Ukraine Reconstruction Campaigner
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Anna is Bankwatch’s Ukraine Reconstruction Campaigner, working on green reconstruction and environmental safeguards in Ukraine’s recovery. Her work focuses on alternative sources of energy for communities, energy resilience, and the alignment of Ukraine’s energy policy and public investment management system with EU standards. Originally from Kyiv, she holds an MSc in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Central European University and is based in Bratislava.
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As the European Union begins shaping its post-2027 budget – the next multiannual financial framework – the challenges ahead are significant. From accelerating climate change to geopolitical tensions and conflicts, the EU needs a budget that is both responsive and forward-looking. Yet, despite the far-reaching impact these decisions will have on millions of Europeans, the process by which they are made still falls short of being truly democratic.
Only EUR 163 million of the European Commission’s EUR 1 billion emergency funding can be shown to have contributed to tackling the root causes of the energy crisis and advancing the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, according to a new report by CEE Bankwatch Network, published today (1). More than two years after the lion’s share of the funds were disbursed, most spending and results still cannot be traced using publicly available sources.
In November 2022, the European Commission announced a EUR 1 billion Energy Support Package for the Western Balkans to mitigate the immediate effects of the energy crisis and accelerate the energy transition in the region.
Despite bold rhetoric on climate and environmental leadership, the European Commission’s proposal for the next long-term EU budget, published today, falls short of aligning future EU spending with the needs of a climate-neutral EU. It fails to provide a clear, enforceable vision for beneficiaries of EU funds to tackle today’s multiple challenges by directing public funds towards building a more resilient, just, and environmentally sustainable economy.
The publication outlines the European Investment Bank’s transformation into the EU’s first public international financial institution to stop funding fossil fuels in both developed EU Member States and developing countries and significantly increasing investments in climate action and environmental sustainability.
