Egypt

New cases of arbitrary repression against civil society happened in the run-up to the presidential elections in Egypt. A look at the loans so far approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development suggests that those in power have been more successful in receiving the bank’s support.

Colleagues from the Egyptian Centre of Economic and Social Rights criticise the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s too lax approach when examining its activities in Egypt’s cement sector.

While drawing concrete consequences from the violence that happened in Ukraine, the European Investment Bank seems to be unmindful of the ongoing human rights abuses and killings in Egypt.

Update: The EBRD clarified in its correspondence with Baby Milk Action that its loan will not be used to finance infant nutrition.

Six months after the Egyptian army deposed Egypt's first freely elected president, the weak democratic signals by the authorities are overshadowed by widespread repression. How can the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development possibly help under these circumstances? Or put differently: Will the limited benefits to the country's private sector from EBRD engagement really be enough to outweigh the harm done by the bank's support for an undemocratic regime?

On December 18 the EBRD board of directors approved a loan of USD 50 million to finance a project aimed at the expansion of oil operations and reducing gas flaring in Egypt. Yet the tenuous political situation in the country continues to raise concerns about the bank’s ability to make a positive contribution towards the democratic process, and whether it should be investing there at all.