War returnees won discrimination case over re-routing of the EBRD and EIB financed motorway
Blog entry | 20 January, 2022Municipal court decision concluded that the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina (FBiH) indirectly discriminated against war returnees in Mostar South by choosing a new route of the Corridor Vc motorway without public consultations.
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EU bank freezes funding for major Budapest Airport expansion over sweeping violations of environmental norms
Press release | 10 January, 2022The European Investment Bank (EIB) has suspended the disbursement of a EUR 200 million loan intended to facilitate a dramatic increase in passenger turnover at Hungary’s main international airport following an investigation by the Bank’s Complaints Mechanism that found that no analysis had been done to assess the air pollution, noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that the development would generate, in breach of the Bank’s own policy as well as EU environmental law.
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In Bulgaria, marking an air pollution tragedy with another one in the making
Blog entry | 13 December, 2021Bankwatch member group Za Zemiata illuminates Sofia’s thermal power plant to protest plans for the construction of a waste incineration facility that would poison the capital.
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Never mind the protected areas!
Blog entry | 23 November, 2021Hidden behind a financial intermediary, the EIB has supported the destruction of the Mojanska River in Montenegro. Yet local inspectors claim nothing is wrong. Will the EIB now take corrective action?
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Major setback on transparency at the EIB
Press release | 18 November, 2021Yesterday, the European Investment Bank (EIB) – the financial arm of the EU – approved a new Transparency Policy that will allow the bank to keep hiding information on projects it finances despite their potential impacts on people and the environment.
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The EIB cannot become a ‘climate leader’ while failing on transparency
Press release | 10 November, 2021The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the financial arm of the EU – is about to approve a new Transparency Policy that will allow the bank to keep hiding information on projects it considers to finance despite their potential impacts on people and the environment.
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New report: European Investment Bank hydropower failures necessitate tighter rules
Press release | 21 October, 2021The European Investment Bank has financed a series of damaging hydropower projects since 2010 which underline the need to tighten its environmental and social standards, according to a new report published today by CEE Bankwatch Network and EuroNatur.
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Public money vs. pristine rivers
Publication | 21 October, 2021As the EIB revises its Environmental and Social Standards, this report presents eight hydropower schemes in central and eastern Europe either financed or under consideration by the Bank. The projects – some financed directly and others via intermediari
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Kenya energy project exposes the dark side of EU development funds
Blog entry | 13 October, 2021A third of the European Investment Bank (EIB) portfolio in 2020 went through financial intermediaries, a channel that has already enabled multiple projects with devastating consequences for nature and communities with virtually zero accountability. The ongoing review of the EIB’s environmental and social standards is a crucial opportunity to ensure transparency and proper scrutiny of all projects supported with European public money.
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EIB misinterprets EU’s development finance needs
Blog entry | 12 October, 2021The European Investment Bank (EIB) has long been seeking to take a more significant role in the EU’s overseas development effort. But it has also been resisting calls to upgrade its policy on the environmental, social and human rights ramifications of the projects it supports.
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