The promise and perils of Georgia’s East–West Highway project
May 2, 2024
Georgia’s East-West Highway construction project, once heralded as a symbol of progress and splendour, has been marred by controversies.
Environmental groups urge European Commission to speed up nature safeguards in the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
February 23, 2024
The EU must accelerate plans to strengthen nature protection rules for energy infrastructure development under the Energy Community Treaty (1), 36 civil society organisations today urged the EU Commissioner for Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, in a joint letter.
International groups stand in solidarity with Armenian environmental and human rights defenders facing defamation and criminalisation
February 20, 2024
In recent months, Armenian human rights and environmental defenders and organisations have been facing defamatory attacks in local media. They are increasingly being targeted through defamation, smear campaigns, intimidation and criminalisation for their peaceful, legitimate human rights work.
Can the EBRD deliver effective sustainable infrastructure in the transport and municipal sectors?
February 1, 2024
This briefing makes recommendations aimed at contributing to the preparation of the EBRD’s new Sustainable Infrastructure Strategy.
Civil society comments on the EBRD’s good governance policies with focus on human rights due diligence
January 15, 2024
Together with other civil society organisations, Bankwatch submitted comments on the EBRD’s good governance policies, which are currently under revision.
Civil society groups urge the EBRD to rethink mining investments
September 20, 2023
Twenty civil society organisations from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Mongolia, Uganda, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, as well as seven international environmental and human rights organisations, are calling on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to reconsider its approach to mining investments.
Tbilisi Transport Policy and Reforms: Main Issues and Recommendations
August 22, 2023
In 2018, Tbilisi authorities set out to decrease the city’s car dependency, reduce traffic jams, improve air quality and develop better infrastructure for walking and cycling. But despite investment from the EBRD and ADB, there has been little improvement.
Tbilisi’s transport policy conundrums: between resolution and resistance
August 21, 2023
The efforts of Tbilisi City Hall, responsible for transport reform, are anything but commendable. Criticism is also apt for the international financial institutions that have invested significantly in Tbilisi’s transport planning overhaul, and that are therefore responsible for monitoring its progress and impact.
The Georgian Road to Russia: when everything goes south
August 3, 2023
The North-South Corridor, widely promoted by international financial institutions, aims to facilitate the transport of goods as the ‘only land access to the Russian Federation’, as well as to Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan, running through Georgia. Yet the project impacts the cultural heritage of picturesque landscapes in Georgia without answering the major question raised Georgian taxpayers – why should they pay for a new road to Russia, a country that does not have diplomatic relations with Georgia, has occupied Georgian territories, and presents one of the major obstacles to Georgia’s European future?
Seven years after joining the EBRD’s Green Cities programme, is Yerevan’s green future going up in flames?
June 2, 2023
In May 2023, a massive fire broke out at the Nubarashen landfill on the outskirts of Yerevan, enveloping the city in a cloud of toxic smoke generated by the burning waste. It took 10 days and 2,300 truckloads of soil to extinguish the flames. Coming seven years after Yerevan became a pioneer by joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Green Cities initiative, this incident is a stark reminder of the urgent need to adopt a safer and more sustainable approach to waste management and urban planning.
