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
The EIB’s empty promises on human rights
Briefing | 12 November, 2020 | Download PDFThis briefing is extracted from a broader report carried out by NGOs CEE Bankwatch Network and Counter Balance regarding the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) track record in the development field. Over the last decades, in solidarity with numerous citi
Letter to EIB Board on Climate Bank Roadmap
Briefing | 10 November, 2020 | Download PDFPolicy briefing for the EIB Board of Directors.
Can the EIB become the “EU Development Bank”?
Report | 9 November, 2020 | Download PDFThis report analyses the EIB’s track record in the development field and offers a series of detailed recommendations for fundamental reforms at the EIB, so that the Bank can better support partner countries’ development priorities and ultimately become a credible candidate for the “EU Development Bank” seat.
Letter to EIB Secretary General
Advocacy letter | 21 October, 2020 | Download PDFLetter to EIB Secretary General on the Finance in Common Summit, the first global summit of public development banks.
Status of the Territorial Just Transition Plans in central and eastern Europe
Briefing | 14 October, 2020 | Download PDFEU countries are required to produce Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) in order to access the Just Transition Fund (JTF). This briefing reviews the progress made by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia on TJTPs as of October 2020. It includes a review of the consultant selection processes, national government awareness of the drafting and local stakeholder engagement in the regions affected by coal phase-out.
