EBRD: a political mandate to support democratic transition

March 23, 2016
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It is useful to remember that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has a mandate that is strictly political and that, from now on, its theatre of action has widened to the Mediterranean, having supported the post-Communist transition in the eastern neighbourhood of Europe, EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti said at the China Development Forum on Saturday 19 March 2016.
 
Uniquely for a development bank, the EBRD has a political mandate in that it assists only those countries ‘committed to and applying the principles of multi-party democracy [and] pluralism’, according to the bank’s website. Another characteristic is the fact that beneficiary countries are also members of its Board of Directors including some – Egypt and Morocco – which are founders.
 
The bank’s experience with transition, from communism to companies and economies that are democratic, is now required in the Mediterranean space. The bank has been heavily involved in areas such as banking systems reform, the liberalisation of prices, privatisation (legalisation and policy dialogue) and the creation of proper legal frameworks for property rights, all vital ingredients for change, according to its website.
 

Countries covered:

  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Libya
  • Morocco
  • Palestine *
  • Syria *
  • Tunisia
Thematics
Human Rights