Pandora’s box: Renewable energy permitting and biodiversity in Romania and Croatia
December 19, 2025
This briefing uses existing examples from renewables permitting, primarily in Romania and Croatia, to examine the risks and opportunities of specific permitting provisions from RED III and the proposed changes under the Grids Package.
EU climate fund commits over half a billion to fossil gas expansion
December 18, 2025
Several fossil gas and waste incinerator projects eyed by EU Member States have rightly been excluded from the latest Modernisation Fund investment round. But gas-fired power plant projects in Czechia and Bulgaria have secured a total of EUR 630 million in future financing.
Put nature at the centre of the 2028–2034 EU budget
December 16, 2025
This joint letter urges leaders to put nature back at the centre of the 2028–2034 EU budget.
Bankwatch’s position on the EU’s 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework proposal
December 12, 2025
Our position paper analyses the European Commission’s proposal for the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, highlighting how it falls short of addressing Europe’s urgent investment needs.
Latest EU hydrogen push prolongs gas industry hold over Europe’s energy transition – new report
December 10, 2025
The Projects of Common and Mutual Interest (PCI/PMI) list unveiled by the European Commission last week will do little to advance Europe’s energy transition and much more to perpetuate its fossil fuel import dependence, shows a report published today by CEE Bankwatch Network and Food and Water Action Europe. It will also burn much of the limited public funding that should be spent on electrification, according to the analysis.
Hallucinating hydrogen: Why the PCI/PMI process must be overhauled
December 10, 2025
A new report exposes the fossil gas industry’s influence over the EU’s Projects of Common and Mutual Interest (PCI/PMI), which has prompted the European Commission to grant priority status to a record number of cross-border hydrogen infrastructure projects.
Ukraine Facility’s next chapter: From patchwork to principles
December 9, 2025
As the EU looks ahead to rebuilding and integrating Ukraine, the design of its support instruments under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) will shape not only reconstruction on the ground, but also the credibility and long-term sustainability of EU policies.
Another needless threat to the ecosystems we all depend on: The Commission’s panicky, chaotic deregulation drive has to stop
December 9, 2025
Among the slew of European Commission initiatives set to be launched on Wednesday 10 December is the so-called Grids Package, leaked to several media outlets last week.
EU Reform and Growth Facility not yet speeding up energy transition in Western Balkans – new report
December 5, 2025
Two years after it was announced, the European Union’s Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans is struggling to deliver on its goals, according to a new analysis by CEE Bankwatch Network (1). The report reveals that a significant proportion of planned energy-related reforms are delayed and raises serious concerns about the suitability of performance-based models for the bulk of future EU funding in the region.
European Commission fuels hydrogen fantasies – but MEPs can still halt the next array of fossil fuel follies
December 1, 2025
A bill tabled today by the European Commission foresees a massive build-up of hydrogen projects, despite growing expert consensus that hydrogen can only thwart Europe’s decarbonisation efforts.
