October 19, 2011 | Read more By requesting a number of changes at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Parliament has confirmed at least some of Bankwatch’s criticism of the bank’s mode of operation and (in a subtle way) also its overall approach.
October 19, 2011 | Read more Brussels – With an art installation that symbolizes EU citizens locked in a polluted environment, the Slovenian artist Marko Kumer Murč and Slovene environmentalists from Focus protest against European public and private banks pouring hundreds of millions of euros into a new lignite plant in their country, at Sostanj. Many Slovenians oppose this project and the Slovenian parliament has just refused to support a state guarantee for the banks’ loans. The action is supported by the international NGOs Banktrack and CEE Bankwatch Network, which are campaigning against the project.
October 18, 2011 | Read more The European Investment Bank finally invited for a dialogue with civil society organisations. It might be a little ambitious to say that true dialogue happened there, but certainly the NGOs were able to send a couple of strong messages to the EIB Board, and, for a while, it felt like the Board was listening.
October 13, 2011 | Read more Prague- CEE Bankwatch Network has learnt that the Czech Republic is planning to use 80% of regional funds dedicated to big waste projects for 2007-2013 [1] for the construction of new incinerators, which are three times more expensive than alternative waste management solutions.
October 12, 2011 | Read more Ahead of a meeting next week that offers a unique chance for discussion with the EIB’s Board of Directors, Bankwatch’s EIB team leader Anna Roggenbuck gives an overview over some of the issues to which she’d like to hear some comments by the bank’s enigmatic leadership.
October 11, 2011 | Read more The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has become a stakeholder in a company that is involved in gold mining in a UNESCO World Heritage site in Russia. Not only does this violate its own Environmental and Social Policy, but it also tells me a lot about the bank’s assessment of partner companies.
October 4, 2011 | Read more Belgrade -16 current and former members of the management of Serbian state-owned energy company Elektroprivreda Srbija (EPS) were arrested today and yesterday across the country over allegations of embezzlement of company funds. Some of these are people that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has entrusted this summer with managing an 80 million Euros loan for the development of the Kolubara lignite fields near Belgrade.
October 3, 2011 | Read more The European Union’s internal and external ambitions for green economies are being countered by the activities of European international financial institutions. EU Commissioner for the Environment Potocnik can see that also in his home country Slovenia.
September 22, 2011 | Read more The European Commission this week published its ideas on how to build a resource efficient economy in Europe. Bankwatch’s resource efficiency expert Marijan Galovic thinks the roadmap’s focus is not wide enough yet.
September 20, 2011 | Read more Brussels – The Resource Efficiency Roadmap published today by the European Commission envisages all kinds of right recommendations for Europe to become a renewable based, resource efficient economy but the actual value of this document depends largely on the EU budget.
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