News
[Press release] Public in danger of being short-changed by new South East European Public-Private Partnership Network
(November 30, 2009)
The new South East European Public-Private Partnership Network launched in Sarajevo today risks promoting overpriced infrastructure projects and aggravating public sector financial burdens, according to South East Europe Development Watch (SEEDW), a coalition of regional NGOs.
Originating in the UK, public-private partnerships (PPPs) consist of a private company constructing and operating public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals or motorways, and the government either renting the facility through an ‘availability fee’ or users paying the company directly, e.g. toll motorways. The contracts often last for several decades. The PPP model has been heavily criticised for delivering overpriced projects, with high profits and low risks for investors, while the taxpayer pays the bill.
Originating in the UK, public-private partnerships (PPPs) consist of a private company constructing and operating public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals or motorways, and the government either renting the facility through an ‘availability fee’ or users paying the company directly, e.g. toll motorways. The contracts often last for several decades. The PPP model has been heavily criticised for delivering overpriced projects, with high profits and low risks for investors, while the taxpayer pays the bill.
[Highlight] Public opinion strongly against another fossil fuel project in Albania
(October 21, 2009)
Bankwatch's partner in Albania, the environmental NGO EDEN, has been busy canvassing local opinion in Albania's second largest city Durrës about the Porto Romano coal-fired thermal power plant, proposed for development next to the port city by Italian energy giant Enel.
EDEN found strong public opposition to the project which may already be attracting attention from international public funders such as the EBRD that have dived into carbon-heavy investments in Albania in the past.
Read all about the survey findings on EDEN's website and Enel's shoddy project preparations in this just published Balkan Insight article.
EDEN found strong public opposition to the project which may already be attracting attention from international public funders such as the EBRD that have dived into carbon-heavy investments in Albania in the past.
Read all about the survey findings on EDEN's website and Enel's shoddy project preparations in this just published Balkan Insight article.
[Press release] Bulldozing Belgrade Roma slum brings more questions than answers, say NGOs
(September 2, 2009)
Monday’s dramatic dawn operation to resettle 178 predominantly Roma families from Belgrade’s Gazela slum settlement violated international standards for involuntary resettlement and at best can only be regarded as a temporary measure, according to civil society organisations CEKOR from Serbia and CEE Bankwatch Network.
The resettlement of the community that lived below the Gazela Bridge is part of a wider project for the reconstruction of the bridge across the River Sava , backed by European taxpayer money to the tune of 25 million euros. However donor requirements to follow World Bank Group resettlement standards have been completely ignored by Belgrade City Council.
The resettlement of the community that lived below the Gazela Bridge is part of a wider project for the reconstruction of the bridge across the River Sava , backed by European taxpayer money to the tune of 25 million euros. However donor requirements to follow World Bank Group resettlement standards have been completely ignored by Belgrade City Council.
[Press release] Real energy security from energy efficiency not Nabucco says Bankwatch
(July 13, 2009)
Reacting to the signing today in Ankara, Turkey of the intergovernmental agreement for the Nabucco pipeline project, the environmental and public funds watchdog group CEE Bankwatch Network questioned how the EUR 8 billion project can deliver energy security for the European Union and warned its potential public funders – the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – that in times of economic and environmental crisis billions of euros of public money for Nabucco could be deployed far more effectively on tangible energy saving initiatives in central and eastern Europe.
Piotr Trzaskowski, Bankwatch's energy coordinator, said: "Nabucco is being pushed hard by the European Union as a means to provide greater energy security for Europe, and in particular as a way to decrease reliance on Russian gas. Yet there remain deep uncertainties over the supply issues and about the project's overall economics. A host of environmental questions also still have to be tackled for this 3300 kilometre pipeline that is set to traverse a number of EU member states and inevitably collide with EU environmental law."
Piotr Trzaskowski, Bankwatch's energy coordinator, said: "Nabucco is being pushed hard by the European Union as a means to provide greater energy security for Europe, and in particular as a way to decrease reliance on Russian gas. Yet there remain deep uncertainties over the supply issues and about the project's overall economics. A host of environmental questions also still have to be tackled for this 3300 kilometre pipeline that is set to traverse a number of EU member states and inevitably collide with EU environmental law."
