200 million euro EBRD loan to Serbian energy giant EPS under investigation
October 1, 2018
Prague, Belgrade – The independent grievance body of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has started investigating a EUR 200 million ‘restructuring loan’ granted in 2015 to Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), the largest energy company in Serbia, following a complaint by CEE Bankwatch Network and Serbian environmental group CEKOR.
Use of public money to support Tuzla 7 coal power plant must be investigated, shows new complaint
September 25, 2018
Sarajevo, Prague – Plans to use public money to guarantee a Chinese loan for the planned Tuzla 7 coal power plant could be illegal and need to be investigated by the Energy Community Secretariat, according to a formal complaint submitted to the regional body today by the Aarhus Resource Centre, Sarajevo, and CEE Bankwatch Network.
Court complaints launched against Bosnia-Herzegovina hydropower permits
July 26, 2018
Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Nikšić, Podgorica, Prague – The Aarhus Resource Centre Sarajevo has submitted two court complaints [1] to the District Court in Banja Luka against the environmental permits for the Buk Bijela and Foča hydropower plants on the river Drina in Bosnia-Herzegovina near the border with Montenegro.
China must walk its EU standards talk
July 6, 2018
The seventh Central and Eastern Europe-China “16+1” summit for heads of state is set to take place this week in Sofia, Bulgaria, on the heels of an EU initiative on screening Foreign Direct Investments in the areas of security and public order. The EU initiative comes amidst concerns of increased foreign direct investments – including Chinese – going into strategic and sensitive sectors in Europe.
China, the Western Balkans and the EU: Can three tango?
May 17, 2018
With China pouring loans into the Western Balkans, the EU must step in to ensure this money benefits the region, writes Wawa Wang.
Balkan energy projects with Chinese involvement – state of play, May 2016
May 5, 2016
See a more recent version of this briefing >>
Bosnia and Herzegovina signs deal for Tuzla 7 coal plant construction – but its economics are shrouded in mystery
May 4, 2016
In spite of an updated construction contract for a new unit at the Tuzla coal-fired power plant, the project’s economic feasibility remains a puzzle with missing pieces.
The Balkans Are Giving Climate Change the Finger
July 7, 2015
After just five hours visiting the tiny Serbian village of Vreoci, just outside the country’s capital, environmental activist Dragana Mileusnic developed a terrible cough. Vreoci is pincered between two rapidly expanding arms of the Kolubara coal mine, one of the largest in Europe, which churns out 22 million tons of coal per year — along with what Mileusnic calls “incredible” air pollution. Now the mine owner is resettling the entire village because coal dust, smog and respiratory disease have made life there unbearable.
Poland’s uncertain coal friends in the Balkans
January 13, 2015
It is not easy to find anywhere in Europe as much determination as in Poland for building new coal. The only place to find a similar coal enthusiasm is at the door step of Europe, in the Balkans, looking set to be fuelled by Chinese money. But even there the future of coal is shaky.
Balkan coal projects face mounting challenges as China and CEE leaders meet in Belgrade
December 16, 2014
Belgrade/Banja Luka/Sarajevo, 16 December 2014: As the third annual summit of Chinese and Central and Eastern European leaders gets underway today in Belgrade, problems are mounting for the lignite projects planned in the Balkan region. Today alone, an official complaint has been submitted to the Energy Community Secretariat on the planned 600 MW Ugljevik III lignite power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a new analysis has been published showing that the planned 450 MW Tuzla 7 lignite plant – also in Bosnia and Herzegovina – is likely to be economically unviable.
