Publications

The letter to representatives of the UN Global Compact gives details on the failure to respect commitments under the Global Compact initiative by the construction company Vinci in connection with the Moscow St. Petersburg motorway project (near Khimki).

The European Commission's announced plans to give the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction leading roles in promoting democratisation and development in the Southern Mediterranean region.

Counter Balance and Bankwatch are concerned that both institutions first need to demonstrate their ability to bring environmentally sustainable and socially positive development impacts. We also call for an immediate investigation into the EIB financing to the Mediterranean so far, to examine whether corrupted elites have benefited from the bank's loans.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's transition indicators for some time already were rather disconnected from the situation in the EBRD's countries of operation. Our comments are premised on the point that the ultimate goal of transition is not only a market economy, but an environmentally sustainable and socially just one.

The European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) strategy paper 2007-2013 for the eastern neighbourhood region involves contradictory strategic objectives. The first of these is sustainable development and environmental protection, which underpins all EU legislation and policies. However, the second priority, the need to ensure the diversification and security of energy supplies to the EU, emphasises the need for further extraction and transportation of the Caspian Seas oil and gas resources to Europe, and thus prioritises it over the development of an environmentally friendly energy sector within the region.

The complaint, filed with the European Investment Bank by Focus Association for Sustainable Development (SI) calls on the bank to withdraw its approval for the project.

The complaint addresses the following aspects:

• premature disbursement of funds
• failure to assess the project's compatibility with the 2050 climate targets
• misleading claims that TEŠ 6 is only a replacement and not an expansion
• missing clear governmental support to the project

A coalition of major Russian NGOs is urging President Barrosso to make sure that EU financing institutions halt their participation in toll motorway projects in Russia until there are serious improvements in the human rights and public participation situation associated with these projects.