Counter Balance

In the context of the Covid-19 crisis, this question holds a significant importance, as there are vivid discussions taking place around the public provision of essential public services and risks linked to privatisations. And looking back into how EU public finance has performed in the recent past is an important exercise for mistakes not to be repeated in future economic recovery plans at European level […]

Azerbaijan’s Laundromat scandal raises concerns over the EU’s growing business ties with the authoritarian regime Brussels, 6 September 2017 – Statement by CEE Bankwatch Network, Counter Balance and Friends of the Earth Europe Adding up to the list of shady practices of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian regime the Azerbaijani Laundromat corruption scheme raises serious concerns over the […]

Brussels, 2 March 2017 The European Investment Bank (EIB) is being investigated for maladministration, after the European Ombudsman sent a formal letter opening the case this week (27 February 2017). The investigation comes after ClientEarth, CEE Bankwatch Network and Counter Balance highlighted the lack of transparency at the bank, and its attempts to block scrutiny. […]

By Anna Roggenbuck, originally published by Bankwatch Ministers, ambassadors and envoys from at least 15 countries, including Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission’s Vice President for the Energy Union, are gathered today in the Azerbaijani capital to discuss the progress on the Southern Gas Corridor, the largest energy project the EU is currently pursuing. But over […]

Counter Balance supports the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards, launched by CAN Europe. Most governments don’t like to talk about the fact that they are giving money to fossil fuels, and in some cases they do what they can to hide them. It is simply unfair to European citizens to keep these subsidies in the […]

Numerous farmers and land owners in Albania feel they are sidelined by Europe’s dash for gas By Bankwatch Read the photostory here.

Rural communities in northern Greece are determined to prevent the EU’s most extravagant energy project from scarring their land By Elena Gerebizza, Re:common. Originally published by Bankwatch. Read the photostory here.

— Brussels, 28 September 2016 – Cash that should be flowing into projects that boost environmental sustainability is instead fuelling outdated carbon-intensive projects like motorways, airports, and fossil-fuel infrastructure, according to a new report on Europe’s investment plan released today [1]. The report analyses projects approved by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in […]

By Anna Roggenbuck, originally published by CEE Bankwatch Network. What is a perceived source of security for some can be a source of instability for others’ lives. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the most western part of the Southern Gas Corridor, a pipeline project to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe is promoted by the […]

Increasingly, communities and civil society organisations who speak out about development activities are finding themselves under attack. In this reality of criminalisation of human rights and environmental defenders and shrinking space for participation in development, development banks have a responsibility to ensure that their activities do not cause or contribute to human rights violations, including […]