EIB set to weaken transparency standards
January 27, 2015
Brussels — One week before the European Investment Bank’s board of directors is expected to approve the bank’s new transparency policy, 13 civil society groups* monitoring the EIB warn that, as it stands, the draft policy amounts to a weakening of the already dismal transparency standards of the EU’s house bank.
Croatians say no to coal in referendum
January 26, 2015
Zagreb – Inhabitants of the city of Ploče on the Croatian coast overwhelmingly rejected a plan to build an 800 MW coal plant in their town in a referendum taking place over the weekend. The vote raises questions about the acceptability of other coal projects planned in the country, including the controversial Plomin C.
Pipe Dreams: Why the Southern Gas Corridor will not reduce EU dependency on Russia
January 21, 2015
Brussels – The Southern Gas Corridor, the EU’s new pet energy project, is not only unnecessary in light of gas demand projections, but also seems likely to fall short on the much flaunted goal of bringing energy independence from Russia, according to a new NGO study “Pipe Dreams” published today.
Ohrid Lake facing damage by EBRD financed infrastructure projects
January 12, 2015
Concerns mount about increasing threats to Macedonia’s protected areas and the Lake Ohrid UNESCO site by EBRD investments in fast-tracked infrastructure projects.
Juncker’s investment offensive risks turning against Europeans
December 18, 2014
Brussels – Environmental NGOs call on President Juncker, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to consider for financing from the 315 billion growth package only projects which are sustainable and in line with EU goals and only after proper public consultation with potentially affected communities.
Balkan coal projects face mounting challenges as China and CEE leaders meet in Belgrade
December 16, 2014
Belgrade/Banja Luka/Sarajevo, 16 December 2014: As the third annual summit of Chinese and Central and Eastern European leaders gets underway today in Belgrade, problems are mounting for the lignite projects planned in the Balkan region. Today alone, an official complaint has been submitted to the Energy Community Secretariat on the planned 600 MW Ugljevik III lignite power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a new analysis has been published showing that the planned 450 MW Tuzla 7 lignite plant – also in Bosnia and Herzegovina – is likely to be economically unviable.
Green 10 open letter to VP Timmermans: “Do not kill laws crucial for our health, environment and the economy”
December 11, 2014
The 10 leading environmental NGOs in Europe appeal to Vice President Timmermans not to sink the air and waste packages: “Polluton kills 58,000 persons every year. Are they not European citizens? Shouldn’t the Commission protect their interest too? ”
New money, old ideas: How EU spending plans for central and eastern Europe are selling short a greener future
December 11, 2014
Brussels, December 11 – Central and Eastern European countries are planning to use unacceptable amounts of their €350 billion allocation from the EU budget on dirty energy projects, polluting forms of transport and incinerators, according to a comprehensive analysis of draft government spending plans published today by CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe.
Juncker’s investment package to be hijacked by countries’ destructive plans
December 8, 2014
Brussels – A list of projects member states want to see financed from the Juncker investment package has been made public in expectation of tomorrow’s summit where finance ministers will discuss the package. Coal, nuclear and incinerators are among the various countries’ priorities, which fail to add up to the long-term strategic plan to stimulate growth and sustainability in Europe that Juncker promised.
Boskov Most suspected of breaching Council of Europe nature protection convention
December 5, 2014
Skopje/ Strasbourg – The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, a binding international legal instrument in the field of nature conservation for signatory countries, announced today (pdf) that it will open a case file to address the complaint made by Eko-svest about the planned hydropower plants in Mavrovo national park.
