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
The Khada Valley, Georgia
The Khada Valley in Georgia brings together exceptional biodiversity, precious cultural and archeological heritage, and mountainous villages which have preserved rich traditions and historical lifestyles. But all of this might vanish if a 23-kilometer road from Georgia to Russia – the Kvesheti-Kobi project – is built.
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Minerals mining and supply chains
Global demand for minerals and other critical raw materials is intensified by the just transition to renewable energy and the digital transformation agenda. Therefore sustainable supply chains of minerals are fundamental to addressing the climate crisis and the Covid-19 crisis that humanity is facing today. The European Union needs to innovate and find solutions to achieve its circular economy and resource use reduction objectives and to meet the demand of EU’s industry and consumers, while still protecting communities and nature threatened by mining.
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Amulsar gold mine, Armenia
Since 2016 the controversial Amulsar gold mine project is being developed by Armenia’s largest foreign investor, an international mining company Lydian, near the touristic spa town of Jermuk.
Read morePublications
District heating – the role of EU investments in Latvia
Study | 10 February, 2021 | Download PDFHeating is a basic need in Latvia, where the average heating season lasts 200 days. More than half (58%) of Latvia’s primary energy consumption is used for heating. This report from Bankwatch and Green Liberty analyses the district heating projects implemented in Latvia with the support of EU funds during the last 20 years.
A letter to the EBRD on Green Cities
Advocacy letter | 3 February, 2021 | Download PDFBankwatch and six of our NGO partners jointly drafted a letter and shared it with EBRD outlining the issues attached to specific cases we are following, as well as our recommendations to help EBRD infrastructure funding serve the needs of the communities and the environment.
Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Briefing | 29 January, 2021 | Download PDFThe transport Corridor Vc is a motorway planned to run for 330 kilometers through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various sections of this corridor are being financed by the EIB and the EBRD. This briefing provides an overview of the key issues identified by a Bankwatch fact finding mission to a section of the motorway project south of Mostar, including non-transparent decision making, a threat to the fragile balance of interests of different ethnic groups in this post-war community, illusory public consultations, and biodiversity at risk.
Nenskra hydropower project: update
Briefing | 29 January, 2021 | Download PDFSince it was first proposed, the Nenskra hydropower project in Georgia has raised significant controversy and concerns among the indigenous Svan communities living near the proposed plant, as well as the general public in Georgia. The accountability mechanisms of the EIB, EBRD and ADB have found numerous violations of the lenders’ environmental and human rights standards, as well as violations of the rights of affected Svan communities.
Raising the bar on human rights at the European Investment Bank
Advocacy letter | 29 January, 2021 | Download PDFA joint letter from Bankwatch and 15 other NGOs, on the occasion of the EIB’s annual dialogue with Civil Society Organisations, asking the Bank takes steps to integrate and prioritize human rights considerations through its operations.
