Executive summary: European public money for the energy sector in countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy
Publication | 17 November, 2015Countries of the European Neighbourhood have received a boost to their energy sectors in the last decade, thanks in part to the prominent role played by the EU as a catalyst of both policy reforms and financing. This paper is the executive summary of an upcoming study that examines EU financing for the energy sector in 16 countries of the European Neighbourhood between 2007 and 2014.
Read moreExecutive summary: The EU and energy in the Arab countries
Publication | 17 November, 2015This briefing (an executive summary of an upcoming report) looks at energy investments by the EU in the Southern Mediterranean region and the impacts on the social, economic and environmental rights of citizens and communities by highlighting the compliance of these activities with the values of democracy, human rights and economic development for Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. It also assesses the type of the investments that would be beneficial both for host countries as well as for the EU.
Read moreAnalysis of EU investments in Ukraine’s energy sector, 2007-2014
Publication | 17 November, 2015Between 2007-2014, Ukraine received from EU public institutions over EUR 2.5 billion for 56 projects in the country’s energy sector. This is the highest amount of support for the energy sector among all countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy, both by volume and number of investments. Only 15 per cent of that support went to combating inefficient energy use or to developing local sustainable energy sources. The focus of EU financial support has remained on ‘traditional’ sources of energy.
Read moreAzerbaijan, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU’s energy interest
Publication | 17 November, 2015Azerbaijan has been a part of the EU Neighbourhood Policy since 2004 and has enjoyed substantial support through investments in the energy sector. As a result of cooperation on energy projects, the EU is today Azerbaijan’s main trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to more than EUR 16.7 billion in 2014. But while the European Commission’s 2014 progress report on Azerbaijan stressed the good progress in the EU’s partnership with Azerbaijan, problems for ordinary Azeris are increasing.
Read moreExecutive summary: the Eastern Neighbourhood Region and the EU’s energy interests
Publication | 17 November, 2015Since the early 1990s, the EU has actively sought the development of both the oil and gas sectors in former Soviet republics. Energy security, the cornerstone of the EU’s foreign policy became the driving force behind the European Neighbourhood Policy. Investments through the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy Instrument and public banks have supported the development of unsustainable energy systems in most Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. Like in other countries, the EaP region received more for fossil fuels than renewable sources of energy.
Read moreEgypt case study: an EIB loan to the North Giza II power plant
Publication | 17 November, 2015The North Giza Power Plant II, 1500 MW natural gas-fired power plant, is one of several large gas power plants that the Egyptian government is developing since 2011 in an effort to cope with the electricity gap. The power plant uses Combined Cycle Gas Turbine technology and the project promoters claim it is energy efficient, eco-friendly and community inclusive. Both the local community and the findings from a field trip strongly dispute these claims.
Read moreInformation on EIB loans to Volkswagen must be made public – letter to the EIB’s board of directors
Publication | 12 November, 2015In late September, shortly after news of VW’s emissions manipulation broke, CEE Bankwatch Network contacted the European Investment Bank (EIB) with a detailed request to disclose information about its immense support to VW Group. In view of the profound public interest in the case, the highly insufficient responses we have received so far are particularly disconcerting. In this letter, Bankwatch therefore asks the EIB’s board of directors to turn to the bank’s Management Committee for the public disclosure of information related to EIB loans for the Volkswagen Group.
Read moreNGO letter to EU institutions: Take immediate action to respond to the dieselgate scandal
Publication | 9 November, 2015The dieselgate scandal is symptomatic of a ‘better regulation’ agenda in favour of cutting compliance costs and replacing the role of the public regulator with corporate co- and self-regulation. More than 35 civil society organisations have signed this letter calling for immediate and transparent investigations; EU oversight in the process of type approval for motor vehicles; strengthened enforcement of environmental legislation at EU and Member State level; the suspension of fraudulent companies from the EU lobby register until it has been demonstrated that they comply with EU law.
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Up in smoke: the billions for Europe’s auto industry from the EU’s house bank
Blog entry | 21 October, 2015In the wake of last month’s Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal, a Politico story, based on a Bankwatch analysis, revealed that the car manufacturer enjoyed generous public financial support from the European Investment Bank (EIB). But the full picture is even more disturbing.
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The EU’s bank turns its back on Europe’s long term climate goals
Blog entry | 8 October, 2015It appears that before approving the European Investment Bank’s new climate strategy, the bank’s Board of Directors has removed a reference to the European Union’s long-term decarbonisation objectives as a guidance for the EIB’s climate action.
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