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Ido Liven
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Browse our press releases below
EU billions earmarked for environmental devastation in central and eastern Europe
Press release | 16 February, 2009“RegioScars” awards for the most unsustainable spending of EU funds in Central and Eastern Europe were awarded today by CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe. The prizes went to two projects in the Czech Republic and Poland currently in line for support from EU regional aid, and to Latvia’s government for a decision to rule out wind energy projects from EU funds support because of the economic crisis.
Read moreAnti-cyanide protestors in Sofia boosted by European parliament support
Press release | 20 January, 2009Residents of the Bulgarian village of Poibrene have today taken their long-standing concerns about the potential introduction of controversial cyanide technology at the Chelopech gold mine – led by Canadian firm Dundee Precious Metals – directly to the Bulgarian ministries of environment and health and to the Sofia office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the publicly-owned development bank that is a potential funder of a USD 150 million project that could see cyanide leaching introduced at the gold mine without inclusive public consultation.
Read moreStench rising over Sofia waste crisis, warns local group
Press release | 6 November, 2008The environmental assessment (EIA) of a waste management project proposed by Sofia municipality to deal with the Bulgarian capital’s chronic waste problems has been criticised by Bankwatch’s Bulgarian member group Za Zemiata for failing to consider an alternative waste management scenario officially submitted by NGOs in collaboration with experts and researchers from Europe and the U.S. Such a procedural breach of Bulgarian EIA legislation should, believes Za Zemiata, rule out vital EU funding that the authorities in Sofia are seeking for the EUR 175 million project. [1]
Read moreLocal resistance to nightmare Albanian energy development scenario remains defiant, protestors demand a referendum
Press release | 1 November, 20083000 citizens from the city of Vlora in Albania held a large protest rally this weekend at the coastal site that has been designated as the construction site for an oil and gas terminal and a thermo power plant. The protestors called on national institutions to respect their right to a local referendum on the constructions. They also urged the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) not to provide finance for projects that do not respect local public rights to participate in decision making and that will have strong negative impacts in the very sensitive area of Vlora Bay. [1]
Read moreEBRD says NO to Vlora hydrocarbons terminal
Blog entry | 21 July, 2008The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is no longer considering financing for a controversial hydrocarbons terminal in Vlora, Albania.
Read moreDead workers, stinking pollution and forced evictions: New report highlights ArcelorMittal’s global trail of destruction
Press release | 13 May, 2008A newly-formed coalition of environmental and community groups [1] – Global Action on ArcelorMittal – today released a report showing how local residents and workers around the world pay the price of ArcelorMittal’s success.
Read moreThree activists released pending trial for protesting against controversial oil terminal construction in Vlora
Press release | 14 April, 2008The district court in Vlora, Albania last week released three members of the Civic Alliance for the Protection of Vlora Bay [1] who were arrested and detained for two weeks after protesting against the construction of a hydrocarbons terminal in Vlora. The terminal, regarded by the protestors as bringing few benefits to the local economy in exchange for high environmental risks, is being built by the Italian investor La Petrolifera Italo Rumena. The project is currently seeking a EUR 15 million credit from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Read moreVlora citizens demand a referendum and a yachting harbour instead of an oil terminal and pipeline
Blog entry | 11 March, 2008The Civic Alliance for the Protection of the Vlora Bay, a local Albanian initiative group, continued on Sunday to press for a referendum on an oil deposit and a thermo-power plant being constructed north of the town of Vlora on Albania’s Adriatic coast.
Read moreEU funds for fifty harmful projects: NGOs announce ‘RegioScars’ – the three most ill-conceived projects in CEE countries
Press release | 25 February, 2008A new map with details of 50 environmentally damaging and economically dubious infrastructure projects in Central and Eastern Europe was launched by CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe in Brussels today [1]. Based on the most extensive investigation to date, the map entitled ‘Cohesion or Collision?’ shows controversial projects with a total cost of EUR 22 billion. The projects are either already financed, or planned to be financed, by EU structural and cohesion funds and/or the European Investment Bank (EIB) [2].
Read moreVlora demonstrators tell World Bank delegation to pull out of disputed power plant
Blog entry | 22 January, 2008Close 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.
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