Open letter to the EBRD and JP Autoceste about the legality of the project-level Spatial Plan of 2017 for the Corridor Vc in the Hercegovina-Neretva Canton
February 21, 2022
The letter requests that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development not sign the loan agreement for the Corridor Vc motorway subsections Mostar North – Mostar South until additional biodiversity baseline studies for the subsection tunnel Kvanj – Buna and alternative route assessments are completed. The letter also presents the conclusions of the discrimination complaint filed by war returnees, as well as the ramifications for the Bank’s rules on vulnerable groups. It asserts that signing the loan for the subsection Mostar North and South should be delayed until additional biodiversity studies and careful consideration of route alternatives are completed, particularly since the Bank’s independent accountability mechanism is about to finalize its recommendations to management in the first half of 2022.
Cutting hydropower subsidies – how are the Western Balkans doing?
February 15, 2022
The small hydropower boom, which has damaged pristine rivers and streams across the Western Balkans, has largely been fuelled by generous feed-in tariffs. In this briefing, we take a look at recent progress towards changing the rules on renewables support in the region.
Implementation of the Air Quality Directive by Western Balkan countries – 2022 update
February 14, 2022
This briefing reviews the progress of five Western Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) on the transposition and implementation of the EU’s Air Quality Directive
Reaching for a green recovery: what holds back progress in ten EU recovery and resilience plans
February 3, 2022
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is intended to finance reforms and investments in Member States to rebound from the pandemic and pursue a green transition.
What you need to know about the Green City Action Plan but your municipality won’t tell you
January 13, 2022
A step-by-step guide on what the Green City Action Plan is, why citizen participation is important for improving the future of cities, and how residents can participate.
A Just Transition Fund for the Western Balkan countries
January 11, 2022
The EU’s Just Transition Mechanism will mobilise more than EUR 100 billion in investments over the period from 2021 to 2027 to help countries shift their energy sources from fossil fuels to more sustainable ones. Part of this Mechanism is the Just Tran
Recommendations for inclusion of the Air Quality and National Emissions Ceilings Directives in the Energy Community Treaty
December 17, 2021
This analysis examines the legal options for implementing the EU’s Air Quality and National Emissions Ceiling Directives into the Energy Community Treaty, so that air pollution from coal power plants, as well as from other power plants using fossil fue
Position Paper on the Serbia Solid Waste National Programme
December 15, 2021
This position paper, prepared by the CEE Bankwatch Network and based on research conducted by Springloop Cooperative, U.A. and Bankwatch member group CEKOR, Serbia, expresses concern about the Serbia Solid Waste National Programme, a multi-site EUR 150 million project co-financed 50:50 by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the French Development Agency. The paper discusses the various risks associated with approving the project without first ensuring that detailed social and environmental assessments are carried out, and it calls on the Bank to condition the project on guarantees that the rights and livelihoods of the most vulnerable and marginalized affected people will be protected.
Status of the Territorial Just Transition Plans in central and eastern Europe: December 2021 update
December 13, 2021
This briefing, the fifth in our series on the Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), provides an overview of the general Territorial Just Transition Plan progress in seven CEE countries: Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slov
Uzbekistan’s Anti-Crisis Fund: Analysis of state procurement in 2020
November 29, 2021
In March 2020, Uzbekistan established an Anti-Crisis Fund to help the state mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. It allocates international loans and state money to ‘finance measures to combat the spread of coronavirus infection, to support
