Castor project sends Project Bonds Initiative shockwaves, taxpayers hit worst
December 2, 2014
In July 2013, the much-hyped joint European commission/EIB ‘Project Bond Initiative’ (PBI) had scarcely got off the ground – in its pilot phase at least – when unusual natural events took over. Work at the EUR 1.7 billion Castor underground gas storage plant off the coast of Valencia commenced in summer 2013. But by mid-September the Spanish government was forced to halt work at the plant after 220 mini earthquakes in the area were detected in less than a month. Local residents reported the tremors following injections of natural gas to prepare Castor for operations. Subsequent research has found that the gas injection provoked 1,000 earthquakes in the region.
European Ombudsman hammers EIB over Bosnian bridge maladministration
December 2, 2014
An unprecedented ruling and serious tough talking emanated from the European Ombudsman at the end of October following an investigation into the EIB’s involvement with a bridge construction project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Describing the approach taken by the EIB in the case as “wholly unacceptable”, the Ombudsman’s conclusion pulled no punches in asserting that the bank’s “maladministration risks putting into question the European Union’s commitment to strengthening the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
EIB and EBRD transparency nosedive needs fixing – and fast
December 2, 2014
Operational transparency standards at the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development continue to deteriorate, according to the 2014 Aid Transparency Index (ATI) published in October by aid watchdog Publish What You Fund (PWYF).
EBRD-EIB role in Slovak private equity gas debacle questioned
December 2, 2014
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has revealed, in a letter of late October to Bankwatch’s Slovak member group Friends of the Earth-CEPA, that the EnerCap Power Fund, a private equity investor, has pulled out of the controversial COGEN gas power plant being developed in the northern Slovakian town of Považský Chlmec.
Another chip off the EBRD block – Kronospan expansion in Belarus
December 2, 2014
In October this year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved an up to EUR 50 million loan to a Belarusian subsidiary of the Austrian company Kronospan for the expansion of a particleboard facility at Smorgon in the Grodno region of Belarus. Belarus will provide a guaranteed return on investment for both Kronospan and the EBRD. With the country’s rich wood resources, generous state tax incentives, weak legal environment, toothless trade unions, cheap labour and a generally stifled civil society, the EBRD and its client are not likely to run into the same environmental and legal difficulties experienced by Kronospan in other eastern European countries.
Another Polish road construction in Natura 2000 site, another David and Goliath fight to save protected nature
December 2, 2014
Road construction in Poland can be a cause for great controversy, particularly when incomprehensible road designs clash with nature.
Recommendations for the last state of programming of EU Regional Funds 2014-2020 for energy projects
November 25, 2014
Bankwatch and Polish Green Network analysed the final drafts of the Regional Operational Programmes of Poland’s voivodeships. The report “Green energy for all” shows how ambitious (or not) the Polish regions are to invest in a low-carbon economy, in particularly when it comes to renewable energy and energy efficiency in residential buildings. It also contains six recommendations for Polish regions to make the most of the low-carbon potential of Regional Funds.
The Visegrad 4 and the Balkans working together for resource efficient development
November 24, 2014
In the last four years, Bankwatch has invested significant efforts in building the capacity of CSOs in the Western Balkans on various topics, particularly on the funding mechanism Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA). This compilation is intended to serve CSOs in IPA beneficiary countries and provide information about some good practices from Visegrad 4 coutries that can now be implemented in the Balkan region. It is our hope that it is found useful and worthy of distribution across the region.
Letter to EBRD: National ROads Programme in Macedonia
November 6, 2014
The Great Rush – The European Union’s responsibility in natural resources grabbing
October 31, 2014
Land, forests, water and raw materials are valuable resources that increasingly interest the major players of the economy of our planet. This report collects 16 case studies from around the world in order to better understand the impacts of natural resource grabbing on the local communities, clarify the responsibilities of the European Union and, in conclusion, examine actions to be undertaken to invert this phenomenon.