European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Requests: An online information request form is provided on the EBRD disclosure page.
Requests may also be made by fax: +44 20 7338 6102, or regular mail to the Bank’s Communications Department at One Exchange Square, London, EC2A 2JN, United Kingdom, or to one of the Bank’s Resident Offices. The Bank will not address requests that are submitted anonymously.
Procedures: Normally responses are due within 20 days. Requests should preferably be submitted to the Bank in one of the Bank’s four working languages – English, Russian, German or French – in which case the response will be in the language of the request. The full procedures are described in the policy.
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16 May 2014
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development May 7 approved modest changes to its Public Information Policy. The new policy as only slightly different than the previous policy, which was criticized as too restrictive by nongovernmental organizations, and is still “antiquated,” one critic told FreedomInfo.org. David Banisar, senor legal counsel for the London-based Article 19, […]
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17 March 2014
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is proposing to make “no progress” on institutional transparency, according to a statement by watchdog groups. “There are very limited amendments proposed in the Public Information Policy, which has remained largely unchanged for many years,” according to the nongovernmental organizations: Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch […]
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22 January 2014
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has issued a draft revised Public Information Policy (PIP) for public comment. The draft policy would amend the 2011 PIP. French and Russian versions are in the works Comments are due by March 6, They should be sent to Publicinformationpolicy@ebrd.com. The draft revisions appears to be light. In […]
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13 December 2013
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has scheduled a series of pubic consultation on topics including its 2011 Public Information Policy which it plans to revise. The seven one-day sessions in February will also cover the EBRD’s revised Environmental and Social Policy and Project Complaint Mechanism Rules of Procedure, according to the announcement. The […]
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26 October 2012
International financial institutions fared poorly in the “freedom of information” category of the recently issued ratings by Publish What Your Fund. Although the development banks ranked high overall on the 43 factors used, their scores in the access to information category merited red dots. The red dots signified “poor legislation” in the category, just one […]
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6 January 2012
International financial institutions (IFIs) have “overbroad regimes of exceptions” in their transparency policies, according to a report issued by the Centre for Law and Democracy. Particularly troublesome are the exceptions relating to internal deliberations and third-party commercial information, according to the CLD report, prepared as a member of the Global Transparency Initiative, an international coalition advocating […]
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5 August 2011
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has posted its new Public Information Policy. The site also includes Report on Public Consultations, which is a 16-page table of public comments and EBRD responses. The policy is to be effective Nov. 1. The Russian version of the Public Information Policy will be available on the EBRD website […]
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10 June 2011
The revised Public Information Policy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development “is excessively referential to confidentiality, to the detriment to its openness principles,” according to comments made recently by the CEE Bankwatch Network and Article 19 on behalf of the Global Transparency Initiative. The revised EBRD PIP adopts few of the proposals submitted […]
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4 February 2011
The CEE Bankwatch Network has submitted comments making suggestions for improving disclosure at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Bank in December sought comments on its existing public information policy (PIP). (See previous Freedominfo.org story.) The next stage will be preparation of a draft proposal. A top priority for the CEE Bankwatch, a […]
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23 December 2010
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced plans to review its Public Information Policy (PIP). The Bank indicated that it is requesting comments on its existing policy by the end of January and later will conduct a series of stakeholder consultations. After receiving comments, due Jan. 28, 2011, the EBRD said it […]
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15 October 2009
The National Ecological Centre of Ukraine (NECU) recently criticized the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for violating EBRD procedures on public consultations and not providing full information about a major power transmission project in Ukraine. “On a recent fact-finding mission to the region, NECU representatives uncovered a highly haphazard approach from the project promoter Ukrenergo—Ukraine’s national […]
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16 May 2008
The Global Transparency Initiative April 8 expressed its “deep disappointment” at the Public Information Policy proposed by the management of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In a letter to the EBRD Board of Directors, GTI said, “Taken as a whole, we are of the view that the EBRD is completely failing to take […]
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16 May 2008
The Canadian government’s annual reporting on its activities at international financial institutions is getting better, according to the authors, and to a Canadian civil society group which recently gave the latest report its best grade ever. The Halifax Initiative said the report on 2007 activities merited a B+, up from last year’s rating of B-, […]
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28 March 2008
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has proposed an only slightly revised Public Information Policy (PIP) and is seeking comments by April 9. The draft policy will also be the subject of a consultation session to be held in conjunction with the EBRD’s review of its Environment and Social Policy. The revamped PIP essentially […]
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18 January 2008
The Global Transparency Initiative has proposed changes in the Public Information Policy (PIP) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Bank is just beginning a review of its policy, having issued a call for comment in late November. The GTI comments are similar to those made during a 2006 EBRD policy review and […]
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5 October 2007
Transparency advocates have praised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for disclosing the e-mail addresses of the EBRD Board of Directors through a dedicated Web page. “We also welcome the commitment in the EBRD’s May 2006 Public Information Policy (PIP) to release minutes of Board meetings.” The letter continued, noting that the minutes “do […]
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5 October 2007
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is very close to putting out a "discussion paper" as a first step in a review of its Public Information Policy (PIP) and inviting public comments, according to an EBRD official. The information policy review is being done in parallel with an ongoing review of the EBRD’s environmental […]
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1 April 2007
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has modified some portions of its disclosure policy, largely making procedural changes that may make it easier to make requests for information. However, the Bank did not adopt a handful of other recommendations from civil society commenters, such as CEE Bankwatch and the Global Transparency Initiative. The changes […]
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22 March 2006
By Toby McIntosh Riding a wave of transparency, the idea of encouraging Freedom of Information (FOI) laws as part of the development agenda is gaining currency, but slowly. With research and case studies increasingly identifying transparency as a key tool in fighting corruption and facilitating development, more attention is being paid to the development of […]
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21 July 2004
The protection of whistleblowers at four major multilateral development banks is deficient, according to a report by The Government Accounting Project. Using a 24-point checklist, the Washington-based nongovernmental organization said none of the four institutions merited a passing grade. Out of a total of 100 possible points, the World Bank rated 60, the Asian Development […]
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1 May 2003
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development April 29 approved amendments to its Public Information Policy over the objections of the United States. Specifically, the United States urged the bank to release draft versions of proposed country strategies before they are sent to the executive board for approval. The United States also pushed for the […]
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1 April 2003
Representatives of Russia, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asian NGOs submitted a letter to the EBRD Jan. 21 calling for access to more environmentally significant information on Bank projects. In particular, the groups wrote: "The following changes are necessary in the revised Policies to improve access to environmentally significant information: — Provide the public information, […]
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1 January 2003
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s proposed changes to its public information policy have drawn criticism from environmental groups in Central and Eastern Europe who have filed some of the first comments. The Bank requested public comment on the revisions in October, with an initial deadline for comments of Dec. 6, but has subsequently […]
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1 November 2002
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development Bank Oct. 23 proposed revisions to its Public Information Policy and invited public comment by Dec. 6. At the same time, the EBRD requested public reactions to an update of its policies on environmental reviews. Further, the EBRD unveiled a proposal for an “Independent Recourse Mechanism.” This would […]
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1 September 2002
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is preparing a new draft of their Public Information Policy (PIP) that may be presented to the EBRD Board for first review sometime in the Fall. Groups following the EBRD have submitted many suggestions for change, as summarized below. Access to Evaluation Documents. Lack of Process for […]
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1 July 2002
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is preparing a new draft of their Public Information Policy (PIP) that will be presented to the EBRD Board for first review sometime in the Fall, Bank officials confirmed. "This is a process of EBRD staff listening to comment and criticism, identifying where improvements can be made, […]
