Massive EU infrastructure priority projects lack mandatory environmental assessment
June 26, 2014
EU heads of state gathering today and tomorrow will discuss the European Energy Security Strategy promoting a number of massive infrastructure projects which include gas pipelines, LNG terminals and storage facilities even though their overall environmental impact has not been adequately assessed. Environmentalists are currently battling the European Commission over this issue in Court.
New mega gas pipelines redundant according to EU’s own projections
June 12, 2014
The EU’s plans for large new gas import pipelines and LNG terminals to Europe, outlined in the European Commission’s October 2013 list of priority energy projects as well as in the May blueprint for energy security to be discussed during tomorrow’s Energy Council, are not only counter to the EU’s long-term climate goals but also unjustified according to the EC’s own demand forecast.
First court case against coal power plant construction in Serbia
June 2, 2014
Belgrade — NGO CEKOR submitted a formal complaint in front of the Serbian national administrative court against the government’s decision to approve an Environmental Impact Assessment study for the construction of a new unit at the Kostolac B coal power plant. The complaint, in which the NGO exposes failings in the EIA process, is the first of its kind to reach Serbian courts.
Who is Jan Kulczyk, the man behind Serinus Energy?
May 19, 2014
In the summer of last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a 60 million euro loan to Serinus Energy for financing the development of four oil and gas fields in Tunisia (Sabria, Chouech Essaida, Ech Chouechand Sanrahr) between 2013 and 2017.
Pinocchio to deliver letters to Kulczyk
May 16, 2014
This Friday, 16th May at 2.00 pm, petitions to Jan Kulczyk, appealing for his withdrawal from plans to build Elektrownia Północ (‘North’) Power Plant in Pomerania, Poland, will be passed on to Mr. Piotr Maciolek, chairman of Elektrownia Północ Power Plant company, owned by Kulczyk Investments Group. The petitions, signed by over 8200 people, will be delivered by an exceptional guest – Pinocchio.
Bankwatch analysis of EBRD operations in CEE at 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall
May 14, 2014
Warsaw – As the EBRD celebrates 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the benefits it has brought to its countries of operation in the post-socialist space, a new Bankwatch report criticises the bank for having systematically promoted a „markets above all” approach, which has often put democratic and environmental concerns on the back burner, and occasionally proved straightforwardly detrimental to the region. The Bankwatch analysis is available for download here: https://bankwatch.org/EBRD-stuck-in-market
Planned contract for Plomin C coal plant most likely illegal state aid, says legal analysis
May 5, 2014
Zagreb, 05.05.2014 – A planned long-term power purchase agreement in which Croatian electricity company HEP will commit to buying at least 50% of electricity from the planned Plomin C power plant for 20-30 years will most likely be illegal under EU state aid rules, according to a new legal analysis by Hungary’s Environmental Management and Law Association (EMLA).
Statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threat of war
April 29, 2014
CEE Bankwatch Network strongly condemns the Russian government’s military invasion and annexation of Crimea and Sebastopol. We hope that in the end the voices of those who have been demonstrating for peace in Moscow and elsewhere, in both Russia and Ukraine, will prevail. The European Union has already responded to the Crimean declaration of independence by announcing travel bans and bank account freezes for 48 individuals from Russia and Ukraine linked to the Crimean breakaway.
Over 40 MEPs from across the political spectrum pledge to stand-up for citizens and democracy against excessive corporate lobbying
April 15, 2014
Today, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), AK EUROPA (Brussels office of the Austrian Chamber of Labour) & ÖGB Europabüro (Brussels office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation), together with a broad coalition of civil society organisations from across Europe, are launching their campaign to urge candidates for the upcoming European elections to “stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business”.
New Balkan lignite plants may breach EU pollution legislation before they even operate (legal analysis + video)
April 2, 2014
Brussels, April 2 — A series of at least five new lignite power plants planned in Western Balkan countries which aspire to European Union membership risk violating Energy Community pollution legislation before they even start generating electricity, warns a new legal briefing by EU-based legal organisation Frank Bold, published today.
