latest policy dialogue

15 December, Yerevan, Armenia

As part of an ongoing policy dialogue with civil society, the Yerevan RO held its traditional annual breakfast meeting with local CSOs on 15 December. The representatives of the Centre for Agribusiness and Rural Development (CARD), Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen in Armenia (UMBA), NGO Green Lane and NGO EcoLur took part in the meeting.

Valeriu Razlog, Head of Yerevan RO, introduced the activities and projects of the EBRD that have been signed in 2009 and presented the future strategy of the Bank in Armenia. During a lively and frank discussion, the participants expressed their views on the business environment and obstacles for business expansion in Armenia, as well as the impact of the global economic crisis on the development of the agricultural sector in the country. Social and environmental standards in mining and energy projects in Armenia were also discussed.

9 July 2009, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Michael Weinstein, the new Director for Kazakhstan, met with the representatives of the Kazakhstan Public Policy Research Centre, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, Eurasia Foundation, Counterpart International and Kazakhstan Institute of Management Economics and Strategic Research. Kazakh think tanks and foundations were interested in discussing the recent developments in Kazakhstan banking sector, i.e. nationalization of banks; diversification of economy, as well as an anti-crisis program launched by the government to protect Kazakhstan from the downturn.

8 July 2009, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Representatives of the Sange Research Center, NGO Legal Initiative, Green Salvation and Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human rights met with Michael Weinstein, the new Director for Kazakhstan. The main topics of discussion were environmental, social and labour issues in large-scale projects, such as ArcelorMittal and South-West Corridor. The development of the SME and MSE sectors, including the Bank’s BAS Programme activities, and issues of gas flaring and gas utilization were also discussed.

27 March, Kiev, Ukraine

A half-day multi-stakeholder consultation workshop on the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) Phase 2 took place on 27 March in Kiev. Nearly 40 representatives of Ukrainian NGOs, think-tanks, academia, private sector and relevant ministries took part in the meeting. Josue Tanaka, Corporate Director of Strategic and Corporate Planning and Sergiy Maslichenko, Business Development Manager at the Kiev RO, shared the results from the SEI Phase 1 with participants and sought their feedback on the Bank's plans for the second phase. The civil society participants familiarised the Bank with the local context – both the potential and constraints – for promoting energy efficiency in Ukrainian cities and the use of biomass. The representatives of private companies presented several practical applications of new technologies to promote sustainable energy.

25 March, London, UK

The EBRD's President Mirow and senior management met the representatives of Human Rights Watch, Transparency International Russia, Global Witness, One World Trust and CEE Bankwatch at London HQ on 25 March.

The organisations presented their views and perspectives on a wide range of topics. The main issues raised include: transparency and accountability of the Bank and its clients; the Bank’s approach to public consultations and stakeholder engagement; human rights issues in Central Asia; and the implications of the global economic crisis on the Bank’s activities. With regards to projects, the Bank’s investments in ArcelorMittal and the potential financing of the Nabucco pipeline were raised.

6 March, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

In preparation for the Civil Society Programme of the 2009 Annual Meeting and to introduce the new Head of the Sarajevo RO, Giulio Moreno, the representatives of seven local organisations from the Federation and Republika Srpska working on issues such as environmental and sustainable development, development of civil society, gender and microfinance met Giulio Moreno and Biljana Radonjic Ker-Lindsay, NGO Relations Manager on 6 March.

NGO participants were keen to learn about the Bank’s work in Bosnia and potential cooperation in the microfinance sector. NGOs voiced concerns about the EBRD’s investment in ArcelorMittal in Bosnia and Corridor 5 and urged the Bank to increase its investments in rail transport and renewable energy.

26 March – 8 April 2008, Public consultations on the Environment and Social Policy and Public Information Policy

As part of the revision of the 2003 Environmental Policy and the 2006 Public Information Policy, EBRD staff and management from the Environment and Sustainability Department, Office of the Secretary General and NGO Relations Unit undertook a series of one-day public consultation meetings in Budapest, Belgrade, Moscow, Tbilisi, Bishkek and London in March and April. The Bank allocated special funds to enable a number of relevant organisations to take part in consultations in order to ensure full and accessible participation. All of the meetings were well attended and dynamic. The participants were mainly NGOs but also the representatives of governments, academia, the media and the corporate sector. As a result of this exercise, the Bank received a number of constructive comments - around 700 for ESP and 100 for PIP - which were all taken into account and significantly aided the policy review. The civil society groups valued the opportunity to have a direct dialogue with the officials of the Bank and provide their comments on the policies. They emphasised that the EBRD’s comprehensive and wide reaching public consultations provided an example for other IFIs to follow.

2008 Environmental and Social Policy  (0.7Mb) I Report on stakeholder consultation 2006-2008  (0.6Mb)
2008 Public Information Policy  (0.2Mb) I Summary of public comments  (0.1Mb)