The Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline – another ‘Blair rich project’
August 8, 2014
The hiring of former British prime minister Tony Blair to advise a BP-led consortium pushing forward with plans to pump Caspian gas from Azerbaijan to Europe has bumped the ‘Euro-Caspian Mega Pipeline’ (ECMP) into western media coverage and lead to criticism of yet another unsavoury Blair consultancy.
Human rights defenders clampdown in Azerbaijan – letter to Commissioner Fule asking to support civil society
July 18, 2014
The letter asks EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Stefan Fule to put pressure on the Azeri authorities and support and protect civil society that faces an escalating suppression. Last week more than 20 NGOs were confronted with sanctions that included freezing bank accounts and seizing personal accounts of NGO executives and others. This is a continuation of the government’s on-going harassment campaign against human rights defenders that uses tactics like police summons, arrests, propaganda, and slandering and threating organisations with closure.
More repression, more money – Financing transition in Egypt
May 27, 2014
New cases of arbitrary repression against civil society happened in the run-up to the presidential elections in Egypt. A look at the loans so far approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development suggests that those in power have been more successful in receiving the bank’s support.
Statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threat of war
April 29, 2014
CEE Bankwatch Network strongly condemns the Russian government’s military invasion and annexation of Crimea and Sebastopol. We hope that in the end the voices of those who have been demonstrating for peace in Moscow and elsewhere, in both Russia and Ukraine, will prevail. The European Union has already responded to the Crimean declaration of independence by announcing travel bans and bank account freezes for 48 individuals from Russia and Ukraine linked to the Crimean breakaway.
European Development Bank: Backward Step on Rights – Draft Policy Would Weaken Protection
March 5, 2014
(London) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) new draft Environment and Social Policy would fail to weed out abusive development projects, seven human rights and bank watchdog organizations said today in a joint statement. The bank’s consultation on the draft policy closes on March 5, 2014. It then has an opportunity to revise the policy before sending it to the bank’s board for approval in the coming months.
The EIB’s double standard for human rights in Ukraine and Egypt
February 24, 2014
While drawing concrete consequences from the violence that happened in Ukraine, the European Investment Bank seems to be unmindful of the ongoing human rights abuses and killings in Egypt.
Is Egypt just stuck in transition or heading away from democracy? Considerations for the EBRD
January 10, 2014
Six months after the Egyptian army deposed Egypt’s first freely elected president, the weak democratic signals by the authorities are overshadowed by widespread repression. How can the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development possibly help under these circumstances? Or put differently: Will the limited benefits to the country’s private sector from EBRD engagement really be enough to outweigh the harm done by the bank’s support for an undemocratic regime?
Litmus test for EBRD rhetoric on democracy with Egyptian oil project
December 19, 2013
On December 18 the EBRD board of directors approved a loan of USD 50 million to finance a project aimed at the expansion of oil operations and reducing gas flaring in Egypt. Yet the tenuous political situation in the country continues to raise concerns about the bank’s ability to make a positive contribution towards the democratic process, and whether it should be investing there at all.
[Campaign update] EBRD not digging for truth at the Kolubara mine, Serbia
July 26, 2013
By putting too much trust in its client EPS, the EBRD failed to notice that an important grievance mechanism for villagers near the mine was not in place – for two years. [*]
Little impact of EU aid for Egypt – Ongoing abuses and Brussels scrutiny puts EBRD’s best laid plans in question
June 24, 2013
How is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development able to justify a brand new host country agreement with Egypt, given the abuses still being endured in Egypt and the failure of one billion euros of EU money to improve the economic and human rights situation there?
