New report: Funding sustainable development in European regions – recommendations for the programming of EU funds in 10 CEE Countries
April 4, 2013
Today, CEE Bankwatch Network is launching a compilation of position papers which describe in detail how environmental NGOs across Central and Eastern Europe see the contribution of the next EU Budget (post 2014) to overcoming Europe’s high energy and material consumption and to protecting our nature.
New CEE Bankwatch Network Study: “No Time to Waste: Cohesion Funds programming for a resource-efficient Europe”
March 27, 2013
Find the study here >> The EU Resource Efficiency Flagship Initiative, the strategic framework setting out how the waste sector should look like in Europe by 2020, envisages that by the end of this decade waste in Europe will be managed as a resource we have to care for, hence landfilling has to be eliminated, incineration limited to non recyclable materials, and recycling turned into a truly economically viable option.
Never again Sostanj, NGOs warn European public banks after Slovenia debacle
March 20, 2013
After the EIB and the EBRD disbursed a promised 650 million euros for Slovenian lignite plant TES 6 on March 8, Focus Slovenia, CEE Bankwatch Network, and 96 other NGOs are today sending a letter to the two banks calling on them to never commit to such a misguided loan again.
EBRD finances lifetime expansion of Ukrainian nukes, but gets defensive about it
March 13, 2013
Kiev – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved yesterday a 300 million euros loan for the so-called “Safety Upgrade Programme” of Ukraine. In reality, the beneficiary company, state-owned Energoatom, will use the money to prolong the lifetime of 12 old nuclear reactors.
Europe’s public banks disburse EUR 650 million to Sostanj coal plant despite ongoing corruption charges
March 8, 2013
Ljubljana – The European Investment Bank announced today [1] that it would pay the remaining EUR 440 million out of a EUR 550 million loan [2] for the construction of a new 600 megawatt lignite unit at Sostanj [3] in Slovenia, and that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development would follow suite with its parallel EUR 100 million loan.
Dreams of European Investment Bank Quitting Coal Go Up in Smoke – For Now
February 28, 2013
Climate activists take responsibility for fake press release, bizarre award ceremony Brussels — The European Investment Bank (EIB) president Werner Hoyer was forced to say this morning, during the EIB’s annual press conference, that an announcement that the bank would give up lending to coal was “pure nonsense”. And this, despite the fact that Hoyer repeatedly referred to the EIB as a frontrunner in the fight against climate change.
EU Summit: No axe for climate spending, but member states must deliver
February 8, 2013
Brussels, February 8 – A summit in Brussels on the EU budget for 2014-2020 concluded today with an unambitious commitment for 20 percent of EU spending to go towards tackling climate change. CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe called on member states’ governments to build on this with national spending plans that ensure quality outcomes that work for Europe’s people and environment.
EIB Capital Increase May Not Further EU Goals
January 14, 2013
Brussels — Last week’s ten billion euros capital increase for the European Investment Bank (EIB), allowing the bank to lend 60 billion euros extra over the next three years, must come with clear commitments from the bank to stop loans for dirty energy, say NGOs.
ALSTOM nominated for “Prestigious” Public Eye Awards
January 7, 2013
The French energy and transport conglomerate Alstom is one of the seven finalists for the People’s Public Eye Awards 2013. The nomination is a result of information submitted by NGOs Focus Slovenia, SHERPA France and CEE Bankwatch Network, in which dubious business practices of the company across the world are highlighted — often linked to proven corruption or corruption allegations surrounding the awarding of contracts.
The newest EBRD member, Kosovo, does not need new coal
December 22, 2012
Pristina – As Kosovo becomes the newest member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development today, civil society groups in the country tell the bank that it should exclude from the start any investments in coal and that it could have an enormous positive impact by supporting energy efficiency measures.
