Home >> Our Work >> Energy lending in south-eastern Europe

Energy lending in south-eastern Europe

South-eastern Europe is riddled with poor planning and corruption in the energy sector and its governments are proving slow to react to the challenges and opportunities offered by the decarbonisation agenda.


Above: planned coal power plants in south-eastern Europe

This should be an opportunity for international lenders like the EBRD, the EIB and the World Bank to promote energy efficiency and sustainable renewables to shift the region's energy sectors towards lower carbon emissions.

So far, however, it is only happening in a few positive exceptions as our study and the projects that we monitor show.

Infographic
The damaging Projects of Energy Community Interest (click to see full size)

Note: This infographic is out of date. It contains projects that were not accepted as priority projects. For comparison, see the final list of approved PECIs.

The European Energy Community

The European Energy Community was established between the EU and a number of third countries in order to extend the EU internal energy market to south-eastern Europe and beyond. (Members include the EU, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova, Kosovo, plus Ukraine.)

The Community's priority projects, however, are set to include several environmentally damaging coal and hydropower projects that will be fast-tracked for financing over the next years.

Read more:
Dirty power plants in Europe's Neighbourhood set to become EU priority
Press release | October 22, 2013

Western Balkans and Ukraine: EC-backed Energy Community to prioritise coal plants that threaten EU long-term climate targets (pdf)
Briefing | October 22, 2013

 

 

Related news

Public in Bosnia-Herzegovina to pay for shaky economics of Tuzla 7 coal plant, but will officials take heed?
Blog entry | July 21, 2014

After several years of developments related to a seventh unit at the Tuzla power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the public is now able to understand the plant's economics, thanks to a document published in the run-up to a debate in the Federation of BiH parliament this week. It might have been a better idea to have this debate earlier, considering that the news is not exactly good for the project developer, Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH).

Energy & climate
Balkans, BiH, coal, energy, Energy Community, power, Tuzla
EBRD in Serbia: Don't use floods to prop up coal
Press release | July 7, 2014

The EBRD should stick to its newly approved Energy Strategy and reject any investments in the Serbian coal sector, argue a group of 7 international NGOs in a letter sent to the bank’s board of directors today. The groups were concerned with recent statements by the EBRD according to which the bank’s regional flood response in the Balkans could include “rehabilitation of (…) damaged power stations and transmission and distribution networks.”

EBRD
Energy & climate
Balkans, coal, EU neighbourhood, floods, Kolubara, Kostolac, Nikola Tesla, Serbia
Balkans face need to increase power imports in 2014
Bankwatch in the media | July 3, 2014

SARAJEVO, July 2 (Reuters) - An over-reliance on coal and scant progress in diversifying energy sources will force Balkan nations to increase power imports to keep the lights on this winter and drag down their struggling economies, traders and experts say.

Energy & climate
Balkans
Cleaning up south-east Europe’s energy sector
Bankwatch in the media | July 2, 2014

Levels of corruption in south-east Europe are notoriously high – especially in the energy sector.

Energy & climate
Balkans
Serbian government props up almighty coal
Blog entry | July 2, 2014

A new report by the Belgrade-based NGO CRTA shows that the Serbian government is supporting the Kostolac coal power plant and mines with loan guarantees and potentially VAT exemptions. Propping up the already dominant coal sector, however, will likely further increase Serbia’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. Increasing Serbia's energy efficiency and renewables generation would be the wiser choice.

Energy & climate
Balkans, Chinese investors, coal, Energy Community, EPS, EU neighbourhood, Kings of Coal, Kostolac, resilience, Serbia, state aid, subsidies

China in the Western Balkans

China has risen to become a major player in the dam building business and is appearing ever more frequently in central and eastern Europe.

Read more:
Doing more than just spotting the elephant: a new resource for campaigning on China, dams and finance
Blog post | November 27, 2012

 

Report on lending figures

Download the report

More publications

Connect with us online

Facebook   Twitter   YouTube   RSS feed