Civil society concerns about EBRD expansion into North Africa

As a result of the recent revolts in the Southern Mediterranean, the European Commission proposed March 8 that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development be given a leading role in promoting democratisation and development in the region.

CEE Bankwatch Network and 28 NGOs from Western and Eastern Europe have addressed an open letter to the EBRD to express concern over the expansion of the bank's operations into the Southern Mediterranean and to call on the bank's shareholders not to approve this expansion of the bank's mandate.

The NGOs argue that the EBRD's mandate should not be expanded for the foreseeable future, not until the bank has gained more experience in poverty reduction and gender issues and has demonstrated an ability to achieve an environmentally sustainable and socially just transition.