Home >> News Media >> Blog >> Ifi >> EBRD blogs

EBRD blogs

Western Balkans electricity plans: where will all that power go?
March 23, 2015

Western Balkan countries have ambitious plans to increase their electricity generation over the next years. But what will happen if they all become a regional energy hub? Will there be a demand for all the available electricity?

Chinese investors
Commercial banks
EBRD
Energy & climate
Social & economic impacts
Balkans, Boskov Most, coal, E.on, electricity, Enel, energy exports, EU neighbourhood, hydropower, stranded assets, Tuzla, Western Balkans
Agro business shooting star in Ukraine turns into nightmare for investors
February 18, 2015

The story of the defaulted company Mriya Agro Holding shows what risks investors and creditors are willing to take in the pursuit of profit in Ukraine’s agribusiness. Major creditors, including the International Finance Corporation and export credit agencies have been left with little hopes of recoveries. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has escaped the financial loss by a hair's-breadth.

EBRD
Export credit agencies
World Bank Group
Social & economic impacts
Development
agribusiness, agriculture, CEE, default, EU neighbourhood, farming, financial risk, Mryia, Ukraine
EU priority gas pipeline faces fierce opposition in Italy
February 17, 2015

The European Investment Bank recently confirmed plans to finance the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline from Greece via Albania to Italy. Yet a coalition of local mayors will do whatever it takes to stop the project.

EBRD
EIB
Energy & climate
Social & economic impacts
Development
Apulia, Counter Balance, EU, EU neighbourhood, Lecce, natural gas, PCI, Southern Gas Corridor
Natural gas left, right and centre at Energy Union conference in Riga
February 11, 2015

Massive infrastructure for transporting natural gas is shaping up to be a centre piece of the Energy Union put forward by the Juncker Commission. This was also the impression Bankwatch campaigners had at an Energy Union conference in Riga last week.

EBRD
EIB
Energy & climate
Other harmful projects
Development
Canete, energy, Energy Union, EU, EU neighbourhood, infrastructure, natural gas, Riga, Southern Gas Corridor
New arrests should dampen Serbia's appetite for coal
February 4, 2015

Corruption cases continue to haunt Serbia’s coal sector as a new round of arrests last week has shown. They also illustrate how the dependence on coal creates vulnerabilities for Serbia’s energy sector and potentially its financiers, in particular in the aftermath of last year’s floods.

Chinese investors
EBRD
Energy & climate
Social & economic impacts
Balkans, coal, corruption, EU neighbourhood, floods, Kostolac, lignite, mining, Soko, Štavalj
European Investment Bank confirms plans to finance Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
February 4, 2015

On February 2, during the annual meeting between civil society and the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Board of Directors, the EIB revealed that the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) was among its priority projects for 2015 in the Balkans.[*]

The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, planned to stretch from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy, is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, a chain of projects meant to bring natural gas to Europe from the Shah Deniz offshore gas field in Azerbaijan.

EBRD
EIB
Energy & climate
Social & economic impacts
Development
Caucasus, development, energy, EU, EU neighbourhood, human rights, infrastructure, Lukoil, natural gas, Southern Gas Corridor, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
Citizens of Romanian town protest against EBRD long-term "strategic" client Kronospan
January 23, 2015

Protests against a new Kronospan formaldehyde plant in the Romanian town of Sebes continue into their third week. Their history dates more than ten years back when the company came to modernise the local plant with financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The ongoing demands for breathable air cast a shadow over the EBRD’s promises of sustainable development and transition.

EBRD
Social & economic impacts
Development
Balkans, development, EU, formaldehyde, Kronospan, local communities, local impacts, manufacturing, pollution, protests, transition
Guest post: Mongolian herders file complaint with EBRD about Mongolian iron ore company
January 21, 2015

Herders from the Gobi Altai mountains in western Mongolia have filed a complaint with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The complaint addresses the company Altain Khuder, which at its Tayan Nuur iron ore mine has allegedly caused significant environmental pollution and the displacement of herders in the Mongolian Gobi Altai mountains.

EBRD
Social & economic impacts
Development
Mining
Altain Khuder, Central Asia, Gobi Altai, mining, SOMO, Tayan Nuur
All we want for Christmas is to be able to breathe ...
December 23, 2014

As you're gearing up for the festive season, spare a thought for the long-suffering folks in Pljevlja, Montenegro, and Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are fighting against serious pollution of air soil, and water.

EBRD
Energy & climate
ArcelorMittal, Balkans, coal, EU neighbourhood, Pjevlja, pollution, protest, Zenica
Dust, displacement, intimidation - Mongolian herders are under pressure by iron ore mine
December 9, 2014

Herders in the Mongolian Gobi Altai mountains are facing pollution and displacement by an iron ore mine. The mining company Altain Khuder responds to criticism with intimidation. The financier, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is not doing enough to protect herders’ rights.

EBRD
Social & economic impacts
Mining
Altain Khuder, Central Asia, displacement, dust, Gobi Altai, herders, iron ore, local communities, mining, nomads, OT Watch, pollution, Tayan Nuur

Connect with us online

Facebook   Twitter   YouTube   RSS feed