Turkey's Ilisu Dam risks losing European funding

Turkey was sent an "environmental failure notice" giving it 60 days to prove it can implement the 153 social and environmental prerequisites demanded by the German, Austrian and Swiss export credit agencies, the Vienna-based paper said, citing a spokesman of the Austrian export credit agency.

This is the first step in the contractual exit scenario, Presse said also adding that should the three export credit agencies withdraw their guarantees, UniCredit SpA, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale and Societe Generale SA would withdraw their loans for the dam.

Austrian machine maker Andritz AG is one of the companies involved in the project, the newspaper reported.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland had threatened to oppose credit guarantees for the construction of the Ilisu dam in Turkey in May if Ankara disregards environmental and social commitments linked to the project.

Environmental and civil society groups sharply criticize the dam’s construction because it would lead to the displacement of some 50,000 people and flood historical ruins from ancient Mesopotamia.