EU neighbourhood

Land expropriation and corruption have been two recurring themes at the Kolubara mine. This week's arrests indicate that they are closely connected.

Demonstrations in Kiev have shown that road safety is not only for cars but also pedestrians and other traffic participants - a lesson that the Ukrainian road company still needs to learn and that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development should be teaching more actively.

With another public action, colleagues in Moscow are today bringing to a close a week that has seen the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development having to listen to a lot of uncomfortable truths.

The global campaign to make the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development restrict its coal lending may have found new allies in Nordic countries after their declaration yesterday to seize overseas coal investments.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development received a little surprise visit this week from 16 000 voices against coal.

For the last couple of years, we have been calling on the European Investment Bank to drop coal lending. Finally, we’re starting to see some results.

By putting too much trust in its client EPS, the EBRD failed to notice that an important grievance mechanism for villagers near the mine was not in place - for two years. [*]