November 22, 2012 | Read more Brussels, November 22, 2012 – As European leaders gather in Brussels today for the EU budget summit, quality spending must be the focus of discussions if the future European budget is to tackle Europe’s environmental and economic crises, according to environment groups CEE Bankwatch Network, Friends of the Earth Europe and Transport & Environment.
November 20, 2012 | Read more This week’s European Council will be crucial for ensuring that the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 (MFF) mobilises sustainable investments that can create millions of jobs and take Europe forward on a solid footing out of the crisis. The current overall MFF proposal is far from green: it is a lost opportunity. There is a lot of room to shift MFF allocations towards better spending and to relocate funds to greener sectors. Therefore we wish to draw your attention to five key issues for the Council that could substantially increase the chances of the next MFF delivering multiple benefits.
November 19, 2012 | Read more London — Monsanto, the world’s largest seed producer and one of the most prominent promoters of GMO crops worldwide, is set to receive 40 million US dollars of public financial support via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
November 14, 2012 | Read more Brussels, Belgium — The latest EU budget 2014-20 negotiating text, published today by President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, contains the first sign of hope for a future EU budget that tackles climate change and helps support a sustainable future for Europe’s 500 million people, according to CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe.
November 14, 2012 | Read more The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development considers supporting one of the most criticised and controversial corporations on the planet, Monsanto. Reasons for deciding against it are plenty.
November 13, 2012 | Read more A $3.7 billion PPP oil refinery expansion in Cairo is accompanied by contradictory project documents, making a mockery of claims by the public banks involved to be committed to “good governance” or democracy. Despite being presented as merely translations of one document, the Arabic and English “versions” are entirely different – with the Arabic markedly cursory and superficial.
November 7, 2012 | Read more Although public-private partnerships appear to become increasingly untenable for public authorities, they are further being promoted by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank. An official in-depth evaluation of this financing model, however, is still nowhere to be seen.
November 6, 2012 | Read more The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development boasts of having invested 10 billion euros in sustainable energy since 2006. A closer look reveals that although the bank’s efforts deserve recognition, several investments make a mockery of ‘sustainability’.
November 5, 2012 | Read more November is shaping up to be crunch time for a new 600 MW lignite plant planned to be built at Sostanj in Slovenia. If the Slovenian government doesn’t manage to offer a state guarantee for loans from European public banks that should cover half the construction costs by the end of this month, the project could fail. At Bankwatch, we’re preparing our popcorn for the latest Sostanj thriller, on show across Europe this month.
November 2, 2012 | Read more After long delays and more than 3 years of preparation the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has finally completed and published a policy for its operations in the mining sector. Both the consultation process and the final outcome must leave “the consulted stakeholders” disappointed.
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