Publications on EU funds

This complaint to the EU Commission was lodged to save the protected Bulgarian Kresna Gorge from a destructive motorway that received EU funding. It alleges that the construction of the controversial motorway is already breaking EU nature laws, and warns that completing the final section through Kresna Gorge nature reserve would be catastrophic for protected animals and plants in the region.

A summary of the complaint is available too. Download the summary.

This statement was signed by 233 organisation.

As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, we have a momentous opportunity to take stock of how far Europe has come – and how far we still have to go in order to offer a sustainable and prosperous future to everyone in Europe. It is an opportunity that we call on you, the leaders of Europe, to seize with both hands. We call on you to show leadership, vision and courage to set Europe on the path to a sustainable future which realises the rights of all people and respects planetary boundaries.

This report published by Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe shows how bad spending plans and a lack of climate commitments from nine central and eastern European governments is hampering Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels.

The research reveals that in CEE countries only 7 per cent of the 178 billion euros in European Regional Development and Cohesion Funds will be invested into renewables, energy efficiency and smart grids, and that the integration of climate considerations into all plans and projects – as required under EU law – remains superficial.

Published after the conclusion of the UN climate negotiations in Paris, Issue 63 of Bankwatch Mail presents ample evidence of how the EBRD and the EIB continue to be firmly tied to fossil fuel financing, in spite of increasing pressure to do more to end support for carbon-intensive sources of energy.

And even when multilateral development banks say they’re doing ‘clean energy’ some of the effects are proving to be catastrophic – as the impacts of IFI-backed hydropower projects across the Balkans show.

We also take a look at the new kid on the IFI block, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and consider among other things how its ambition to be ‘lean, clean, and green’ sits with apparent plans for the new bank to help fire up a lot of coal power plants across Asia.