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Comments on the EBRD’s Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure Strategy

Policy comments | 6 May, 2012 | Download PDF

One of Bankwatch’s main concerns with the EBRD’s municipal and environmental infrastructure strategy is the bank’s approach towards public-private partnerships, which one the one hand is more cautious than before. On the other hand however, while the bank’s analysis recognises some of the drawbacks, it still too openly promotes them.


Public participation – experiences from IPA countries

Study | 30 April, 2012 | Download PDF

In light of the new proposed Regulation for the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA), Bankwatch has compiled case studies from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia to illustrate the lack of political will to properly implement EU principles on public participation. This represents a significant problem in the implementation of the IPA funds in these countries.


Project briefing: Gabrovo bypass and Shipka mountain tunnel, Bulgaria

Briefing | 28 April, 2012 | Download PDF

If implemented as currently planned, the road bypass of the town of Gabrovo, and the tunnel under the Shipka mountain – a project supported by EU funding – will harm a Natura 2000 zone and national biodiversity protected area. This briefing paper gives details on the project and calls on the European Commission to remind Bulgarian authorities of the need to allow for public participation and conduct an environmental assessment that takes alternatives into consideration.


NGO comments on transport programming for EU funds in Bulgaria

Policy comments | 28 April, 2012 | Download PDF

These comments from the Bulgarian Civic Coalition for sustainable use of EU funds identifies problematic issues and discrepancies between transport policy documents at EU and Bulgarian level. It offers concrete suggestions to overcome those problems and to improve the decision making process of the Bulgaria Operational Programme for Transport for the period 2014-2020.


Expert comment on cutback in production at Kumtor gold mine due to massive flow of ice and waste rock into the mine

Briefing | 25 April, 2012 | Download PDF

Centerra Gold’s announcement that the February 2012 ice and waste fall into the Kumtor pit will result in a cutback in gold production indicates that the measures the company has put in place to address the causes of past pit wall failures have been ineffective since those measures were not effective at preventing Davidov ice and waste from falling into the open pit and causing the current production cutback.