Reaction to the European Court of Auditors’ report on the green transition in the EU’s recovery fund
September 12, 2024
The European Court of Auditors’ report on implementation of EU’s recovery fund, published yesterday, casts a new shadow over the contribution of the fund to the green transition.
Halfway there but facing a mid-life crisis: why the EU’s recovery fund is failing to deliver
February 21, 2024
The European Commission’s mid-term evaluation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, published today, delivers an overly positive assessment. According to CEE Bankwatch Network, the EU’s landmark fund, which was expected to bring about a ‘green recovery’, still faces numerous implementation challenges.
Energy insecurity: EU funds for fossil gas in Poland and Romania contradict climate goals
June 6, 2023
This report reveals how much EU public money has been channelled toward the expansion of fossil gas infrastructure in Poland and Romania since 2014 as well as what plans these two countries have for using various EU funding sources to finance additional fossil gas projects in coming years.
Towards energy democracy: launch of new financing tracker for energy communities in the EU
May 19, 2023
The EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 offers a unique opportunity to use public finances to accelerate the energy transition. But to succeed, this transition must be inclusive, equitable and citizen-centred.
Europe cannot be “REPowered” if citizens are not at the centre of the transition
November 4, 2022
The REPowerEU plan aims to protect EU citizens from the heavy consequences of the energy crisis, but such a goal cannot be achieved unless civil society has a voice in the discussions. With this in mind, REPowerEU does not look very promising.
Raport: Krajowe Plany Odbudowy nie takie znowu zielone
July 11, 2022
Niektóre projekty zgłoszone przez państwa członkowskie UE w ramach KPO mogą zostać zrealizowane kosztem środowiska – wskazują organizacje …
A step in the right direction: Bulgaria’s recovery plan improved after lengthy negotiations
April 28, 2022
After one year of negotiations, at the beginning of April, the European Commission finally endorsed the sixth and final version of Bulgaria’s recovery plan. According to the Commission, nearly 60 per cent of the projects included in the plan support the green transition of the country, which is the highest percentage among all the recovery plans approved so far.
Progress with EU recovery fund hampered by fossil fuels investments and threats to nature
February 3, 2022
Brussels – Genuine efforts by Member States to direct spending from the EUR 672 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility towards climate action are being undermined by investments that are likely to harm the environment and climate, finds a new report by CAN Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network.
In Bulgaria, a cautionary tale for the energy transition as country abandons coal to gas switch
January 21, 2022
In 2021, the Bulgarian (interim) government announced that it had decided to transform the huge Maritza Iztok 2 coal-fired power plant into a steam-gas plant – (to replace 1.4 GW of coal capacity with a minimum of 1 GW of gas). The government has sought funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Modernisation Fund and other unnamed private sources.
Nature ignored in European recovery funding, say campaign groups
March 18, 2021
Member States plan pitiful amounts of spending from the €672 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to protect and preserve nature, in spite of EU requirements and the generally poor state of biodiversity across the continent, say civil society groups ahead of Thursday’s meeting of European environmental ministers.