From a grassroots to the international level …
We investigate the impacts of public finance, work with affected communities and local organisations across the world and help them protect their rights and livelihoods. We make sure their stories are being told in Europe’s power centers.
We regularly meet representatives of the institutions we monitor and we’re in Brussels, too, doing our bit to make Europe a fairer, cleaner and sustainable place.
Alternative news
We expose the risks of international public finance and bring critical updates from the ground.
We believe that the billions of public money should work for people and the environment.
FOCUS AREAS
INSTITUTIONS WE MONITOR
OUR PROJECTS
Kresna gorge / Struma motorway, Bulgaria
The Struma motorway is tragically emblematic of an EU-funded project that has wrought havoc on European biodiversity and the wishes of local communities. In spite of two decades of protest by civil society and citizens, part of the Struma motorway section is planned directly through the Kresna gorge, a Natura 2000 site and Bulgaria’s richest biodiversity hotspot.
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Krapska Reka small hydropower plant, Macedonia
Loopholes in the EBRD’s due diligence, together with a lack of assessment and monitoring by Macedonia’s local and central government, has proven to be a lethal combination for the country’s rivers. A prime example is the Krapska Reka small hydropower project. The authorities’ failure to recognise the location as part of the proposed Jakupica National Park, Emerald area and a future Natura 2000 site, on top of poor mitigation measures and construction practices, have caused irreversible damage to this small river valley.
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Dabrova Dolina hydropower plant, Croatia
A harmless-sounding mill conversion project on Croatia’s stunning river Mrežnica is a textbook example of how even small hydropower plants can damage protected areas. It also exemplifies the lack of transparency and oversight of investments that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development channelled through commercial bank intermediaries.
Read morePublications
Tuzla sustainable heating alternatives analysis
Consultancy | 30 June, 2020 | Download PDFCEE Bankwatch Network is looking for a consultant to identify and analyse alternative sustainable heating solutions for Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Urgent call to take steps to become the EU Climate Bank
Advocacy letter | 24 June, 2020 | Download PDFJoint civil society letter: Urgent call to take steps to become the EU Climate Bank – Status quo is not an option
Comply or Close 2020
Report | 23 June, 2020 | Download PDFIn 2016 alone, roughly 3900 people in the region and in neighbouring countries are estimated to have died as a result of chronic pollution from all existing coal plants. This report is an update of an analysis released by Bankwatch late last year, now including 2019 data.
Mapping Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure in the Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood
Study | 15 June, 2020 | Download PDFThe latest research on climate change indicates that changes to urban life have the potential to make a substantial contribution to reducing emissions, consumption, and land use. International financial institutions have addressed this by providing muc
Two-speed energy transition in the Western Balkans
Briefing | 4 June, 2020 | Download PDFTwo-speed energy transition in the Western Balkans
