EU must pressure Turkey not to deport refugees to Syria

Quote from Tineke Strik & Katrin Langensiepen

Today, Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey might have to leave Istanbul Refugees residing in Turkey or face the risk of being deported back to war-torn Syria. Refugees had until today to return to the provinces in which they were first registered when arriving in the country.

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 21-24 October 2019

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the votes on the EU budget 2020, the search and sea rescue in the Mediterranean, the Turkish military operation in Northeast Syria, the public country-by-country reporting, pesticides and bees, the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania,...

Well deserved prize for human rights defender Ilham Tohti

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

Greens/EFA have supported and do welcome this choice. Ilham Tohti is the paradigmatic non-violent prisoner of conscience who has been jailed for life just for speaking up on behalf of Uyghur minority in China, even after being sentenced he has held on to his consistent approach of trying to build bridges between Han Chinese and the Uyghur minority.

Protection of bees against harmful pesticides

The European Parliament must stop Commission's plans

The very partial implementation of the Bee Guidance Document is the latest of many comitology 'black box' scandals. Everybody claims they love bees, but the decision making process on how to really protect them is taking place in the dark and does not aim to protect them properly, based on existing scientific evidence.

MEP urges colleagues to take more time on Brexit

Alyn Smith is President of the EFA Group in the European Parliament

Scottish MEP Alyn Smith has urged colleagues not to rush through ratification of any Brexit deal with undue haste. The European Parliament will have the final say on any Brexit deal.

What's coming up in Parliament

Greens/EFA priorities - plenary session 21-24 October 2019

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

Turkey-Syria

Group statement

Again, a major disaster is unfolding in Syria. The sudden announcement by President Trump of the wit...

New Parliament re-asserts its opposition to GMOs

The new Parliament adopted its first three GMO objections that the European Commission proposes to authorise for  import into the EU for food (for humans) and feed (for livestock).  Let’s now hope that the new Commission will have the political courage to respect the call from citizens and the European Parliament to stop GMO authorisations and imports into Europe

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.