Gazela reloaded: another illegal Roma resettlement in Serbia on account of an EIB funded project
Press release | 13 April, 2012Belgrade – By the end of April, one hundred Roma families are expected to be illegally resettled from Belgrade neighbourhood Buvljak to several locations including Resnik, where current inhabitants are these days protesting against their arrival [1]. The resettlement is being carried out by Belgrade authorities without a proper resettlement plan or any consideration of the needs of the Roma and potential for inter-racial conflict [2]. The move is deemed necessary as part of the Sava Bridge and adjacent road construction, financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank respectively. [3]
Read moreCampaign asks UniCredit to ‘get out of coal’
Blog entry | 12 April, 2012Pressure is growing not only on international financial institutions but also on private banks to stop financing fossil fuels.
Read moreEnergy Security for whom? For what?
Blog entry | 28 February, 2012A new report by The Corner House critically examines the notion of “energy security,” one of the buzzwords in European politics used to justify controversial infrastructure projects like the Nabucco gas pipeline or high voltage transmission lines in Ukraine. Here an introduction to the report from its authors.
Read moreThe dirty French-Slovenian connection
Press release | 23 February, 2012Slovenian state anti-corruption body claims ALSTOM could have benefited from corrupt acts to get deal to build new lignite plant at Sostanj.
Read moreTragedy or comedy, what is the Nabucco pipeline really?
Blog entry | 19 January, 2012The announcement of German energy giant RWE to reconsider its plans for the Nabucco pipeline is just the last in a series of confusingly conflicting signals regarding the fate of this gargantuan project.
Read moreDeja vu for Vienna II – a sustainable recovery is needed for the CEE financial sector
Blog entry | 16 January, 2012As pressures mount on western European banks to shore up capital ratios and with 2012 economic growth forecasts for Europe falling close to zero, officials from the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and several international financial institutions (IFIs) are meeting today in Vienna with regulators from CEE countries to discuss a second round of financial support for a fragile CEE banking sector.
Read moreVideo: An EIB holiday
Blog entry | 3 January, 2012Baffled by an EIB loan to a holiday resort in Morocco, our friends from Counter Balance – Challenging the European Investment Bank had a closer look at the kind of development promoted there and came back with this wonderfully illustrative video.
Read moreThe new EIB transport policy: not yet ready for sustainability
Blog entry | 12 December, 2011On December 13, the EIB’s Board of Directors is about to approve the institution’s new Transport Policy. This new document constitutes an upgrade of the older 2007 Transport Policy of the bank which tries to incorporate the EU’s progressive agenda on the prevention of climate change (documents such as the “Europe 2020 Strategy” and the “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050”).
Read moreWorld’s largest public lender almost doubles support to fossil fuels in past 4 years
Press release | 8 December, 2011Brussels — The European Investment Bank has increased its fossil fuel lending from 2.8 billion euros to 5 billion euros between 2007 and 2010, according to a study published today by environmental NGO CEE Bankwatch Network.
Read moreIndependent analysis questions economic viability of TES 6
Press release | 28 November, 2011Ljubljana – An independent analysis commissioned by Bankwatch and Focus published today reveals a number of unsubstantiated claims and methodological mistakes in the investment plan for the TEŠ 6 lignite plant in Slovenia. Correct calculations show that the internal rate of return is in reality lower than estimated by the project promoter, state-owned TEŠ. Had the rate of return been calculated properly, the project would not have qualified for the EIB loan of 440 million euros it is set to receive.
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