Corporate loans – the rotten apple in EBRD’s Environmental and Social Policy?
April 18, 2019
As the Board of Directors is expected to vote any day now on the renewed Policy which lays out the conditions for reaching the Bank’s sustainability mandate and commitment to EU standards, a compliance review on Serbia’s energy company’s corporate restructuring loan calls for clearer and stronger safeguards for corporate level loans.
European development money ‘helps sustain fossil fuel firms’
October 9, 2018
Five of Europe’s biggest climate offenders continue to enjoy billions of euros in public funds, according to a Bankwatch report Source: European development money ‘helps sustain fossil fuel firms’
EBRD: Looking for 200 million euros… in Serbia
October 5, 2018
Belgrade has been in trouble as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has begun a search to find out where 200m euros ended up going. A sum which was granted as a loan to Serbia’s largest energy company, Elektroprivreda Srbije (EP
Bankwatch: EUR 200m EBRD Loan to Serbian EPS Under Investigation
October 3, 2018
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, follow
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.
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.
Serbia pushes ahead with beleaguered coal plant at Kostolac
November 20, 2017
For the third time, Serbia has announced that construction will start at Kostolac B3, in spite of problems at the project persisting since the start of the permitting process.
EPS: What does ‘restructuring’ mean?
May 5, 2017
Serbia’s national electricity company (EPS) – despite its long-standing relationship with the EBRD, and despite Serbia‘s obligation to align its legislation to the EU’s environmental, competition, human rights and climate policies – does not plan to re
Update on resettlements at Kolubara mine and other EPS operations
May 11, 2016
In October 2015 the independent Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development found that the bank breached its environmental and social policy with regards to safeguarding the rights of communities impacted by mining operations of the Serbian state energy company EPS.
Issues with Serbian electricity company EPS need to be addressed within new EBRD loan
February 1, 2016
As part of its new EUR 200 million loan to the Serbian electricity company EPS, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development aims to assist with “identifying opportunities to improve environmental, safety, social, and labour governance and capacity, and on helping EPS to develop a more strategic approach to managing these issues”. As outlined in this briefing, so far the EBRD’s fifteen-year partnership with EPS has not brought visible improvements in company practices and it is high time for the bank to prove that its engagement can add value.
