Updates on the European Investment Bank

Vlora demonstrators tell World Bank delegation to pull out of disputed power plant

Close to 3000 residents of Vlora, an Albanian city on the Adriatic coast, greeted the visit of representatives of the World Banks Inspection Panel with a clear plea – end World Bank credits for the EUR 110m thermal power plant that is part of a huge energy park development threatening the sensitive Vlora bay.

Vlora citizens’ road blockade stops construction work on energy projects for eighth day

The Civic Alliance for Protection of the Vlora Bay together with the Vlora Student Movement is now in the eighth day of protesting against construction of the Vlora thermo-power plant and a hydrocarbons terminal on a beach on the outskirts of the Albanian city located on the Adriatic coast. On December 25 a group of 30 people blocked the access road to the construction sites thus preventing further progress on both sites. Four days later, 10 protesters were arrested, including Eneid Hamzaj, the leader of the Vlora Student Movement.

Bankwatch Mail 34

In this issue: The more things change… * … the more they stay the same * Backing a loser: PPP never never land comes to CEE * Albania at the crossroads – how the IFIs could be doing so much more * Outbreak of winter silly season commentary on the EBRD * Recent Bankwatch publications

European Parliament passes resolution to end taxpayer support for fossil fuels projects

With a resounding majority (540 MEPs in favour), the European Parliament today passed a resolution on trade and climate change which calls for “the discontinuation of public support, via export credit agencies and public investment banks, for fossil fuel projects”. The step was widely welcomed by environmental and development NGOs campaigning on export credit agencies (ECAs) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

NGO letter to the EIB regarding possible financing for the Belene NPP

Raising the bar on big dams: making the case for dam policy reform at the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank has been involved in a number of large dam projects in recent years, many of them in Africa. All could have been improved sometimes significantly so by more careful planning and better implementation standards. Despite making vague references to the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams, the EIB currently has no sector policy for dams.

European Investment Bank: Promoting sustainable development, “where appropriate”

This report aims to inform the ongoing review of environmental and social practices within the EIB by examining the standards endorsed by the EIB in a variety of social policy areas, and identifying international best practices against which the EIBs new framework will invariably be judged. Specifically, it will focus on five different social policy areas in which EIB policy remains unclarified and underdeveloped; social assessment, human rights, communities participation and consent, labour rights, and gender equality.

Summary of Public Environmental Impact Assessment of Western High-Speed Diameter project

Albanian referendum aims to put a break on Italian oil and gas plans for renowned Vlora Bay

Vlora, Albania – The city council of Vlora in Albania this week approved a citizens’ initiative to hold a public referendum on the development in the picturesque Bay of Vlora of a 200,000 ton oil and gas terminal that is being promoted by the Italian La Petrolífera Italo Rumena company. If constructed, the terminal would become another component of a controversial industrial and energy park located less than six kilometres north of Vlora, a city of more than 150,000 inhabitants.

NGO letter to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology regarding the A5 motorway between Vienna and Brno