Counter Balance

Green Hydrogen or Green Colonialism?

🎧 New season of #EUWatchdogRadio is out!

This episode dives into the EU’s green hydrogen plans in Morocco 🇲🇦 and what they really mean for energy sovereignty, local communities & gender justice.

🎙️ With @loraverheecke.bsky.social & Hikma Bachegour
@menafem.bsky.social

Listen here 👇

New season coming soon!

🎙️ Stay tuned for a new season of EU Watchdog Radio!

A podcast launched by @counter-balance.bsky.social and @corporateeurope.org.

In each episode, we dive deeper into topics related to our activities in Brussels. 🇪🇺👇

Yesterday, we heard the @eib.org speak about win-win partnerships and boosting defense spending to secure the EU’s strategic interests. 🇪🇺💬

But when we asked about the EIF venture capital invested in Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions, there were no answers. Silence speaks volumes. 🤐🩸

The EIB’s mandate is to support economic, social and environmental development. 🌳🏡🚉📚

❌Funding military projects does none of that. A true “climate bank” should prioritise life, not war.

This approach contradicts the role of EIB as the Climate Bank. The military activity leaves a massive environmental footprint:

➡️ Raw material extraction
➡️ Weapons manufacturing
➡️ Ecosystem destruction during conflicts
➡️ Toxic waste and long-term emissions from decommissioning

A/HRC/59/23: From economy of occupation to economy of genocide - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 This report investigates the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory. While political leaders and...

✊ The increase of defence spending has not been followed by an increase in democracy and respect of international law.

The EIB is financing €1 billion of projects in Israel. Several EU companies involved in war crimes, such as Leonardo, BNP Paribas and Volvo are receiving money from the EIB. 👇

🩸During the second panel, the @eib.org emphasised the need to continue increasing the defence and military sector.

In 2025, the bank would more than triple its defence-related financing. But is giving more money to companies making profit from war the solution? 🪖💣

🪧 CSOs call on @eib.org to integrate the #EU’s development policy objectives into their Roadmap & strategic orientation: focusing on a pro-poor and sustainable development agenda aligned with the priorities of partner countries.
Read our full letter to the EIB bit.ly/4hoHX31

✍️ Counter Balance, together with @actallianceeu.bsky.social, @eurodadnews.bsky.social, @menafem.bsky.social and @ceebankwatch.bsky.social
wrote a joint Letter to the EIB on its global programs 🌍

Read it here 👉 counter-balance.org/news/joint-l...

✊CSOs also highlighted the necessity of the Bank to have more transparency and to improve meaningful civil society and impacted local communities participation.

💬 Jaimie Just from @concord-europe.bsky.social highlighted: The partner countries want a fair deal. The projects of the EIB Global can not serve as tools for extracting critical raw materials from the Global South for Europe’s own interest, without creating value to local communities.

🟢 But in reality:

🩸The focus on Critical Raw Material, in which they have a highly problematic environmental and human rights records.

🏢 They prioritise the role of EU companies above local development.

Andrew McDowell, Director General of EIB Global, presented the three main points of the EIB’s Global strategic roadmap:

🤝 Win-win partnerships with partners countries
💸 Better partnership with the private sector
📝Increase efficiency

📢 Today is the @eib.org ’s Board Seminar with Civil Society. The first panel discussion is on EIB Global, the bank’s branch that gives loans outside the EU.

Let’s get into some important topics discussed during the event. 🧵👇

Critical analysis @counter-balance.bsky.social on the new Climate Strategy of the @eib.org

It is backtracking from a strategy to go for fossil fuel free future soon and wants to pour public money in stranded investments (CCS e.g) at a moment responding to climate change needs firm action

6) 🧭 What remains of the EU Climate Bank?

📖 Read our full analysis here 👉 counter-balance.org/news/the-eib...

5) 🩸🌍 The EIB’s global arm, EIB Global, is also expanding into critical raw materials, often at the expense of local communities and ecosystems.

Meanwhile, transparency and public accountability are shrinking. 🔒

4) ♨️ To meet growing power demand, the EIB will fund so-called “low-carbon technologies”: CCS, hydrogen, and even nuclear reactors.

But CCS locks us into fossil dependence, and hydrogen projects risk harming local communities and draining renewable energy from the Global South. ❌

3) The EIB still overlooks the full potential of public investment to drive a cheaper, fairer, and faster energy transition, one that sets strong environmental and social standards. 🌳🏡🚉

👉 The Bank should empower, not sideline, the public sector.

2) 🟢🌳 The EIB is following the deregulation trend and will dilute its definition of what is climate finance to the taxonomy which is being watered down.

Combined with a focus on derisking the private sector it is crowding in private capital while phasing out environmental protection. ❌

1) 💶 The European Investment Bank (EIB) released its 2026–2030 Climate Strategy.

The self-proclaimed “EU Climate Bank” is now hitting the break before achieving its climate goals. 🏭 🏢

Here’s what you need to know 🧵👇

EU Global Gateway: between reality and hype Not everyone is willing to play the EU's game of “start-up to scale-up”. Some want a say in crafting the rules of the Global Gateway.

@simplyshada.bsky.social highlighted key questions about the Global Gateway:

Who really benefits? Where are the local jobs, the technology transfer, the community ownership?

Read her full article 👇🏽

🎤 Frank Vanaerschot:

The grants are a super important element for the development action of the EU. The development banks and the private sector de-risk approach can not replace it. It is necessary to combine different public investments that look for long term economic viability. 🏡🚉🌳

"We must build mutual partnerships: mobilising public money to prioritise local actors, based on local needs."

- Frank Vanaerschot @frankcb.bsky.social @counter-balance.bsky.social

💸 Hikma also highlighted the financial model that prioritises loans over grants:

Africa is borrowing money to build infrastructure that goes to Europe for it energy transition. It's an austerity dressed in green.

📣 Hikma Bachegour gave us a clear message:

The current EU approach tends to replicate a green neocolonialism approach. The local communities need projects that protect water, that create jobs, also for women. They need projects that assure technology transfer and capacity building.

🔴 Starting now | What are the real implications of the #GlobalGateway strategy❓

Today we'll discuss w/ civil society, affected communities & policymakers the impacts of #energy, mining, #climate & infrastructure projects on the ground.

Join via Zoom: bit.ly/4o5Uryp

🏦 @eib.org's “strong engagement” with civil society on the review of the Climate Bank Roadmap:

☀️ One consultation in mid-summer
📄 No draft shared
⏳ 2 weeks for feedback
🔗 Link to the roadmap delayed for days

🚨 Civil society needs a seat at the table in the EU's Global Gateway!

Ahead of the Global Gateway Forum, we've published an advocacy toolkit to equip CSOs to shape the future of Global Gateway so it reduces poverty and advances sustainable development.

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/4nYS9RA