Publications

It was no surprise when the European Council summit meeting dedicated to deciding the EU’s budget for 2014-2020 broke down in Brussels on the afternoon of November 23 with no deal having been reached. The main surprises were how early on the Friday afternoon the EU’s 27 memb…

There will be MFF 2014-2020 closure, in some shape or form, and presumably at some stage in 2013 – at least, that is, when it comes to the European level negotiating and haggling over the future EU budget. But what comes after? With our long-term EU Funds partners Friends of…

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has come under fire in recent weeks thanks to a loan granted to Ford Europe. The EU’s bank signed off on a EUR 200 million loan to the car giant for the company’s relocation of production to Turkey not long after Ford Europe announced the s…

Last month, residents in the village of Krupets in Ukraine blocked the Kyiv-Chop road that runs straight through the village. Their protest – the road was blocked off for more than 90 minutes – came as a result of horrifying car accidents (including ten fatal car accidents s…

Although public authorities appear increasingly to be turning their backs on public-private partnerships (PPPs) for delivery of services and the provision of infrastructure, the beleaguered investment vehicle continues to be aggressively promoted by the European Commission a…

Sir Suma Chakrabarti became the sixth president of the EBRD this summer. Bankwatch Mail caught up with him recently to ask him his views on the bank’s operations in central and eastern Europe and, now, further afield, as well as on a few of the more acute issues that are cur…

A USD 3.7 billion PPP oil refinery expansion in Cairo is accompanied by contradictory project documents, making a mockery of claims by the public banks involved to be committed to ‘good governance’ or democracy. Despite being presented as merely translations of one document,…

On November 30, the same day as the national government was under fire in the most heated protests Slovenia has seen in years, Slovenia’s ministers of finance and infrastructure added fuel to the flames by signing contracts with Simon Tot, director of the Sostanj lignite pow…

While it is not to be unexpected for the public to attempt to scrutinise the effective performance of governmental agencies, in recent years in Kazakhstan it has been far from obvious that many resources and services, projects and finances are being provided by international…

Europe’s neighbouring countries, from the Western Balkans to Ukraine, are intent on pursuing unsustainable energy futures that rely heavily on coal and nuclear. The draft energy strategy of the European Energy Community, recently open for public comments, is no big departure…

After long delays and more than three years in the making, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) finally in early November published its new mining sector policy. Yet both the consultation process and the final outcome have left “consulted stakeholders”…

The EBRD’s board of directors is set to decide on December 12 whether or not to extend further significant financing to Canadian gold mining firm Dundee Precious Metals (DPM). This time the EBRD may invest up to USD 45 million in a ‘five-year revolving corporate debt facilit…