Logging in theSpecial Ornithological Reserve Crna Mlaka, Photo: Vesna Grgić, Green Squad
19th March 2026 – Biofuelwatch, Fern, Earth Thrive and the Croatian environmental NGO Green Squad have today sent an open letter to the Secretariat of the European Investment Bank (EIB), urging them to put a stop on a proposed loan to Croatian Forests.
The groups warn that EIB funding for Croatian Forests would be incompatible with the Bank’s own policies for three reasons:
First, more than a dozen senior staff members of the state forestry company remain under criminal investigation on suspicion of bribery by the Croatian Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK). The EIB has a clear “zero tolerance” policy regarding corruption, including bribery.
Second, the EIB requires compliance with the EU’s Habitats and Birds Directives. Green Squad has documented systematic destructive logging in Natura 2000 and Ramsar areas which are supposed to be protected under those directives.
Finally, whereas the EIB requires recipients of funds to ensure that civil society stakeholders have effective means to raise grievances and access remedies, Croatian Forests’ response to criticism has been to instigate SLAPP suits to try and silence critics.
Logging in theSpecial Ornithological Reserve Crna Mlaka, Photo: Vesna Grgić, Green Squad
Vesna Grgić, head of Green Squad, says: “An EIB loan for Croatian Forest would help fund more large-scale destruction of highly biodiverse forests in protected areas, carried out by a company that is at the centre of a criminal investigation for suspected corruption, namely bribery.”
Siim Kuresoo, European Forest Campaigner with Fern adds: “We are deeply concerned that the EIB is considering funding for a company which has been shown to clearcut forests in Natura 2000 areas with no apparent regard for the wildlife and plant communities meant to be protected. We urge the EIB Secretariat to rule against this proposal.”
The joint open letter to the EIB Secretariat can be found here.
