From a grassroots to the international level …
We’re the largest network of grassroots, environmental and human rights groups in central and eastern Europe.
We monitor public finance institutions that are responsible for hundreds of billions of investments across the globe. The banks and funds we watch are often obscure but always important entities that function outside public scrutiny.
Together with local communities and other NGOs we work to expose their influence and provide a counterbalance to their unchecked power. 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.
CAMPAIGN AREAS
INSTITUTIONS WE MONITOR
OUR PROJECTS
Upper Horizons hydropower scheme, Bosnia and Herzegovina
A series of dams, diversion tunnels, hydropower plants and channels will completely change the natural hydrology of eastern Herzegovina and have unpredictable impacts on wetlands, rivers and underground karst.
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Ulog and Upper Neretva hydropower plants, Bosnia and Herzegovina
A 35 MW hydropower plant is currently under construction on a pristine section of the Neretva river at Ulog. Seven more plants are also planned further upstream.
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Skavica hydropower plant, Albania
Instead of increasing its energy security, Albania is pushing the construction of yet more hydropower. The Skavica project may flood several villages, displace thousands of people and bring the Balkan lynx to extinction
Read morePublications
Tbilisi Transport Policy and Reforms: Main Issues and Recommendations
Briefing | 22 August, 2023 | Download PDFIn 2018, Tbilisi authorities set out to decrease the city’s car dependency, reduce traffic jams, improve air quality and develop better infrastructure for walking and cycling. But despite investment from the EBRD and ADB, there has been little improvement.
Cutting off the pipeline from REPowerEU to the fossil gas industry
Briefing | 27 July, 2023 | Download PDFIn May 2022, the European Commission, in response to the energy crisis, launched the REPowerEU plan – a set of measures aimed at ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027. The plan emphasises the diversification of gas and oil supply sources, the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources by accelerating Europe’s clean energy transition, and the reduction of energy consumption, primarily gas, in the EU. Yet despite its ambitious scope, the plan excessively prioritises the interests of the fossil fuel industry.
Renewable energy permitting in Bosnia and Herzegovina: how to optimise the process while safeguarding the environment and public participation
Briefing | 25 July, 2023 | Download PDFThis analysis begins with an overview of the permits required for building renewable energy facilities in the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS).
Initial Comments on the Proposal for a Regulation on establishing the Ukraine Facility
Policy comments | 21 July, 2023 | Download PDFTogether with Ukrainian civil society organisations Ecoaction and Razom We Stand, Bankwatch sent initial comments to the European Parliament on the proposed regulation on Ukraine Facility. To foster green reconstruction and bring Ukraine closer towards EU membership, the civil society groups argue that the Facility must prioritise public participation and environmental sustainability.
National energy and climate plans: catalysts for the energy transition or box-ticking exercises?
Report | 30 June, 2023 | Download PDFThe following report shows how seven central and eastern European (CEE) countries are approaching the NECP revision and details how the context has changed since the initial NECPs were prepared in 2018 and 2019.
