Commission to extend flexibility of EU aid as disparities persist
February 11, 2022
The European Commission will extend looser rules introduced at the onset of the pandemic for EU structural funds spending in an effort to help reduce disparities across the bloc, regional policy Commissioner Elisa Ferreira announced on Thursday (10 February).
Progress with EU recovery fund hampered by fossil fuels investments and threats to nature
February 4, 2022
Genuine efforts by Member States to direct spending from the EUR 672 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility towards climate action are being undermined by investments that are likely to harm the environment and climate, finds a new report by CAN Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network.
Progress with EU recovery fund hampered by fossil fuels investments and threats to nature
February 3, 2022
Brussels – Genuine efforts by Member States to direct spending from the EUR 672 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility towards climate action are being undermined by investments that are likely to harm the environment and climate, finds a new report by CAN Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network.
Reaching for a green recovery: what holds back progress in ten EU recovery and resilience plans
February 3, 2022
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is intended to finance reforms and investments in Member States to rebound from the pandemic and pursue a green transition.
EU bank chief ‘ready to close gaps’ on rights abuses and environmental damage
January 27, 2022
At today’s annual press conference of the European Investment Bank, president Werner Hoyer committed his institution to be ‘second to none’ and take steps to correct a poor record of human rights violations and environmental damage caused by the world’s largest international lender.
In Bulgaria, a cautionary tale for the energy transition as country abandons coal to gas switch
January 21, 2022
In 2021, the Bulgarian (interim) government announced that it had decided to transform the huge Maritza Iztok 2 coal-fired power plant into a steam-gas plant – (to replace 1.4 GW of coal capacity with a minimum of 1 GW of gas). The government has sought funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Modernisation Fund and other unnamed private sources.
Modernisation Fund to boost fossil fuels in Poland
January 21, 2022
Billions of euros earmarked for a green transformation and renewables may instead finance fossil gas and waste incineration. Fears are coming true that without transparent public oversight, the Modernisation Fund would become a pipeline for projects harmful to the climate and environment. The Polish example shows that investments banned from the Cohesion and recovery funds are moved to the Modernisation Fund.
New EU subsidies rules too lax to rule out support for damaging energy projects
January 13, 2022
This month, the new State aid Guidelines for climate, environmental protection and energy 2022 enter force. But with a surplus of loose formulations and flexible criteria, only with close public scrutiny can they support sustainable decarbonisation.
EU bank freezes funding for major Budapest Airport expansion over sweeping violations of environmental norms
January 10, 2022
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has suspended the disbursement of a EUR 200 million loan intended to facilitate a dramatic increase in passenger turnover at Hungary’s main international airport following an investigation by the Bank’s Complaints Mechanism that found that no analysis had been done to assess the air pollution, noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that the development would generate, in breach of the Bank’s own policy as well as EU environmental law.
To avoid failures of recovery planning, cohesion funding must offer transparent public engagement
December 22, 2021
The European Union’s next long term budget and recovery package is a generational opportunity to tackle the climate crisis and build resilient societies. Yet, a lack of transparency and unwillingness to engage stakeholders, firstly with the recovery plans and now the Cohesion Funds, threatens to imperil a bounceback instead of steering the European Green Deal.
