EFSI case study: Bratislava bypass: A transport public-private partnership with high costs and limited benefits
Publication | 8 June, 2016The so-called European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) should unlock additional investment of at least EUR 315 billion over a three year period (2015-2017). One of the projects benefiting from the financing concerns the design, construction, operation and maintenance of about 27km of a motorway around Bratislava. The project will come with high costs, will damage biodiversity and likely not solve local transport problems.
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MEP Pirinski: “The EIB should pay more attention to economic, social and territorial cohesion”
Blog entry | 7 June, 2016MEP Georgi Pirinski, rapporteur of the annual report on the European Investment Bank, shares his views on how to improve the way the bank operates.
Read moreEFSI case study: Energy efficiency in residential buildings in France: Energy Performance Contracting to boost investments
Publication | 6 June, 2016The so-called European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) should unlock additional investment of at least EUR 315 billion over a three year period (2015-2017). One of the projects benefiting from the EU financing is a program that aims to promote energy efficiency in the housing stock through the funding of certain regional/local initiatives supporting energy renovation of private residential buildings in France.
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Bankwatch and Counter Balance statement on the mid-term review of the Investment Plan for Europe
Press release | 1 June, 2016Brussels, Prague – European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen presented today the mid-term result of the Investment Plan for Europe. The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial arm of this investment strategy, was established by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2015 with the aim of mobilising private investments to stimulate the European economy.
Read moreThe European Investment Bank and climate action 2013-2015
Publication | 23 May, 2016The European Investment Bank’s lending for climate action between 2013 and 2015 shows that further structural changes are needed to align the bank’s portfolio with the objectives of the Paris agreement.
Read moreThe Paris Agreement is a wake up call for the EU’s house bank to realign its investment strategy
Press release | 23 May, 2016The European Investment Bank (EIB) must adopt new directives and operating principles to play a meaningful role in realising the EU’s goal of a decarbonised and resource efficient economy, say CEE Bankwatch Network and Counter Balance ahead of the bank’s annual meeting during the EU finance ministers’ Council this Wednesday, May 25.
Read moreParliament gets tough on control of EU Bank’s funds
Press release | 28 April, 2016In its annual resolution on the European Investment Bank adopted today in Brussels, Members of the European Parliament have criticised the bank’s support to projects under corruption investigations. They also called on the EIB to go further on fighting climate change, tax evasion and tax dodging. Counter Balance and CEE Bankwatch Network welcome the positions taken today by the Parliament in this resolution.
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For European public finance, where will all roads lead from Paris?
Blog entry | 22 April, 2016Signing the Paris Agreement is an important step in Europe’s contribution to the global effort to tackle the climate crisis. But funding this commitment necessarily passes through the public coffers. To kick-start the much-needed energy transition– by swiftly cutting emissions to reach the global carbon neutrality the Paris Agreement prescribes for the second half of this century –a change of paradigm in public investments in energy infrastructure is needed.
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Aid Transparency Index: improvements for Europe’s multilateral development banks but still a long way to go
Blog entry | 13 April, 2016As the 2016 Aid Transparency Review shows some improvement for the two main European lenders, they are still far from reaching satisfying transparency standards.
Read moreComplaint: Maladministration in the EIB’s appraisal and monitoring of the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos
Publication | 6 April, 2016Eleven years after the European Investment Bank’s decision to support the construction of the
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