The EBRD is the largest single investor in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It was established in 1991 with the aim of assisting with the transition to market-oriented economies and democracy. BIC is monitoring controversial extractive and energy-related projects funded by the Bank.
The EBRD has invested more than $27 billion in 28 countries in the region since its establishment in 1991. The Bank provides loans, equity investments and guarantees for private and public sector projects in the areas of finance, infrastructure, industry and energy. It is based in London, England.
The primary civil society concerns with the EBRD include:
- weaknesses in environmental and social policies
- lack of transparency
- insufficient access and influence for local communities to projects that affect them, and
- the lending priorities of the Bank
Of particular concern have been projects related to hydrocarbon production and large infrastructure. The EBRD's Energy, Environmental, and Public Information Policies and the operation of its Independent Recourse Mechanism have also recently been the targets of some CSO advocacy efforts (CEE Bankwatch website).
BIC's work on the EBRD
The Bank Information Center monitors EBRD lending activities in the region with a particular focus on extractive industries, several policy revision processes and two controversial EBRD-funded projects - the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BIC website) and Sakhalin II (BIC website).