Romania’s gas trap: Fossil fuel expansion threatens clean energy transition
January 14, 2026
The Romanian government is pursuing an increasingly contradictory energy strategy. On the one hand, it is preparing to heavily exploit Black Sea gas to increase consumption and drive industrial growth. On the other, it must meet ambitious targets for renewable energy, decarbonisation and energy consumption.
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.
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.
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.
Preferential status for hydrogen infrastructure could cement Europe’s dependence on fossil gas
October 29, 2025
As the European Commission puts the final touches on a list of priority energy projects brimming with hydrogen infrastructure, both civil society and EU agencies are warning that a hydrogen expansion risks undermining the energy transition.
Six Member States looking to expand gas, waste and nuclear energy with billions from EU climate fund
October 6, 2025
Intended to drive the energy transition in the EU’s lower-income Member States, the Modernisation Fund has been doling out billions to fossil gas and other harmful energy infrastructure.
Dead end ahead: How gas plans are distracting the Western Balkans from the energy transition
September 25, 2025
This briefing provides an update on gas build-out plans in the Western Balkans since March 2023 and finds that they have remained remarkably steady in the last two years, despite increasing risks and financing challenges.
Dead end ahead for Western Balkan gas plans, shows new analysis
September 25, 2025
Western Balkan governments’ gas build-out plans remain as high as two years ago despite increasing risks of failure or stranded assets, finds a new briefing published today by CEE Bankwatch Network and Beyond Fossil Fuels (1).
Citizens urge Montenegrin government to halt gas deal with Japanese energy giant
September 9, 2025
A group of 40 non-governmental organisations, citizens, experts and environmental activists today sent an open letter to the Government of Montenegro and the Minister of Energy and Mining, Admir Šahmanović, calling for the suspension of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company. The agreement concerns the proposed development of fossil gas projects in Montenegro, including a gas-fired power plant and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal with associated infrastructure. The agreement is set to be signed during the 2025 Gastech conference in Milan, taking place between 9 and 12 September.
