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

Export Credit Agencies (ECAs)
With many billions of dollars at their disposal, export credit agency finance far outpaces that of development banks and yet avoids the same public scrutiny. Most money flows into large infrastructure projects in politically-volatile countries that oft
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Boskov most hydropower plant, North Macedonia
Boskov Most was one of 18 hydropower greenfield projects planned by the North Macedonian government in the Mavrovo National Park. After five years of campaigning, we convinced the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development about the folly of this project and to cancel its EUR 65 million loan. Without its major source of funding, the project lost steam and was discontinued.
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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.
Read morePublications
Suggestions for donor interventions to help the green post-war reconstruction of Ukraine
Briefing | 28 July, 2022 | Download PDFThis briefing gathers practical suggestions for consolidating international efforts around the idea of a sustainable post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
Why hydropower in southeast Europe is a risky investment
Report | 27 July, 2022 | Download PDFHydropower, together with coal, has traditionally played a major role in the power systems of southeast Europe, with particularly high shares in Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. And today, southeast European governments, utilities and energy experts are keen to build even more hydropower.
Comments on the proposal to amend the Recovery and Resilience Facility regulation in the context of REpowerEU
Briefing | 20 July, 2022 | Download PDFThe briefing, prepared by CAN Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network and sent to the Members of the European Parliament on 19th July 2022, assesses key components of the European Commission’s proposal to amend the Recovery and Resilience Facility regulation in the context of the REPowerEU plan and proposes recommendations to feed in the legislative process
Assessment of Romania’s operational programmes
Briefing | 14 July, 2022 | Download PDFThis briefing offers an analysis of the Romania’s draft operational programmes for 2021-2027 and recommendations regarding the potential for increasing the programmes’ climate and environmental contributions.
Analysis of Kosovo’s draft law on integrated pollution prevention and control
Analysis | 13 July, 2022 | Download PDFKosovo’s parliament is currently reviewing a draft law on pollution prevention and control. This legal analysis finds a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure coherence with existing legislation and prevent the creation of legal loopholes that could result in erosion of the current standards instead of strengthening them.