Traditionally it has been difficult to obtain information from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). If you wanted to know about EBRD financed projects or about the EBRD itself, its policies, procedures and structure, you were hard pressed to find information that met your needs. Following pressure from civil society groups, governments and international organisations such as the G7, G22 and United Nations, the EBRD claims that it is now embracing transparency and openness. The fact is that it is still difficult to obtain certain information from the EBRD and the information that is made available is, in many instances, still hard to access, especially for people from the Central and Eastern European region. Information about projects that have a large impact on people's lives and the environment is still being withheld or made difficult to obtain. This guide is designed to provide concerned citizens and NGOs with clear information on what EBRD information is made available to the public and how you can best access it.
CONTENT:
ERBD Policy
What information is available
How to get information
Tips on requesting information from the EBRD
Language issues
Policy review
EBRD Address
ERBD POLICY
The EBRD introduced a new Public Information Policy in July 2000. It was developed due to the increasing pressure on the EBRD to become more transparent and participatory. The policy
clearly details what EBRD documents will be made available to the public.
The policy claims to be founded on four basic principles.
- Transparency. The EBRD claims that it will make information about its operational activities available unless there is a compelling reason for confidentiality.
- Compliance with the mandate. To ensure compliance with its mandate and accountability
to shareholders, the EBRD states that it will ensure that EBRD member's views will remain at the heart of policy design and strategic decision-making.
- Willingness to listen and receptivity to comment. While affirming that the EBRD will
continue to decide its own strategies and operational activities, it states that it will listen to
other parties.
- Safeguarding the business approach to implementing the mandate. The EBRD emphasizes
the need to protect business-sensitive partner-ships by ensuring confidentiality with commercially sensitive information, but also states that this will be balanced so as to satisfy EBRD stakeholders. It claims that confidentiality will not lessen accountability.
You can find the full Public Information Policy on the EBRD web site:
(www.ebrd.com/english/about/policies/pip/main.htm). Alternatively you
can make a request to the Publications Desk (see below), or contact the EBRD resident office in your country. A list of Resident Offices and their contact details can be found at www.ebrd.com/english/contacts.
WHAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE
The EBRD divides information into two catego-ries, project-specific information and information on policies and strategies.
PROJECT-SPECIFIC INFORMATION
| Document |
Description |
When Available |
Comments |
| Project Sum-maryDocu-ments(PSD) |
Provides very brief outline ofthe client, EBRD finance,project cost, objectives,expected transition impactand environmental impacts.Also specifies project envi-ronmentalcategory and con-tainscontact details for en-quiries. |
Private sector projects:at least 30 days beforeconsideration by theBoard of Directors(unless reason for con-fidentialityprovided).Public sector projects:at least 60 days beforeconsideration by theBoard of Directors. |
Release of information requires theconsent of the project sponsor. Parts ofthe Project Summary Document can bewithheld from release, or if the project isconsidered to be confidential in itsentirety, no PSD will be produced.For PSDs that have been released, go to http://www.ebrd.com/english/
opera/projects/main.htm. Questions can be directed to: quesprojectenquiries@ebrd.com |
| Environ-mental Impact Assessments (EIA) |
Identifies potential environ-mentalimpacts of a"Category A" project."Category A" projects arethose where there are poten-tiallydiverse and significantenvironmental impacts whichcannot be readily identifiedand quantified, and for whichremedial measures cannoteasily be prescribed. |
Private sector:
"Category A" projects: 60 days prior to consid-erationby the Board ofDirectors.
Public sector:
"CategoryA" projects: 120 daysbefore consideration bythe Board of Directors./p> |
Project sponsors are responsible formaking the EIA available to the public.This must include having a copy avail-ableat, or near the project site. TheEBRD requires sponsors to keep EIA-relateddocumentation in the publicdomain until the completion of the proj-ect.The EBRD keeps copies of the EIA andEIA executive summary in their Busi-nessInformation Centre in London andin the EBRD Resident Office in thecountry of the project's location. No-ticesof this are posted on the EBRDwebsite (www.ebrd.com/english/
enviro/eias/main.htm).The EBRD requests that Project Spon-sorsmake the full EIA available in theofficial language of the country wherethe project is being undertaken. How-ever,this is not binding. The Projectsponsor is only required to make theexecutive summary of the EIA availablein the local language. Most |
| Public SectorProject BoardReports |
Document that is presentedto the Board when makingtheir final decision with re-gardsto financing. Includesdetails of the project andproject sponsor, financial andeconomic analyses, summaryof public participation proc-ess,key environmental is-sues,areas of risk, past exp e-rienceswith the sector, and aPresident's recommendation. |
Following project ap-provalby the Board ofDirectors. |
Only available on request. Requestsshould be made to the Project EnquiriesDesk. |
| Draft SectoralPolicies |
Draft document, not yetapproved by the Board ofDirectors that outlines theEBRD's priorities andobjectives for a particularsector. May also includestandards and proceduresthat they will follow. |
After having been endorsedby the Executive Committeeand discussed by the Fi-nancialand OperationsPolicies Committee. This isbefore final approval by theBoard of Directors. |
Will be posted on the web site for 45days to allow for public comment. Asummary of all comments submittedwill be made available to the Board ofDirectors. After the policy's approval,the summary will be posted on theweb site. |
| Final SectoralPolicies |
Approved document thatoutlines the EBRD's pri-oritiesand objectives fora particular sector. Mayalso include standardsand procedures that theywill follow. |
Timeframe for public releasenot specified |
Policies are available on the website www.ebrd.com/english/
about/policies/main.htm and through Resident Of-ficesand the Publication's Desk inLondon |
| Final Country Strategies |
Outlines for a particularcountry of operation, theEBRD's investment port-folioto date, the transi-tionimpact of EBRD ac-tivities,the operationalenvironment and lessonslearnt. Importantly, itdetails objectives andpriorities for future EBRDoperations in the con-cernedcountry. |
Following approval by theBoard of Directors andconsultation with the coun-tryconcerned. No specifictimeframe for public releasegiven. |
The EBRD can exclude parts of Coun-tryStrategies from public release ifthey feel the release of this informa-tionwould undermine their dialoguewith the country concerned, or, if itsrelease would violate the law or provea threat to national security of a mem-bercountry.Country strategies will be posted onthe website www.ebrd.com/english/
about/strategy/main.htm. It appearsthat the EBRD is not putting strategieson the website that were approvedprior to the introduction of the Policy.For country strategies that have notbeen posted on the website, it is nec-essaryto contact the PublicationsDesk in London or a Resident Office. |
| Summary ofMedium- andLong-TermStrategies |
Summaries of a variety ofdocuments that are nei-thersectoral nor countryspecific, but are used toguide future EBRD opera-tions. |
Following approval of thefull strategy by the Board ofDirectors. |
To date the CEE Bankwatch Networkhas no experience with Medium andLong-Term Strategies. |
In addition to information on policies and strate-gies, and project-specific information, there is
some general information made available to the public. This includes annual reports and other
EBRD publications. For an up to date list of what is available see the EBRD website or contact the Publications Desk or a Resident Office.
HOW TO GET INFORMATION
EBRD information is made available in the fol-lowing ways:
Resident Offices
There is a resident office in all countries that the EBRD operates in. For addresses and contact
details go to www.ebrd.com/english/contacts. The resident offices keep full EIAs, EIA execu-tive summaries and Project Summary Documents for projects that are located in that country as
well as all publicly available publications, policies and the Environmental Procedures.
Website - www.ebrd.com
The EBRD website (www.ebrd.com) has an increasing amount of information on it, including
policies (currently only the Public Information Policy, the Environment Policy and the Energy
Operations Policy), the Environmental Proce-dures, project summary documents, country
strategies, and some EIA executive summaries. The website is in English, German, French and
Russian. However, most of the documents that are on the site are only in English.
The website is confusing and it can be difficult to find the information that you need. A lot of useful information, including the country strategies and policies can be found in the 'About the EBRD' section, in the main menu. The EBRD does not see it as their responsibility to distribute full project EIAs. Instead they see this as the role of project sponsors. The EBRD
states that it is encouraging project sponsors to put full project EIAs on their own websites, and
that they will provide notification of this, and pos-sibly a link, on the EBRD site.
Project Enquiries Desk
For information or specific enquiries related to projects, it is necessary to contact:
Project Enquiries Desk.
Tel: +44 20 7338 6282
Fax: +44 20 7338 6102
e-mail: projectenquiries@ebrd.com
Publication's Desk
All documents that are made public, with the exception of full EIAs should be available through the Publications Desk. For a list of what is avail-able, you must contact the Desk. A fee is charged for some publications while others are free of charge. However, the EBRD states that it reserves the right to charge for staff time and postage costs of supplying any information.
Publications Desk
Tel: +44 20 7338 7553
Fax: +44 20 7338 6102
e-mail: Pubsdesk@ebrd.com
Documents that do have a charge can be pur-chased
online at:
www.ebrd.com/english/pubs/order/order.htm
Business Information Centre
Environmental Impact Statements are available at the Business Information Centre, which is also located at One Exchange Square, London, on the main reception floor. It is open from 9:00 - 17:00 Monday to Friday. You must give 24 hours notice if you want to view an EIA. The EIA cannot be taken away from the Business Information Centre and no photocopying facilities are provided.
TIPS ON REQUESTING INFORMATION FROM THE EBRD
Make use of the Resident Offices
The Resident Office in each country of operation has a lot of information. Approach them first. It is likely to be faster to obtain information from them then it is through the London office. Contact de-tails for Resident Offices can be found at www.ebrd.com/english/contacts.
It is often easier to find and contact your national resident office than it is to find and contact proj-ect sponsors.
Work quickly
Може да имате не повече от 30 дни да дадете коментар на проектите (в случай на проекти за частния сектор). Ето защо, е важно да придобиете бързо информацията, за да можете да дадете компетентни и смислени отговори.
Don't give up
The EBRD is only now establishing systems for the widespread distribution of information. If you encounter problems in obtaining information, do not give up, keep trying. It may be that they have not had such a request before and do not know how to respond adequately.
Make requests in writing
It is worthwhile making requests for information in writing, even if you are visiting a resident of-fice, the Publications Desk or project sponsor's office in person. This creates a "paper trail" that you can refer to if you encounter problems.
Make problems known
If you are encountering problems in accessing information quickly and easily, you should contact:
Outreach/NGO Relations Unit
Tel: +44 207 7338 6620 or 6868
Fax:+44 207 7338 6102
e-mail address: ngo@ebrd.com
Ако научите за екологични или здравни проблеми, предизвикани от проект на Банката, свържете се с:
Отдел за оценка на околната среда
/Environmental Appraisal Unit/
тел: +44 207 338 6020
факс: +44 207 338 6848
If you become aware of environmental or health problems with a project, contact:
Environmental Appraisal Unit
Tel: +44 207 338 6020
Fax: +44 207 338 6848
If you become aware of procedural issues with a project, also contact:
Project Evaluation Department.
Tel: +44 207 338 6107
Fax: +44 207 338 6726
In every case it is useful to inform the Executive Director that represents your country and the
Project Evaluation Department. A list of Executive Directors can be found at www.ebrd.com/english/contacts. Provide them with as many details of your problems as possible
including dates, people you have dealt with, etc.
LANGUAGE ISSUES
The EBRD has four official languages, English, French, German and Russian. EBRD documenta-tion is almost always prepared in English and is only sometimes translated and made available in the other languages. Pressure should be placed on the EBRD to translate more documents. The EBRD only requires project sponsors to make the executive summary of EIAs available in the local language of where a project is located.
Sometimes the project sponsor does make the full EIA available in the local language, and it is al-ways worthwhile making a request to the project sponsor that they do so.
POLICY REVIEW
The EBRD claims that it will continually review the Public Information Policy and a report on its implementation will be presented to the Board of Directors annually. The CEE Bankwatch Net-work is committed to working for the improve-ment of the policy and would therefore like to hear of any problems you may have with access to information. Our contact details are at the bot-tom of this page.
EBRD ADDRESS
The EBRD
One Exchange Square
London
EC2A 2JN United Kingdom
Tel: +44 207 338 6000
Fax: +44 207 338 6100
Bulgaria
17 Moskovska Str.
1000 Sofia
Tel: + 359 2 987 66 11
Fax: +359 2 981 53 36
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