For its first loan to 'Arab Spring' countries the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has chosen vehicles and partners whose ability to deliver developmental value is highly uncertain.
Continued debates about a reduction of the future EU budget jeopardise the potential of using EU funds for energy efficiency and renewables investments to provide necessary economic stimulus and climate mitigation.
Investment data for Mongolia illustrates that without improving the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s plans for the mining sector, the bank may add to the dependence on raw materials exports in resource rich countries.
Alleged corruption at Poland’s second biggest state-owned energy company ENEA S.A. may compromise yet another project financed by European public banks.
The putting on hold (for now) of another waste incinerator project confirms a negative assessment of the Czech Republic's performance in waste management. And still, the Czech government fails to grasp that the only properly sustainable way forward is investment in recycling and waste reduction.
A recent audit showed that Ukraine lacks good management at least as much as finances to reform its energy sector. EU money is meanwhile siding with a tainted company.
The increasing popularity of a 'low-carbon economy' rhetoric calls for robust assessments of the carbon intensity of EU funded projects. Otherwise the potential that lies in the concept may get diluted by conflicting interests.
Europe's anti-crisis measures include efforts to increase private investments in public infrastructure. Yet, a backlash against public-private partnerships in Portugal is a warning against putting too much faith in this approach.
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