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БанкМонитор июль 2003 |
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Название: Бюллетень MDBNews 29/03 (на англ. языке). Главные Пункты: * Пресс-релизы НПО: "ЕИБ не подходит для инвестирования", - заявляет Банк Голландии" (Bankwatch, FoEI); "Члены парламента подвергли резкой критике экологические "достижения" Департамента обеспечения экспортного контроля" (Baku Ceyhan, FoE). * Резкие сокращения бюджета представлены на рассмотрение грузинского парламента. * Государственный чиновник: армянская атомная станция может безопасно функционировать еще 14 лет. (31.07.2003) Полный Текст Бюллетень MDBNews 29/03 (на англ. языке). Бюллетень MDBNews 29/03 (на англ. языке). *** NGOs press releases 1. EIB NOT FIT TO INVEST IN SAYS DUTCH BANK (Bankwatch* FoEI, July 17) 2. MPs SLAM EXPORT FUNDING BODY'S GREEN RECORD (Baku Ceyhan* FoE, July 17) News 1. SHARP BUDGET CUTS SUBMITTED TO GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT (RFE/RL, July 15) 2. OFFICIAL: ARMENIAN NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT SAFE FOR ANOTHER 14 YEARS (RFE/RL, July 21) NGOs press releases EIB NOT FIT TO INVEST IN SAYS DUTCH BANK (Bankwatch* FoEI, July 17) Socially responsible Dutch bank withdraws investment due to the EIB's weak environmental and social performance Friends of the Earth International and the CEE Bankwatch Network welcome the decision from Dutch bank ASN to terminate its investment in the European Investment Bank. The NGOs urge all socially responsible investors who are mindful of the environment and sustainable development to follow ASN's example and stop buying EIB bonds. This follows ASN's announcement yesterday that it will be immediately withdrawing investment money from both the EIB and the World Bank. Recent ASN research found that, "In the areas of environmental, social and human rights policies the EIB scores insufficiently for ASN to continue its investment." The EIB's lack of transparency was another important factor behind ASN's decision. The Bank has promised to sell the EIB bonds which it currently holds. Jeroen Jansen, ASN Vice-Director, revealed that ASN wants to send a message that it is absolutely unacceptable for the EIB - major multi-national investor that it is - not to adhere to the sustainability standards required of an institution of this magnitude. Magda Stoczkiewicz, leading the EIB reform campaign on behalf of Friends of the Earth International and CEE Bankwatch Network, adds: "We are very pleased with ASN's decision and can only hope other socially responsible investors will follow ASN's lead. In the last couple of years we have been highlighting many of the EIB's institutional and operation failings which have now also been revealed by ASN: its lack of transparency, its threadbare environmental expertise and standards, as well as the detrimental impact of many of its financed projects on people and the environment." The EIB is owned by the 15 member EU states, with the respective countries' finance ministers acting as the bank's governors. Stoczkiewicz continues: "The EIB governors should take a closer look at this institution and pressure for reforms." The Bank was recently given further capital (increased to EUR 150 billion in June 2002) and a bigger mandate within as well as outside the European Community. It is regarded by the member states as a good source of money which can help to balance budgets. This function is clearly spelled out in the Italian Presidency's recent proposal for boosting Euro zone economies by investing in Trans-European Network infrastructure. The EIB will have a leading financial role in this initiative. "European leaders are never slow to voice their concerns on environmental and social issues. If this is not to be yet more hollow rhetoric they need to urgently put the biggest financing institution in the world - the European Investment Bank - under the spotlight and undertake immediate reforms" - sums up Stoczkiewicz. For further information: Magda Stoczkiewicz, CEE Bankwatch/FoEI +31 20 622 13 69 or mobile +31 652 41 03 23 Information on the EIB reform campaign is available at: http://www.bankwatch.org/issues/eib/meib.html The ASN Bank press release can be found on: www.asnbank.nl under news Information on the Trans-European Network is available at: http://www.bankwatch.org\issues\mtransport.html *** MPs SLAM EXPORT FUNDING BODY'S GREEN RECORD (Baku Ceyhan* FoE, July 17) Caspian pipeline decision will be test of ECGD's environment policy say campaigners Environment and human rights groups today welcomed a report by MPs criticising the environmental record of the Government's controversial Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). [1] The ECGD's role is to provide guarantees, a form of insurance against non-payment, for exporters. Campaigners have argued that ECGD has repeatedly supporting damaging overseas projects, and failed to adequately take environmental and social concerns into account. Launching today's report, John Horam MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, commented, "Despite a commitment to take sustainable development into account in considering applications for support, there has been little noticeable change in the balance of ECGD's portfolio, which remains dominated by projects in unsustainable sectors". [2] Friends of the Earth campaigner Hannah Griffiths, commented, "We welcome this report which highlights many of the ECGD's worst failings, and it is important that the Committee's recommendations are quickly implemented. But ultimately the remit of the ECGD must be changed so that it actively promotes sustainable development". The biggest project currently being considered by ECGD is oil giant BP's highly controversial $3.5 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Campaigners say that the pipeline will cause human rights problems in Azerbaijan and Kurdish regions of Turkey, and will badly damage important National Parks in Georgia. The ECGD is expected to make a decision on whether to support the pipeline this autumn [3]. The pipeline has already applied for, what BP has called, "free public money" from the World Bank and the European Bank of Reconstruction & Development. The ECGD has been reviewing the project, including a trip along the route last month, and a formal application from BP is expected soon. Greg Muttitt, of the Baku Ceyhan Campaign, commented, "The ECGD's handling of the BTC pipeline case will show how seriously it takes these criticisms. If it accepts the Committee's recommendations, it cannot support the pipeline proposal as it currently stands." In particular, the Environmental Audit Committee recommends that "as a matter of urgency, ECGD - ensure that its practices adhere to EU regulations on environmental information". Campaigners have shown that the BTC pipeline breaks the EU Environmental Impact Assessment Directive on nine counts. [4] Greg Muttitt added, "It is shocking that the ECGD is considering spending more than its entire renewable energy budget on one single oil project. There is surely a distorted sense of priorities". [5] Further information Hannah Griffiths, Friends of the Earth: 07855 841 994 Greg Muttitt, Baku Ceyhan Campaign: 020 8880 1767 / 07970 589 611# Friends of the earth Press office: 020 7566 1649 Notes for editors [1]: The Environmental Audit Committee published its report, Export Credits Guarantee Department and Sustainable Development, at 11am on Thursday 17 July 2003. Copies will be on the website www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/environmental_audit_committee/eac_14_07_03.cfm at 3.30pm, or can be obtained by telephoning 020 7219 6150. [2]: see Environmental Audit Committee press release, `ECGD and sustainable development report publication', 17 July 2003 [3]: For details of concerns about the pipeline, see www.baku.org.uk [4]: Research on breaches of the EC Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment, Prepared by The Corner House, is available on reuqest Breaches include: that construction began before an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was approved by the government that flora and fauna surveys were inadequate. The bird survey, for example, was undertaken during one season and over just a couple of weeks. In the case of the Ulas and Alacorak lakes area - currently being considered for listing as an Internationally Important Wetland under the Ramsar Convention - the survey team spent just one day on site. that there was poor and insufficient consultation with affected communities. that broader impacts, such as climate change, or the effect of spills on Mediterranean countries, were not adequately considered. [5]: ECGD's renewable energy fund is ?50 million a year. ECGD support for the BTC pipeline alone is expected to amount to between ?60 and ?100 million. *** News SHARP BUDGET CUTS SUBMITTED TO GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT (RFE/RL, July 15) In response to recent recommendations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), President Eduard Shevardnadze presented a new package of severe budget cuts to the parliament on 14 July, Civil Georgia reported. The 95.5 million laris ($44 million) reductions in spending follows strong pressure by the IMF on the Georgian government to tackle its large budget deficit, now 1.7 percent of the country's GDP. The IMF also urged Tbilisi to increase revenue by 40 million laris, raise electricity tariffs, and add the more than 220-million-lari pension and state-sector-wage arrears for 1998-2000 to the country's domestic debt (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 2003). *** OFFICIAL: ARMENIAN NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT SAFE FOR ANOTHER 14 YEARS (RFE/RL, July 21) Armenian State Atomic Energy Inspection Service head Ashot Martirosian announced on 20 July that the country's nuclear-power plant can safely operate for another 14 years, ITAR-TASS reported. He added that the Medzamor facility, located just outside Yerevan, is subject to constant monitoring and safety inspections. Security at the Soviet-era plant has been increased in recent weeks. The plant provides more than 40 percent of the country's energy. It was first opened in 1979, but was shut down in 1989 after a devastating earthquake. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) financed the reactivation of Medzamor in 1995 on the precondition that the plant close by 2004. In December 1998, Armenian officials confirmed their readiness to comply with the deadline, but they have argued in recent years that the plant cannot be shut down until an alternative source of energy is available (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 December 1998, 19 June 2001, and 8 April 2002). The European Union is pressuring the Armenian government to close the aging plant, promising some 100 million euros ($117 million) to assist in the transition to alternative energy sources (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 June 2003). [URL: -] |