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
Why is the EIB still hiding one-third of its lending?
Briefing | 4 March, 2021 | Download PDFThe EU’s house bank must keep up with its peers on disclosure of financial intermediary investments
Status of the Territorial Just Transition Plans in central and eastern Europe (3 March Update)
Briefing | 3 March, 2021 | Download PDFTerritorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs) are a precondition for European Union Member States to access the Just Transition Fund (JTF), worth EUR 17.5 billion. The documents must outline the expected transition process; the most affected territories an
Oyu Tolgoi Mine, Mongolia: A Raw Deal ICT metal mining case study
Study | 1 March, 2021 | Download PDFAs Mongolia’s flagship mine project, Oyu Tolgoi is often advertised as a world-class, sustainable, safe and energy-efficient mining project, but in reality, it has been subject to controversy on multiple occasions due to corruption scandals, tax disput
Thermal depolymerisation study summary, Slovakia
Study | 22 February, 2021 | Download PDFAs part of the just transition of the Upper Nitra region in Slovakia, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic for Investments and Informatisation has collected project concept notes since 2018. One of the projects, proposed by HU
Bankwatch’s request to the EBRD Board regarding Corridor Vc South Mostar Section
Advocacy letter | 17 February, 2021 | Download PDFRequest to the EBRD Board Members regarding EBRD Management response to Bankwatch report “Connecting or Dividing?” and postponement of the decision on Corridor Vc.
