Publications

European environmental legislation contains no provisions on the exploration and exploitation of unconventional fossil fuels, most notably shale gas. To establish these, the European Commission has conducted a public consultation on whether and under which conditions shale g…

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 sent this letter to the two banks calling on them to never commit to such a misguided loan again. The lette…

The Western Balkans countries are aspiring to become members of the European Union. At the same time, 6195 MW of new coal and lignite plants are planned to be built in the Western Balkans, which will still be operating by 2050 and threaten these countries’ ability to comply…

Linked to a slew of controversies, the Kolubara lignite mining project in Serbia is in line for support from European public banks. Corruption allegations, pollution at local level, irregularities in resettlement of local populations and not to forget a climate damaging appr…

On the occasion of the Climate Parliament meeting in the European Parliament and with both the EBRD and EIB currently undertaking reviews of their respective energy policies, this issue of Bankwatch Mail takes another close look at the banks’ energy lending, including nuclea…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is expected to take a decision this month on whether or not to provide a EUR 300 million loan for a nuclear power plant Safety Upgrade Programme (SUP) in Ukraine. Bankwatch and other environment groups are questioning the…

The European Investment Bank’s annual press conference in the final week of February proved to be significantly more revealing about the bank’s commitment to fueling climate change than is the norm for the EU bank.

The renovation of buildings to high energy performance standards has the potential to be the most cost effective investment any European nation can make, given the benefits in terms of job creation, quality of life, economic stimulus and energy security that such investments…

At a press conference in January, Serbia’s energy minister Zorana Mihajlović spoke out strongly against the Kolubara mining complex, describing it as being “mired in crime and corruption” while also announcing that a thorough investigation is ongoing into corrupt practices b…

“Please be advised that, in this particular transaction, the EBRD and Monsanto were unable to find a satisfactory project structure for financing. Each institution will continue to explore other opportunities in order to provide farmers and distributors with adequate and tim…

Bankwatch’s competition devoted to showcasing ideas for EU funds investments that can generate sustainable development for European communities has proved to be a big success – and it should offer inspiration to EU and national level decision-makers as the task of setting op…

Kosovo has just celebrated the fifth anniversary of independence. In these five years, Kosovo has achieved membership of certain international financial institutions (IFIs): having already joined the IMF and the World Bank, on December 17 last year Kosovo became the 66th mem…