Counter Balance

🚨 Cash flow, no glow: unpacking EU's financial contradictions 🚨 The 🇪🇺 is hitting the gas with the Competitiveness Compass, but guess what? Profits are once again in the driver’s seat while social and environmental justice are tossed in the trunk. This month, our latest newsletter dives deep into the European Investment Bank (EIB)'s role in critical developments: 🏭 The (not-so-clean) Clean Industrial Deal 💎 The controversial Rwanda critical raw materials deal 💣 The alarming rise in military spending 🏘️ Efforts to tackle the housing crisis Don't miss the read 👉 https://lnkd.in/gQsY6hTp

🇪🇺 European investments in energy & agriculture in MENA aren’t the "win-win" they claim to be ( 👋 #GlobalGateway). Instead of supporting a just transition, they deepen neocolonial extractivism, driving resource depletion, debt, and climate chaos while worsening social inequalities. A new report by Greenpeace غرينبيس& MENA Fem Movement For Economic, Development And Ecological Justice sheds light on how: ⚠️ Oil & gas projects degrade ecosystems, deplete water, and disrupt biodiversity. ⚠️ "Green" energy initiatives, like hydrogen projects, are just another prioritise Europe’s needs over MENA’s just transition. ⚠️ Export-driven agribusiness fuels water scarcity, draining vital resources for cash crops instead of local food security. ⚠️ Extractivist models deepen gender inequalities, pushing women into precarious, low-wage labor while increasing unpaid care burdens. But there’s another way. The report highlights feminist, community-led alternatives that prioritise sustainability, social justice, and local resilience. We need an economic model based on sufficiency, wellbeing, and equity, one that serves people and the planet, not corporate or geopolitical interests. 📖 Read more: https://lnkd.in/e6fkP-wG

💥 Major win for civil society pressure! 💪 Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution to hit pause on the EU-Rwanda raw materials deal and freeze European Investment Bank (EIB) budget support. This is a clear message: the EU cannot afford to turn a blind eye when human rights are on the line. But the work doesn’t stop here. We must hold the EU accountable and ensure they follow through on these commitments. The fight for justice and transparency is far from over—let’s keep the pressure on!

💘 Roses are red, violets are blue, public money for the public good—it's long overdue.

Today and tomorrow, EU development ministers meet under the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union to discuss the #GlobalGateway. Marketed as a driver of sustainable development, it’s actually a tool for European corporate and geopolitical interests—at the expense of local communities. 💸 Development for whom? Over 60% of Global Gateway projects benefit European companies like Siemens & Moller Group. Instead of prioritizing poverty eradication, the EU is redirecting public funds to serve business interests in the Global South. 🔧 Broken tools Rather than grants, the initiative relies on public-private partnerships and loans, deepening debt burdens and inequality in partner countries. Worse, many “sustainable” investments are greenwashing exercises—propping up fossil fuel-linked projects with little social or environmental benefit. 🪨 A textbook case The Lobito Corridor railway, sold as a development project, is designed to bypass communities and move minerals straight to European markets. The biggest winners? Mining giants like Glencore & Ivanhoe, backed by a 30-year concession from Angola. Local job creation remains vague, and promised community benefits are nowhere in sight. ⚠️ Profit >>>>> human rights & environmental protection Brussels is pouring €900M into a minerals supply chain deal with Rwanda—a country accused of laundering Congolese minerals into global markets, fueling regional instability. While the EU claims to promote “responsible sourcing,” it conveniently ignores due diligence when it comes to securing critical minerals for its industries. 👀 Who’s pulling the strings? The Global Gateway’s Business Advisory Group is packed with 59 major European corporations—including TotalEnergies, accused of funding soldiers responsible for war crimes to protect its #MozambiqueLNG project. Civil society? A mere tick-box exercise. 🔎 The bottom line? The Global Gateway is: 💰 A tool for EU commercial & geopolitical goals 🔻 Fueling privatisation & debt, weakening public services ⚠️ Linked to human rights abuses & environmental destruction 🔒 Lacking transparency & accountability The European Commission must rethink its development finance model. Until human rights, sustainability, and local benefits take priority, the Global Gateway remains what it is: exploitation disguised as development. 📖 Read more: https://bit.ly/41rKVh0  Eurodad - the European Network on Debt and Development, Oxfam EU office, SOLIDAR & SOLIDAR Foundation, ActionAid EU Office, CARE International, Coalition for Human Rights in Development

🚨 The European Investment Bank (EIB) is facing mounting pressure to ramp up funding for defence, with 19 EU countries—including Germany, France, and Italy—pushing for increased military investment. 🛑 At the recent informal European Council meeting, EU leaders discussed leveraging the EIB to finance Europe’s military expansion. 🆘 This shift is deeply troubling. The EIB's core mission is clear: climate action, environmental sustainability, and social cohesion. Diverting funds to the military-industrial complex not only strays from these goals but risks stoking global conflict. 📣 We call on the EIB to resist this dangerous pivot and stay true to its mandate. Public funds must tackle the climate emergency and cost of living crisis—not fuel an arms race. A letter for the EIB 👉 https://bit.ly/4az6m1D ✍ Corporate Europe Observatory, Observatori del Deute en la Globalitzacio, European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), Vredesactie, Transnational Institute, Eurodad - the European Network on Debt and Development, SOLIDAR & SOLIDAR Foundation, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Urgewald, ReCommon, 11.11.11, FairFin, Stop Wapenhandel, PAX, FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights, OBSERVATOIRE DES ARMEMENTS-CTRE DOC RECHERCHE PAIX ET CONFLITS, Stop Fuelling War - Cessez d'alimenter la guerre

🚨 The siege of Goma is not just another crisis, it’s the latest chapter in a decades-long war fuelled by external interests and resource plundering. The DRC, despite its vast $24 trillion in mineral wealth, remains trapped in a cycle of violence, with minerals like coltan, cobalt, and tin systematically looted and channeled into global supply chains. 🚩 The EU is complicit. It has signed trade deals with Rwanda, despite overwhelming evidence that Rwanda launders Congolese minerals into global markets. While Brussels claims to champion ethical sourcing, it conveniently sidesteps due diligence when it comes to securing resources for its digital and energy transition. 📣 Instead of contributing to war economies under the guise of sustainability, the EU must shift course: no more deals that reward aggression and exploitation. That’s why, together with 63 CSOs from Africa and Europe, we urge the withdrawal from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwanda and the suspension of all CRMA-related strategic mineral projects involving Rwanda. Our explainer blog: https://bit.ly/4hrM9hE The joint letter: https://bit.ly/410iHcI Resource Matters, PowerShift e.V., Avocats Sans Frontières - ASF , Rettet den Regenwald e.V., PAX, Misereor, Global Witness, IPIS - International Peace Information Service, Publish What You Pay, CNCD-11.11.11, Cadre de Concertation sur les Ressources Naturelles, Congo Nouveau asbl

Complaint mechanisms should serve communities, not be cosmetic tools. The European Investment Bank (EIB)’s system failed on Budapest Airport—too slow, too weak, too late. As its review approaches, we demand real accountability More from CEE Bankwatch Network 👇

🏠 Europe’s housing crisis: A turning point or more of the same? Across the EU, skyrocketing rents, homelessness, and energy poverty are pushing millions into precarity—while private investors and corporate landlords cash in. In 2023, over 10% of city households spent more than 40% of their income on housing, while 1.3 million people are homeless. This is not a housing market; it’s a housing crisis. For decades, governments have stepped back, letting speculation drive prices up and public housing stock shrink. Now, for the first time, the European Commission has a dedicated Housing Commissioner. But will this bring real change, or will public funds once again be funnelled into private hands? The European Investment Bank (EIB) has a critical role to play. Its new housing Task Force and pan-European investment platform must prioritise public good over private greed. That means: ✅ Investing in public, social, cooperative, and community-led housing, not propping up investor profits. ✅ Setting clear targets for social housing, ensuring investments' alignment with public needs. ✅ Collaborating closely with other public investment banks, local governments, and cooperative and social housing providers to design inclusive projects that combine housing with public services and socio-economic support. ✅ Adopting a rights-based approach—aligning with the UN framework on adequate housing. This guarantees long-term solutions over short-term fixes. ✅ Placing sustainability at the core—renovating vacant buildings and climate-friendly construction, while ensuring fair working conditions. 49 MEPs have already called on the EIB to step up. The question is clear: will Europe finally break with failed market-driven policies, or will inequality continue to spiral? 🔗 : bit.ly/3WKRgAY FEANTSA, Housing Europe, Social Platform, European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW), Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe

🚨 Von der Leyen unveils the #CompetitivenessCompass today—but the leaks show it’s pointing the wrong way. Behind the buzzwords—‘cutting red tape,’ ‘slashing burdens’—lies a full-blown attack on social rights & environmental protections. Deregulation won’t build fair societies—this would 👇