IFTI Watch
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30 November 2005
EU Parliamentary Committee Rejects EIB Effort to Dodge Aarhus Rules
A committee of the European Union Parliament Nov. 22 rejected an effort by the European Investment Bank to be exempted from rules implementing the Aarhus Convention, the EU agreement that governs transparency policies for environmental-related activities. Approval of an amendment by the Environment Committee to include the EIB came despite campaigning by EIB officials to […]
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16 November 2005
IFC, EIB, IIC Make Few Concessions on Disclosure About Private Sector Projects
Three of the major international lenders with a mandate to finance private sector projects with public interest benefits are making few concessions to transparency. Pro-disclosure campaigns are underway to achieve better outcomes in ongoing disclosure policy reviews being conducted by the European Investment Bank and the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance […]
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6 October 2005
IMF Modifies Disclosure Policy to Address Deletions, Delay
The International Monetary Fund has taken steps that may reduce the number of deletions made in the publicly disclosed versions of its key reports about member countries, including the significant Article IV reports. The moves come after an internal report found that more than one-third of the published reports “incorporate substantive changes” as a result […]
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14 September 2005
Documents Spur Public Debate about World Bank Involvement in Awarding Contract for Delhi Water Deal
World Bank and Indian Anti-corruption Group Trade Charges about Bidding Process Documents released recently under Delhi’s freedom of information law raised a major public controversy over World Bank involvement in contract bidding and fueled a public debate over possible privatization of the Delhi water system. On July 28, Indian anti-corruption group Parivartan, citing internal documents […]
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12 September 2005
Best Practices on Transparency Among IFIs
The Asian Development Bank has pulled markedly ahead of other international financial institutions in its standards for disclosure and civic participation, but like its sister international organizations the ADB continues make slow progress when measured against the increasingly refined transparency agenda of critics. In recent years several international finance institutions have adopted improved transparency policies, […]
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18 August 2005
WTO Offers 400 Audience Slots to Public for First Open Panel Hearings Next Month
Reproduced with permission from Daily Report for Executives, No. 156, pp. A-2 – A-3 (Aug. 15, 2005). Copyright 2005 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) GENEVA – The World Trade Organization announced Aug. 12 that it will allocate 400 places, on a first-come, first-served basis, for the public to observe the global trade […]
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9 August 2005
EIB Declines to Release Ukranian Framework Agreement
The European Investment Bank has declined to release the text of a framework agreement recently signed with Ukrainian leaders. Although the EIB a year ago promised the release of framework agreements (with a few caveats), officials replying to a freedominfo.org request said those caveats mean that disclosure will not occur until after the agreement is […]
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9 August 2005
Pakistan Newspaper Reports on Nonpublic World Bank Document
A newspaper in Pakistan has written about a nonpublic World Bank report evaluating ten years of World Bank activities in Pakistan and shedding light on the process of preparing such major evaluations. The evaluation report is generally unfavorable to the World Bank, according to the Business Recorder, which wrote about the conclusions in a July […]
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21 July 2005
EIB Announces Second Round for Transparency Policy Review
The European Investment Bank has committed to writing a second draft proposal on disclosure policy-expanding and extending its process for consultation and review after the first draft, and the process, came under criticism. According to a July 21 announcement, "the Bank feels it appropriate to launch a second round of consultation on the basis of […]
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1 June 2005
Sen. Lugar Stresses Transparency in MDB Replenishment Legislation
The Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar (R-Ind), has made transparency reforms the central focus of legislation that also would authorize U.S. contributions to five multilateral development banks. Lugar’s bill contains instructions to the U.S. representatives at the five institutions, including the World Bank, and tells them to support several […]
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18 March 2005
World Bank to Release Board Minutes, Make Other Modest Reforms
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors on March 8 approved the release of its minutes, but pulled back substantially from several other disclosure reforms that have been under discussion for months. By joining the Inter-American Development Bank in releasing board minutes, the World Bank may help foster a trend among international financial institutions. Whatever […]
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18 January 2005
ADB Board Getting Briefed on Disclosure Policy Proposals
The executive directors of the Asian Development Bank on Jan. 21 will discuss a “working paper” outlining plans to revamp the ADB disclosure policy that critics say remains deficient. The closed session is not intended as a decision-making meeting, but after months of drafting, the briefing signals that the policy rewrite is nearing completion. Pro-transparency […]