Europe has ambitions to become a global leader in the fight against climate breakdown. Transforming the continent’s energy systems and shifting towards climate-friendly alternatives requires massive investments, especially in central and eastern Europe, where outdated infrastructure and a reliance on fossil fuels persists.
The good news is that the EU has the financial means to fund this transformation. The challenge is ensuring that the investments of today are geared towards addressing the climate crisis and Europe’s declining state of nature.
We know that when people have a voice in investment decisions, the results speak for themselves: more acceptance and ownership of spending and a greater chance that harmful and wasteful projects are avoided.
We work to ensure that EU financial flows address the climate crisis and do no harm to people and nature. We do this by involving the public in the design and spending of EU investments.
IN FOCUS
Just transition
Countries across central and eastern Europe are committing to quit coal and shale oil. Now the task is to ensure that the just transition is driven from the bottom up and leaves no one behind as we move towards a sustainable energy future.
Building back biodiversity
Threats facing biodiversity are increasing alongside the drivers of the climate crisis. But investments in climate protection should not come at the expense of those that can help biodiversity. The two crises of climate and biodiversity are interconnected and both must be tackled together, because only by investing in nature can we tackle climate change.
Latest news
It’s time to put an end to EU funding of fossil gas
Press release | 27 June, 2022While EU households and industry face months without heating, exorbitant energy bills and insecurity, EU funds are driving an increase in the demand for gas in the region, a Bankwatch analysis of Modernisation Fund spending shows.
Read moreEU investments: voice of the public must be heard!
Blog entry | 16 June, 2022Member States are currently making important investment decisions to address the multitude of crises we are facing. This money has the potential to transform our economy, yet the challenges to ensure it meets this potential are high. The EU’s unprecedented COVID-19 recovery package should be spent wisely and in a transparent manner. Yet it is for the moment far from open, and it is unlikely this will change any time soon.
Read moreOn the (long) road to recovery: Poland’s plan greenlit
Blog entry | 14 June, 2022Poland’s recovery plan has finally been endorsed by the Commission after over a year of negotiations. Despite multiple declarations from government officials that talks would finish quickly, the plan worth EUR 35 billion was put on hold for an extended period of time because of the Commission’s concerns about the rule of law in the country. Is Poland’s recovery plan a wasted opportunity? Not necessarily, but it is not a fully-used one, either.
Read moreRelated publications
Behind the ‘green recovery’: How the EU recovery fund is failing to protect nature and what can still be saved
Report | 2 June, 2022 | Download PDFThis report prepared by CEE Bankwatch Network and EuroNatur, shines a spotlight on the implementation of recovery funds, and reveals a series of harmful reforms and investments for biodiversity set to be financed in nine central and eastern European Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia).
Assessment of operational programmes in the Czech Republic
Assessment | 1 June, 2022 | Download PDFThis briefing offers an analysis of the Czech Republic’s draft operational programmes for 2021-2027 and recommendations regarding the potential for increasing the programmes’ climate and environmental contributions.
Assessment of Hungary’s operational programmes
Assessment | 26 May, 2022 | Download PDFThis briefing offers an analysis of Hungary’s draft operational programmes for 2021-2027 and recommendations regarding the potential for increasing the programmes’ climate and environmental contributions.
