Everyone has a right to access EU information - you just have to know how!

Quick Guide for Right to Know Day 2019

Freedom of information is a human right that is indispensable for a functioning democracy. We all have a right to know what people in power are doing and how they are spending our money - otherwise we have no transparency, no accountability, and no way of participating in the democratic process. So to celebrate International Right to Know Day, here is a quick guide on how you can ask the EU for information.

“Politics as Usual” does not suffice: We need an ethical Commission we can trust

Ethics and Integrity

Ursula Von der Leyen, the new Commission President, is working to put together a new Commission, but many of the candidates to become European Commissioners have been the subject of political scandals, investigations for corruption or questionings about potential conflicts of interest. But the European Parliament now has the power to prevent conflicts of interest - will it deliver?

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 16-19 September 2019

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included: Hungary – Rule of Law, Amazon Fires, Christine Lagarde appointed President of the European Central Bank, Climate Debate Ahead of UN Summit, Brexit, New von der Leyen Commission, Money Laundering Greens/EFA nominees for the Sakharov Prize, Patentability of plants and essential biological processes, Laura Codruța Kövesi, new European Chief Prosecutor.

The abuse of European Patent law must stop!

This Thursday, 19 September, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution on the issue of the patentability of biological plants and animals, aka plants and animals that could be found in nature or bred by farmers.

MEPs to establish Kurdish Friendship Group

Support for fundamental rights from across the political spectrum

Around a dozen MEPs from a variety of political groups have met at the European Parliament in Strasb...

What's coming up in Parliament

Greens/EFA priorities - plenary session 16-19 September 2019

A look ahead to the plenary session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg and the Greens/EFA priority issues on the agenda

Global Climate Strike

20-27 September

This September, millions of us will walk out of our workplaces and homes to join young climate strikers on the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. Join the climate strike

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary weeks July I and II 2019

We are back !  After the green wave of the European elections in May, political groups were formed and the new European Parliament had its first two plenary sittings in Strasbourg.  The topics on the agenda were mainly about the election of the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the European Commission.

European Commission’s New Proposals on Rule of Law Fall Short Once Again

The European Commission - and its new President, Ursula Von der Leyen - has promised that “there can be no compromise” when it comes to upholding the rule of law across the European Union. Yet despite the urgency of the situation, both Von der Leyen’s promises and the concrete proposals presented today by the European Commission remain deeply insufficient.

A green vision for our mobility system in 2050

Tackling air pollution and protecting citizens health

On 26 June, thanks to an initiative from Brussels residents and campaign group ClientEarth, the European Union Court of Justice ruled that European cities need to do much more effort to reduce pollution levels. The level of pollution in European cities - particularly from vehicle diesel engines - has become a major threat to public health.

Call on Ursula von der Leyen to strongly support and defend Gender Equality and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)

Joint statement

As Members of the European Parliament and representatives of MEPs for Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the pro-choice network ALL of US we call on the newly elected President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to protect and further strengthen gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights in the work programme for the European Commission 2019-2024.

The French citizen representing Scotland in Europe

EFA MEP Christian Allard defends Scotland's attachment to Europe

Scottish MEP Christian Allard is a 'newly elected representative unlike any other.' Born ...

Why will the Greens/EFA vote against Ursula von der Leyen ?

Vote on the Commission Presidency

During last week's hearing, our MEPs were not satisfied by her "answers". Find here the questions we asked & the answers she gave, as well as what we would have liked to have heard . It explains why our MEPs cannot support Ms von der Leyen during the plenary vote in Strasbourg

Greens/EFA Presidents meeting with Ursula von der Leyen

Quotes from Ska Keller & Philippe Lamberts

Today, the Presidents of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament met with nominee for Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. The Greens/EFA group have now invited Ms von der Leyen to an upcoming group meeting, which has yet to be determined, where she will be questioned by our MEPs in a web-streamed meeting.

Italy’s own goal - why the Commission should have a look at Italy’s new problematic tax scheme

Italian decree on personal income tax for non-residents

The FIFA Women’s World Cup has spawned countless passionate debates in the past few weeks on fairness in sport. On one hand, we have enjoyed the impassioned efforts of all players as they contend head-to-head on the international platform - with the spirit of fair play that all sports people carry as ambassadors for their sporting discipline - and on the other hand we have seen the players’ courageous fight against unfair hurdles and unequal conditions women football players face in comparison to men.

Time to guarantee ethics and integrity in the EU

Ending conflicts of interest

A new political term is a new chance to upgrade the EU’s ethics systems to make sure any risks of conflicts of interest or corruption are completely stamped out. In a Union that is under constant attack, the best form of defence is to act with the highest standards of ethics, transparency and integrity. Citizens deserve no less.

Candidacy for the Presidency of the European Parliament

Plenary statement by Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE)

In order to defend Europe, we need to show the courage to change it for the better. As the only directly elected EU institution, the European Parliament has a key role in doing this leap forward.

Catalan MEPs should be allowed to take their seats

Support from EFA MEPs for taking up their mandates

On the first day of the new parliamentary term, EFA MEPs supported the right of Catalan MEPs to take...

Greens/EFA demands for the Finnish Presidency

Finland takes over EU Council Presidency from Romania which did not exactly show the highest integri...

The Transparency Standards of the GREENS/EFA Group

The Greens/EFA Group is committed to lobbying transparency and to the equal access of stakeholders to the decision-making process. For this reason, over the years, the Group has put in place different tools to guarantee transparency of our activities and public money spent.

Political groups have been formed

How the new European Parliament looks like

Made up of Green, European Free Alliance, Pirate, independent, ecological and animal welfare MEPs, the GREENS/EFA group counts with 75 Members from 16 countries and 5 regions. It is the fourth group in the European Parliament.

Avoiding ecosystem collapse will require a different Common Agricultural Policy

Report on biodiversity sheds a light on where the future negotiation should go

In Paris a few weeks ago, a report on biodiversity and aimed at global decision makers was released, anouncing the extinction of 1 million species in the coming years - meaning a collapse of our ecosystems and dire consequences for human beings throughout in the world. However, the report, produced by the intergovernmental platform IPBES, also talks at length about the possible solutions, in particular for our farming and food system. What conclusions should we draw when it comes to the European Common Agricultural Policy?

Phosphate additives in food

EFSA confirms serious concerns for human health

Eighteen months ago, the Parliament voted on an objection, co-tabled by Greens/EFA MEP Bart Staes, t...

Newly elected GREENS/EFA MEPS and Bureau

Outcome of the 2019 European elections

Here is the current composition of the GREENS/EFA Group for the newly elected Parliament. The new Bureau of the Group was elected on 12 June

Unprecented success for Greens/EFA

Provisional results of the European elections

With currently 74 Members, the GREENS/EFA group achieves its highest representation ever and will be the fourth biggest group in the European Parliament. The Green Wave has swept across Europe and newly elected progressive MEPs are joining our Group

Defending Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law Requires Political Will...and Courage

GreensEFA Group proposals sent to the European Commission

While the Hungarian Prime Minister gags the press, undermines freedoms, and kicks ‘progressively-minded’ universities out of the country; the Polish government attacks the independence of Constitutional judges or violates the rights of women; the Romanian government attempts to decriminalise corruption offences and while murders of journalists in Malta and Slovakia send shockwaves across Europe, people are looking towards the EU for help, but so far, not enough has been done.

EU Safety Authority decides not to appeal landmark transparency judgement, cementing GreensEFA victory in favour of the environment, public health and the right to know

It’s official. After years of legal battles with the EU Food Safety Authority against their decision to keep essential documents hidden from the public, victory is ours. By ‘ours’, we are referring to the public’s health, the people’s right to know, and the human right to live in a safe and thriving environment.

Six Demands to make the EU work for young people

Every young person in the EU should be given the best possible life chances. We need to increase funding toward youth organizations and programs, ban unpaid internships, and involve youth in decision-making processes so that young people can reclaim their rights.

Affordable and adequate housing for all

Access to housing is a fundamental right. No one should have to choose between a place to sleep and a meal to eat. We call for an EU wide target of at least 3% of GDP to be spent on housing.

Time to Smash the Gender Backlash

Four Greens/EFA demands for a Feminist Europe

Proudly feminists, the Greens/EFA will continue working to bring the feminist mobilisations and demands rising up from the streets to the European institutions.

Thirty six objections and counting

Why the European Parliament opposes new EU GMO authorisations in vain

Thirty six. That is the number of objections that the European Parliament has voted through, against the draft authorisations of genetically modified plants in the EU put forward by the European Commission (the most recent objections against a GM soy and a GM maize). In 24 of these cases, the European Commission has happily ignored both the indecision of Member states (and hence the lack of a clear political majority) and the European Parliament’s clear disagreement and went ahead to authorize the GM plants anyway. Nine additional authorisations are expected in the coming weeks.

How did the car industry manage to undermine EU pollution limits?

The dangers of technocratic decision-making on public health and the environment

Despite an EU law limiting the amount of pollution that cars could emit, the car industry - together with complicit EU governments - managed not only to delay the implementation of the rules, but to insert massive loopholes that essentially rendered the new pollution limits meaningless. How this happened is a scandal that is yet to be fixed.

Why dangerous hormone-disrupting chemicals are still everywhere

...and why we need to reform comitology

In your shampoo, in your sports bottle, in your bathroom air freshener, in your cleaning products, in your food and its packaging, in the pesticides the local farmer uses near your children’s school, even in nappies... endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are everywhere, omnipresent, like a monster from a horror movie. And a broken EU decision-making process is letting them slip through and continue to poison us.

A welcoming Europe for all

Our views on asylum and migration

We believe that a migration and asylum policy founded on human rights and solidarity is urgently needed and that migration should be managed responsibly and effectively. The right to asylum shall be upheld and the human rights of all migrants shall be respected, as provided by international and human rights laws, including the Geneva Convention, to which the EU is party.

GREENS/EFA Proposals on Media Freedom in the EU

Media freedom, pluralism and independence across Europe are being undermined in many ways. Although the European Union institutions may claim to have limited competence to defend media freedom and pluralism across the region, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament is convinced that more can, and should be done.

Greens/EFA demands for a Social Union

Greens/EFA are convinced that we urgently need clear steps towards the sustainable transformation of our economy and the creation of quality, long-term jobs. Europe needs a plan to face the challenges of climate change and a just transition roadmap that fairly distributes the benefits as well as the effort required to get to a resource-efficient future economy.