* Admissibility date reflects the date the case was officially registered. All other dates pertain to the date in which a stage was completed.
Case Description
On 30 May 2022, a representative of the non-governmental organisation “CEE Bankwatch Network” (the complainant), lodged a complaint with the EIB Group Complaints Mechanism (EIB-CM). The complaint relates to a partial refusal by the EIB in disclosing the Akiira Geothermal Limited draft Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (document at issue) requested by the complainant. More specifically, the complainant challenges some of the exceptions applied by the EIB in justifying partial refusal of the document at issue, in particular the protection of public interest as regards international relations.
The Akiira One Geothermal Power Development (the project) is a greenfield development located in Nakuru County being developed by Akiira Geothermal Limited (the promoter) in Eastern Kenya.
The document at issue, held by the Bank, is a draft provided by the promoter in 2016 in the context of a loan request, while the project was at an early stage of appraisal and development. The EIB decided not to pursue its appraisal of the project and the document at issue was neither concluded nor publicly disclosed.
The EIB and the complainant have a history of interaction initially prompted by concerns of potential eviction risks in the project area. The EIB-CM recognises that the EIB took adequate steps in engaging with the complainant through correspondence, exchanges and a telephonic meeting. Additionally, the EIB-CM acknowledges that the Bank worked closely with the fund to identify potentially sensitive information in the document at issue, meanwhile raising important questions to ensure compliance with the EIB Group Transparency Policy prior to and following the complainant’s initial application.
For the purpose of better assessing the arguments put forward by the EIB relevant services, and in the absence of a record of supporting evidence, the EIB-CM has carried out its own due diligence. The EIB-CM has reached the conclusion that under the specific circumstances of the present complaint, the EIB’s decision to withhold some information on the basis of the exception pertaining to the protection of the public interest as regards international relations was justified. This outcome has been reached in light of a broader context, taking into account the following: the margin of appreciation recognised by the EU judicature; historical and existing inter-ethnic tensions in Nakuru County; and the linkage between said tensions and the information provided in the redacted portions of the document at issue.
Based on its inquiry, the EIB-CM concludes that the allegation is ungrounded and proceeds to close the case with a suggestion for improvement.