Counter Balance

MEPs to vote on new loan in April. Tunisia is already paying more to its Western creditors than it receives in loans and grants, and almost all of the new loan would be used for debt repayments. Civil society groups from Tunisia and Europe are urging the European Parliament to concentrate on debt relief instead […]

The current review of the European Investment Bank’s mandate for lending outside of the EU brings some of the pitfalls of the bank’s development lending to the fore and offers a chance for improvements. “The European Investment Bank is not a development bank, it is an investment bank designed to support EU policies, including external […]

Strasbourg – The European Parliament adopted the Bütikofer report (1) on the Commission’s Raw Materials Initiative today. The report calls for strict standards and transparency in mining activities and the need for development in the host country. It specifically asks the European Investment Bank (EIB), which has a record of supporting controversial mining projects on […]

BRUSSELS – In an open letter addressed to the EU president, the EU presidency and the European commission, 50 MEPs from 4 different political parties (S&D, Greens, Gue/Nordic Left and ALDE) call for “a moratorium on EU public financing for mining projects until adequate standards and regulations are in place.” “The added value of mining […]

Short summary of Nigerian case study to be presented: “In poor countries [corruption] can kill. Money meant for drugs for a sick child, or to build a hospital, can be siphoned off into overseas bank accounts or to build a luxury house”, Hilary Benn, former UK Secretary of State for International Development Through a private […]

Strasbourg – Voting today on the 2009 annual report of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Parliament (EP) has called on the bank to „bring its operations fully into line with an EU objective of a swift transition to a low-carbon economy and to adopt a plan for the phase-out of fossil fuel lending.” […]