Blogs

While Polish authorities waste precious time trying to persuade a reluctant European Commission to approve a reallocation of 1.2 billion euros of EU Funds from rail to road, Bankwatch member group Polish Green Network argues that the government would be better advised to start investing in rail transport as soon as possible.

While much of the debate around the Moscow St. Petersburg motorway project has centred around the behaviour of the Russian authorities, the Movement to Defend Khimki Forest is now targeting French construction giant Vinci and asking the company not to sign an additional agreement with the Russian authorities, expected in mid-April.

The European Commission's Roadmap for a competitive and resource efficient transport system by 2050, published March 28, comes with the bold target to cut carbon emissions in transport by 60 percent before 2050, however this is undercut by inaction during the crucial years before 2030.

Bankwatch member group National Ecological Centre of Ukraine is asking the European Investment Bank (EIB) on inaugurating its Kiev office March 25 not to support nuclear development in Ukraine .

According to a leading Polish daily (Polish language), first negotiations between Polish vice ministers and European Commission representatives last week failed to convince the Commission to allow a shift of EUR 1,2 billion away from railway projects to motorway construction.

Last week, more than 33 Albanian civil society organizations -- including Bankwatch's Albanian partner organisation EDEN -- sent an open letter (pdf) to Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, protesting against the potential destruction of the Botanical Garden in Tirana.

Evgenia Chirikova, the leading figure of the Movement to Defend Khimki Forest has yesterday received the US Woman of Courage Award to honour her relentless efforts to save the Khimki Forest near Moscow from being transformed into a motorway.

26 Slovakian environmental and social NGOs have called (pdf) on their government and EU institutions to put a stop to the reallocation of regional funds from several operational programmes to road building.

Roma's discrimination in Serbia is to be discussed by the UN. Serbian member group CEKOR is contributing with experience from the Gazela resettlement process.

Yesterday, police in Khimki arrested an activist of the Movement for the Defence of Khimki Forest. The activist Alla Chernyshova and her daughters of 3 and 6 had to spend more than five hours in custody where she was questioned as the main suspect for a false bomb threat.