Uneven progress towards green recovery as EU members submit spending plans to access EUR 672 billion fund
April 28, 2021
Brussels – EU Member States that opened up their spending plans for the EUR 672 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility have made the most progress towards the aims of the European Green Deal, finds a new assessment of eight countries in central and eastern Europe.
Assessment of Romania’s recovery and resilience plan
April 26, 2021
This briefing provides an overview of Romania’s proposed measures (as of 7 April) for spending funds from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Despite public consultations on the latest version of the plan, there is no information available on ho
Assessment of Slovakia’s recovery and resilience plan
April 23, 2021
This briefing provides an overview of Slovakia’s proposed measures (as of 22 April) for spending funds from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. Slovakia’s draft recovery and resilience plan has been shared with the public, but consultation on th
Assessment of Poland’s recovery and resilience plan
April 22, 2021
This briefing provides an overview of Poland’s proposed measures (as of 21 April) for spending funds from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. A draft of the Polish recovery plan was published in late February, after non-governmental organisation
When courts help cloak export credit agencies’ financial clout
April 19, 2021
Operating far from the public eye, export credit agencies offer state backing worth billions of dollars every year that in too many cases have enabled both the fossil fuels industry and human rights abuses around the world. These influential public finance institutions have also been relentless in resisting civil society legal challenges to shine a light on how they use public money.
Czech recovery plan a few steps away from being on the right path
April 19, 2021
Thanks to pressure from civil society, several harmful investments in highways and gas infrastructure were taken out of the Czech recovery plan, pushing it towards more of a green recovery. Still, an almost complete lack of allocations for biodiversity and several questionable climate measures set the plan back.
Opportunities for biodiversity and environment missed in Bulgarian recovery plan
April 15, 2021
Instead of reforms, the country plans to rehab an irrigation system that can potentially destroy wetlands, and without transparency and public dialogue, the plan cements business-as-usual. With a 30 April deadline for submitting national recovery plans approaching and recent parliamentary elections, the Bulgarian government is failing to propose reforms and measures for biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and low carbon economy. Instead, actions such as rehabilitating state-owned irrigation systems not only contradict national strategies but might damage valuable wetland habitats. A lack of transparency and public dialogue casts a further shadow on the process.
Half green and half-blind on democracy. As the EBRD turns 30 the vision of its founders is still far out of sight
April 14, 2021
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was created in 1991 at a unique moment in history: after the fall of the Berlin wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the run-up for the Rio Earth Summit on Sustainable Development and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Vestager urged to block Romanian coal firm bailout
April 12, 2021
Source: Vestager urged to block Romanian coal firm bailout
Last chance for Member States to include biodiversity in recovery plans
April 12, 2021
Instead of proposing measures that protect nature, countries plan to spend recovery money on projects that jeopardise the EU’s biodiversity objectives. Countries can still reverse this worrying trend before it’s too late.
