EU neighbourhood

Ukraine snubs safety concerns and European donors, extends lifetime of fourth Soviet-era nuclear reactor

December 8, 2015

Kiev, Prague - An ageing nuclear unit in the South Ukraine power plant is the latest to have its expiry date rewritten by overzealous Ukrainian authorities, despite a number of pending safety issues and concerns over compliance with international treaties.

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Energy & climate

Tags: nuclear safety, SNRIU, South Ukraine, CEE, EU neighbourhood

Macedonia urged to suspend controversial hydropower project

December 4, 2015

Strasbourg, Skopje, Prague - In the latest blow to planned hydropower dam in Macedonia's Mavrovo National Park, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, the European wildlife treaty, added today its voice to growing calls to reconsider this reckless project. The spotlight is now on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the project's main financier.

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Other harmful projects

Tags: Balkan lynx, biodiversity, Boskov Most, hydro, Mavrovo national park, Balkans, EU neighbourhood

Bern Convention Committee to decide fate of Balkan lynx and Boskov Most hydropower plant in Macedonia

The critically endangered population of the Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) may be getting a new lease on life this week after being threatened by planned hydropower constructions in its core area of reproduction.

Tags: Balkan lynx Bern Convention biodiversity Boskov Most hydropower Balkans EU neighbourhood

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Other harmful projects

'No peaceful atom' film premier at One World festival in Slovakia

A Bankwatch film about Ukraine's nuclear sector and the controversial European public funding for it was premiered at the One World film festival in Slovakia.

Institution:

Theme: Development

Tags: highlight, EU, EU neighbourhood

Film premier: Winstar Wars explores south Tunisia's gas exploration region

Almost 40 years ago Star Wars was filmed in the south of Tunisia. For many this will be the only association with the country. The city of Tataouine – after which the planet Tatooine was named in George Lucas’ film – is not a touristic mecca, though. The capital of the largest region of Tunisia with 100 000 inhabitants has only 3 hotels which stand largely empty.

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts, Development

Tags: highlight, shale gas, Tataouine, Winstar, EU neighbourhood, Southern Mediterranean

The EBRD: Fueling the future, or stuck in the past?

A closer look at the projects that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has financed in the energy sector in Middle East and North African countries reveals that, despite the bank's rhetoric about promoting sustainable energy, its balance sheet has fossil fuels all over it.

Tags: energy ENP-energy fossil fuels MENA neighbourhood policy EU neighbourhood Southern Mediterranean

Institution: EBRD

Theme: Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts

EU gives neighbours three times more funding for fossil fuels than renewables

November 19, 2015

Source: Jocelyn Timperley, BusinessGreen

Financing from the EU's development funds to its neighbours far higher for fossil fuels than for renewables, report finds

Institution: EBRD, EIB

Theme: Energy & climate

Tags: ENP-energy, European neighbourhood, fossil fuels, renewables, EU neighbourhood

‘EU geeft buurtlanden 3 keer meer financiering voor fossiel dan voor hernieuwbaar’

November 19, 2015

Source: Groene Courant, Groene Courant

UTRECHT – De Europese Unie geeft buurlanden 3 keer meer subsidie voor energieprojecten met fossiele brandstoffen dan voor groene-energieprojecten.

Dit stelt CCE Bankwatch Network, een Oost-Europese ngo die investeringen in groen en fossiel in de gaten houdt.

De organisatie keek naar investeringsovereenkomsten tussen Europese instituten en de energiesector van 16 aangrenzende landen van de EU.

In totaal financierde de Europese Unie 9 miljard euro aan energieprojecten bij buurlanden in het oosten en het zuiden tussen 2007 en 2014.
Retoriek

Institution: EBRD, EIB

Theme: Energy & climate

Tags: ENP-energy, European neighbourhood, fossil fuels, renewables, EU neighbourhood

Azerbaijan, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU's energy interest

Briefing | November 17, 2015

Azerbaijan has been a part of the EU Neighbourhood Policy since 2004 and has enjoyed substantial support through investments in the energy sector. As a result of cooperation on energy projects, the EU is today Azerbaijan’s main trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to more than EUR 16.7 billion in 2014. But while the European Commission's 2014 progress report on Azerbaijan stressed the good progress in the EU's partnership with Azerbaijan, problems for ordinary Azeris are increasing.

Institution: EBRD, EIB

Theme: Energy & climate, Social & economic impacts

Executive summary: the Eastern Neighbourhood Region and the EU's energy interests

Briefing | November 17, 2015

Since the early 1990s, the EU has actively sought the development of both the oil and gas sectors in former Soviet republics. Energy security, the cornerstone of the EU’s foreign policy became the driving force behind the European Neighbourhood Policy. Investments through the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy Instrument and public banks have supported the development of unsustainable energy systems in most Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. Like in other countries, the EaP region received more for fossil fuels than renewable sources of energy.

Institution: EBRD, EIB

Theme: Energy & climate