Ukrainian activists taken to court by longstanding EBRD client after sounding the alarm on impacts of planned wood processing factory
April 7, 2020
Activists from the environmental NGO Ecoclub from Rivne, Ukraine are facing defamation charges after they raised warnings about a planned wood processing facility near the city. The group alerted the public to a host of potential negative environmental impacts the facility might have, which has started construction in the village of Horodok, in the Rivne region, in Ukraine’s northwest.
Annyira lemaradunk, hogy még Koszovó is elmegy mellettünk
December 18, 2019
Az évtizedekig csak a szénre épített dél-balkáni áramtermelésben sürgősen korszakot kell váltani. Ehhez most Koszovóban egy nagy projekt felét az Európai Újjáépítési és Fejlesztési Bank (EBRD) vállalta magára.Annyira lemaradunk, hogy még Koszovó is elm
A walk on the wild side
November 18, 2019
The EBRD-financed Green Boulevard project in Belgrade, Serbia, has long attracted criticism from groups like Streets for Cyclists, who have pointed out that it will include no cycling lanes, and will slow down public transport by letting cars drive on the tram tracks. But now it is under construction, a whole new slew of problems have come up.
EBRD to Stop Financing HPPs in Protected Areas
May 28, 2019
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that starting from January 1, 2020 it will not finance hydropower plants (HPP) projects in areas with high biodiversity. EBRD to Stop Financing HPPs in Protected Areas
BERZH ndryshon politikat mjedisore, nga 2020 nuk financon më HEC-e në zonat e mbrojtura
May 22, 2019
Banka Evropiane për Rindërtim dhe Zhvillim (BERZH) njoftoi këtë muaj se nga 1 janari 2020 do të kushtëzojë financimet e saj për ndërtimin e HEC-eve në bazë të politikës të re mjedisore dhe sociale të bankës. Ajo zotohet të mos financojë më projekte në
EBRD tightens standards in response to Balkan hydropower boom
May 16, 2019
As a result of public resistance to small-scale hydropower projects in the Balkans, from the beginning of 2020, the EBRD will ask commercial banks to refer all high-risk projects – including all hydropower plants – for additional checks. The EBRD also requires them to meet higher environmental standards than previously. The bank will ask that such projects are disclosed to the public on the financial intermediary’s website, finally increasing disclosure on these hitherto hidden projects.
The loan that made sense until it didn’t
May 11, 2018
During the annual meetings of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the bank is the subject of a complaint for policy violations via a EUR 200 million loan to Serbia’s state-owned energy utility: money earmarked to prepare the fossil fuels-based company for the realities of adhering to stricter EU legislation will instead enable it to extract and burn even more fossil fuels.
EBRD Annual Meeting 2019 – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 30, 2018
EBRD Annual Meeting 2019 Empowering communities to be heard. Protecting whistleblowers and pushing back against the threat of violence, intimidation and attacks on free speech and assembly. Preserving the environment. Subscribe for updates
Tightening EBRD policies to counter Ukrainian agro giant
April 24, 2018
Myronivsky Hliboproduct PJSC (MHP), the Ukrainian agribusiness conglomerate owned by one of the country’s richest men, has been getting away with disregard for national regulations, EU law and the EBRD’s performance standards. Bankwatch is calling for the EBRD to strengthen human rights due diligence, as it revises its safeguard policies, to prevent MHP and others from misusing public funds.
Comments on the EBRD safeguard policies
April 11, 2018
Relying on its experience in monitoring EBRD projects in recent years, Bankwatch re-assessed the EBRD Public Information Policy (PIP) and Environmental and Social Policy (ESP). EBRD Public Information Policy (PIP) 2014 General comments Specific comment
