guaranteed through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
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‘Southern Graft Corridor’ or the shady history of companies involved in Europe’s pet energy project
Blog entry | 13 December, 2016A new Bankwatch study reveals a worrying track record of criminal and corrupt activities among the companies that are building Europe’s flagship gas pipeline project, the Southern Gas Corridor.
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Risky business – Who benefits from the Southern Gas Corridor
Publication | 13 December, 2016The Southern Gas Corridor, a string of pipelines meant to bring gas from Azerbaijan into Europe, is presented as a panacea for all ills and is set to benefit from some of the biggest loans in the history of European public banks. But as this report reveals, Europe’s flagship energy project is set to benefit a host of companies and individuals with a particularly shady track record. Several companies contracted to build the Southern Gas Corridor have a worrying history of corruption.
Read moreReviewing the European Investment Bank’s carbon footprint methodology
Publication | 8 December, 2016The briefing makes recommendations for the European Investment Bank’s methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, which is currently under review. It also provides case studies that illustrate the shortcomings of the bank’s current approach – most notably its strategy towards supporting gas projects.
Read moreAzerbaijan: Crackdown on critics undermines sustainable development – Human Rights Watch letter to the European Investment Bank
Publication | 23 November, 2016In this letter, Human Rights Watch and Bankwatch highlight the ongoing repression of independent civil society in Azerbaijan and its impact on sustainable develpoment and urge the European Investment Bank to not provide financing for projects related to the country’s extractives sector such as the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
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Going abroad – a critique of the European Investment Bank’s External Lending Mandate
Publication | 18 November, 2016This report analyses how and if the European Investment Bank (EIB) is fulfilling its development role under the so-called External Lending Mandate (ELM) for the period 2014-2020. It sheds light on the more questionable quality and effectiveness of EIB operations and on the neglected areas of the bank’s performance outside Europe, such as transparency and access to information practices, its attitude towardstax evasion and tax dodging, human rights due diligence.
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The EU bank’s dubious overseas development experience shows it cannot be a key player in Europe’s response to the plight of refugees – report
Press release | 18 November, 2016The EIB is increasingly given a prominent role in the EU’s response to the so-called refugee crisis stretching the bank’s operations well beyond its current mandate for overseas investments. Yet, a new report by Counter Balance and CEE Bankwatch Network takes a closer look at projects the EU’s house bank has been financing outside Europe to find a dismal track record on a range of issues from transparency to human rights. This, the report authors say, should serve as a warning sign for the European Parliament and Council as they consider boosting the bank’s mandate.
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Azerbaijan’s crackdown on civil society must not be tolerated, international NGOs tell industry transparency body
Press release | 25 October, 2016The Azerbaijani government’s relentless repression of civil society should disqualify the country from participating in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), 18 international groups wrote in a letter sent on Thursday (October 20) to members of the EITI board.
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