The environmental record of the outgoing European Commission is worryingly off target, the 'Green 10' coalition of leading environmental organisations said today in Brussels. Environmental groups published an assessment of the Barroso Commission, giving it an overall mark of 4.4/10.

In all, the 'Green 10' report examines successes and failures in 12 policy areas that impact the environment, and sets out a checklist for the next Commission. The Green 10 blamed the low score on, among other things, a failure to reform agriculture and fisheries policies, and, more broadly, to propose sustainable economic policies. But there were some positive notes, notably in climate, energy and transport policy.

The election of a new European Parliament on June 4-7 is an important moment, the Green 10 group of European environmental organisations believes, to instil a new vision of the EU in the world: an agenda not based on fear, plundering of resources and ecosystems, economic competition or political domination. This vision should be based on Europe’s principle values: peace, cooperation, integration, solidarity and respect for human rights and environmental protection.

While the challenges Europe and the world face seem at first glance divergent, Bankwatch and our Green 10 partners believe that many are, at heart, environmental. Read more here about what can be done to tackle these environmental challenges root and branch, as laid out in the Green 10's environmental roadmap for 2009-2014.  

Fourteen non-governmental organisations from six south east European countries have today called on regional decision-makers to stop using the Energy Community of South East Europe (ECSEE) process as a vehicle to promote climate-damaging oil and lignite projects.

In a joint letter sent ahead of a meeting of south east European energy ministers tomorrow (December 11) in Tirana, Albania, the groups have urged regional governments not to rubber stamp an indicative list of 19 priority energy generation projects for the region worth more than EUR 8 billion, as not one involves renewable energy and several are expected to have serious impacts on air quality, climate and biodiversity.

The fast-track promotion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in central and eastern Europe (CEE) is delivering overpriced infrastructure projects and threatens to aggravate public sector financial burdens in years to come, according to evidence presented in “Never mind the balance sheet", a new report launched today by CEE Bankwatch Network.

Already proven in western Europe to be a highly dubious investment vehicle for major infrastructure projects, PPPs are receiving renewed interest from policy-makers. The European Commission yesterday referenced PPPs in its “smart mix” for European economic recovery, and public financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) appear intent on increasing their involvement in PPPs in CEE countries, in spite of demands for fiscal prudence in national budgets and misgivings about the appropriateness of PPPs.