Western Balkan governments must finally penalise illegal coal pollution – new report
June 22, 2026
In 2025, systematic law enforcement failures allowed sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the Western Balkans’ ageing coal power plants to exceed legal limits by 6.6 times, according to the eighth edition of Bankwatch’s Comply or Close report, published today (1). Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions also continued to breach legal limits, while dust pollution increased, reaching the highest level since the current rules entered force in 2018.
Europe risks failing to meet its Nature Restoration Regulation targets without adequate funding
June 11, 2026
With only three months to go until EU Member States must submit their national restoration plans, EuroNatur and Bankwatch are warning that implementation of the EU’s Nature Restoration Regulation will not be possible without sufficient dedicated public funding. In a new report launched today at an event in the European Parliament, they highlight that, without adequate EU funding, many national restoration plans may prove ineffective, failing to restore all damaged ecosystems by 2050. And in the absence of the European Commission’s long-awaited 2025 financing report, governments are now without essential guidance on investment needs and funding pathways.
Ahead of Dubrovnik 3SI Summit, 47 civil society organisations warn against Western Balkan gas addiction
April 27, 2026
47 civil society organisations have today called on Western Balkan governments to resist pressure from the United States and cancel plans to build new gas pipelines and power plants.
Changing the dealer, but keeping the addiction
February 26, 2026
Civil society reaction to new joint statement between the US and 12 central and eastern European countries
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.
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.
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.
CBAM: Western Balkan governments must act now to avoid ‘perfect storm’ – new report
October 30, 2025
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) takes full effect from 1 January 2026. But Western Balkan governments’ lack of preparation increases the risk of a calamitous and unjust energy transition, finds a new report published today by CEE Bankwatch Network (1).
