1/ In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Upper Horizons hydropower complex is reshaping the landscape and threatening the rivers Buna, Bunica and Bregava, as well as Hutovo Blato and the Neretva Delta. 🌊

5 years into the EU's Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, it’s had limited results on the ground. With a new Action Plan endorsed in Oct., our blog examines whether civil society proposals were taken into account, and whether the revised plan can inject new dynamism. bankwatch.org/blog/with-a-...

1/ Europe’s nature is in crisis. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 promised to put nature on the road to recovery. But halfway through, it’s clear: we’re off track. ❌ No increase in protected land and sea areas since 2021 1/2

From 1 January 2026 – in just two months’ time – the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will take full effect. Will it help drive a sustainable and just energy transition in the Western Balkans, or result in a perfect storm? Find out more: bankwatch.org/wp-content/u...

🚨Hydrogen-hype klaxon! Dozens of fossil gas-based hydrogen projects could soon receive EU priority status, threatening to derail Europe’s energy transition. Read a new open letter from 34 civil society groups on the next Projects of Common Interest list: bankwatch.org/publication/...

As the Berlin Process Leaders’ Summit begins in London, 67 CSOs have shared feedback about the 2025 process. Time to move beyond symbolic participation and strengthen civil society’s role. How? 📖 bankwatch.org/wp-content/u...

The Buk Bijela dam on the upper Drina raises major environmental, legal & financial red flags. Closed bids from Chinese firms and a flawed EIA put the river’s future at risk. It’s a risky project putting profits over nature. 📢 Stop Buk Bijela! bankwatch.org/stopbu...

Ugly developments in Romania... the @ec.europa.eu needs to act quickly on this. bankwatch.org/blog/romania...

Researchers say decline in phytoplankton suggests weakened planetary capacity to absorb carbon dioxide 👇 #ClimateChange

🚫 #StopBukBijela – protect the Drina & Piva rivers! Despite legal challenges, Republika Srpska is pushing ahead with the Buk Bijela dam, Montenegro – with Kruševo. No dams on the upper Drina! 🔗 bankwatch.org/stopbukbijela Footage: Ante Gugić, moremedia.hr, Robert Oroz

In July, the European Commission published a proposal for a new post 2027 EU budget. 🚨 Nature is left behind with no dedicated fund and no biodiversity targets. 🔍 Read more about gaps in the next EU budget: bankwatch.org/publication/...

1/2 The revised Green Agenda Action Plan is expected to be adopted or endorsed at the Dubrovnik Summit this week, on 14 to 15 October. But in spite of repeated promises, no public consultation has been held on the Plan.

1/🌿 The Emerald Network is a vital ecological network of protected areas across Europe – helping to safeguard threatened species and natural habitats.

🚫 Stop Buk Bijela! One of 14 dams planned on the Drina, it threatens the Danube salmon 🐟 and rafting tourism 🚣‍♂️. Despite legal violations, the project is moving ahead with a flawed environmental assessment. No dams on the upper Drina! 🔗 bankwatch.org/stopbu...

🏡 On this first ever #WorldVacantHomesDay, we highlight one of the biggest contradictions of our time: too many homes without people, too many people without homes. 🇪🇺 EU countries must prioritise renovating & reallocating vacant houses for social housing.

"Von der Leyen has become the face of EU surrender, of a union powerless in the face of ever-growing global threats. It is an ironic position to be in for someone so obsessed with amassing power within the institution she controls" My IPQ profile of VDL: ip-quarterly.com/en/ursula-vo...

🔋 The Western Balkans have a rare chance to leapfrog fossil gas and build a clean energy system. 🔥 Yet EUR 3.5 billion in gas infrastructure is still being planned, which would lock the region into decades of dependence, pollution and financial risk. Read more: euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...

🚨Western Balkans govts are pushing fossil gas pipelines with an annual import capacity of 10.5 billion cubic metres. These could triple their dependence — or end up as stranded assets. Our new report with @ceebankwatch.bsky.social explains why gas is a dead end. beyondfossilfuels.org/2025/09/25/d...

Check out our opinion piece in the EUObserver today: 🤔 Why are the #WesternBalkans locking themselves into fossil gas dependence when they could leapfrog straight to renewable energy?

Check out our new briefing on gas plans in the #WesternBalkans. Governments are fossil-fooling people that gas is the fuel of the future, but this couldn't be further from the truth. The EU and other international donors need to send clearer messages: no new fossil fuels, cut to a clean future!

Transport works best when institutions & civil society join forces ✅ In Brussels, CSOs from the #WesternBalkans & EU pitched solutions to make transport more transparent, sustainable & inclusive 🎯 Learn more about our and Open Society Western Balkans's event 👇 tinyurl.com/mmx448db

🧵 1/4 🔬💧 Over 600 scientists from across Europe have signed a joint statement calling on the EU to urgently update its water pollution rules. 📢 Freshwater ecosystems are collapsing - and outdated policies aren't keeping up. Full statement ➡️ www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/sc... #HandsOffNature

Every year, billions of vehicles worldwide shed an estimated 6 million tonnes of tire fragments. These tiny flakes of plastic, generated by normal driving, account for 28% of microplastics entering the environment globally. Heavy vehicles eg SUVs/EVs especially. Via @us.theconversation.com

Montenegro's 🇲🇪 government has once again taken leave of its senses and plans to sign a memorandum with a Japanese company tomorrow for an LNG terminal and power plant(s). 40 NGOs and individuals managed to react within 24 hours, demanding a rethink. www.vijesti.me/vijesti/ekon...

You can actually take trains across the Balkans?? Let's find out how

It's a beautiful morning in Zagreb! Welcome to the inaugural run on Slovenske železnice's new service from Ljubljana to Zagreb!

Don’t let the EU tear down nature protection ❌ The European Commission is quietly trying to dismantle the laws that safeguard what we cherish most: our nature. They think we wouldn’t notice or care. But we do. Tell them to keep their #HandsOffNature 👉 handsoffnature.eu

❓What has the European Commission’s EUR 1 billion Energy Support Package for the Western Balkans achieved? ❗We tried to find out, but could only trace EUR 163 million in worthwhile spending. Read our new report: bankwatch.org/publication/... #GAWBNavigator #GreenAgendaNavigator

⚠️The European Commission's new Roadmap towards Nature Credits was published earlier this week. Yet biodiversity credits may be in danger of being a massive distraction from other more effective strategies to improve the state of nature.

REVEALED: Hydrogen industry’s la-la land was awarded almost half a billion euro in EU subsidies in 2024, our latest analysis reveals. Fossil energy giants like Shell and Equinor are among the beneficiaries of a little acknowledged EU infrastructure fund. See here: bankwatch.org/publication/...

⚠️The @ec.europa.eu's new Roadmap towards Nature Credits is out today. But would such credits help mobilise financing for nature, or distract from simpler and better solutions❓ Read our take in our new briefing: bankwatch.org/publication/...

SLAPPs are a way for #fossilfuel giants to legally bully and intimidate anyone who criticises them. Eni, one of the world’s biggest polluters, is doing just that—and in record numbers. We stand with ReCommon, who will not be sued into submission. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Serbia’s dependence on imported fossil gas has brought the district heating sector to its knees. And by keeping gas heating for homes cheaper, the government is applying even more pressure on the sector, writes @natasa-green.bsky.social: bankwatch.org/blog/serbia-...

Interesting story from our friends at Polekol about falsified documents being used to get an energy permit for the Velika Ploča small hydropower plant on the Ratajska river near Prijepolje in southwest Serbia. Hope this finally stops the project! polekol.org/2025/06/27/f...

The war on Europe's NGOs

‘EU policymakers will soon unveil how they plan to spend the next 7 years of EU budget. Yet the only fund dedicated solely to protecting and conserving the environment – the LIFE programme – is at risk of being axed.’ Dan Thomson, Policy officer for biodiversity. More: euobserver.com/eu-political...

EU policymakers will soon unveil how they plan to spend the next seven years of EU budget. Yet the only fund dedicated solely to protecting and conserving the environment – the LIFE programme – is at risk of being axed. Read why it matters in our new op-ed: euobserver.com/eu-political...

1/ 🌱 Nature in Europe is in a pitiful state. The financing gap for biodiversity currently stands at EUR 48 billion annually. Without higher allocations of #EUFunds for nature restoration and conservation, the biodiversity crisis cannot be addressed.

Montenegro is touted as the lead EU accession candidate these days, but it’s unfortunately far from ready. The country’s new national spatial plan, currently in the Parliament, is a prime example. NGOs are calling for a freeze to allow proper consultations to be held. bankwatch.org/blog/montene...

🚨OUR NEW ‘COMPLY OR CLOSE’ REPORT IS OUT🚨 The end of 2024 marked 7 years since coal power plants in the Western Balkans had to meet new air pollution standards. www.complyorclose.org

🧵 Who’s still poisoning the air? Which were the dirtiest coal power plants in the Western Balkans in 2024? 🔥 The ‘champions’ in the sulphur dioxide category are:

👀 Food labels provide information that allows us to choose the food we want to eat, i.e. presence of GMOs.✔️ 💼 But EU politicians are discussing ending the labelling of most #NewGMOs #NGTs ❌ ✊ We demand that politicians defend our freedom of choice and keep all GMOs labelled! #NoGMOsInMyFood

Hurrah, about time! For sure this will take time to roll out, but a good step in the right direction.

Sad to see the works on the Dabar hydropower plant advancing near Nevesinje, 🇧🇦. The Zalomka river is still unharmed, but for how long? The FBiH and 🇭🇷 authorities need to ramp up their efforts to stop interentity/transboundary harm from this terrible project. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rRu...

68 civil society organisations have today issued a joint statement calling on the EU to ensure dedicated funds for environmental protection and just transition of coal-dependent regions in the Western Balkans in the new EU budget. Read more: bankwatch.org/publication/... #GAWBNavigator

Quite sad and frustrating to see North Macedonia, a former climate leader in the Western Balkans, planning to open a new coal mine, breaching its coal phase-out commitments. 🇲🇰 has received quite some donor funds for energy transition, which are now under threat. It must cancel the mine project.

🥳 This year marks 30 years of the CEE Bankwatch Network! We’re celebrating three decades of unwavering commitment to a more just and sustainable future for people and the planet. 💚Explore our impact - bankwatch.org/anniversary

What lies ahead for the just transition in the Western Balkans? And how can the next EU budget support the process? In our latest podcast, we answer these questions with the help of Nevena Smilevska, just transition coordinator for the Western Balkans: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/FPrYaayPpTb

Koridor 5c: Da je u 2017. Prostorni plan rađen kako treba, izbjegla bi se velika kašnjenja. Federacija, EU i međunarodne financijske institucije još uvijek imaju vremena i mogućnosti popraviti situaciju. istina.media/autocesta-kr...

Koridor Vc kroz Hercegovinu: Uložene milijarde koje će vraćati građani BiH, a projekat prate žalbe, nepoštivanje standarda i sumnje u korupciju 6yka.com/bih/u-korido...