Legal note on establishing an instrument contributing to stability and peace

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 3-6 July 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Longer lifetimes for products would benefit consumers and business; Country by country reporting will help deliver tax justice; Endocrine Disrupters definition not fit for purpose; “PIF” directive will help Union in the fight against fraud; New parliamentary committee on terrorism; Turkey: EU progress incompatible with proposed constitutional reforms; Marrakesh Treaty - copyright exceptions on books for the blind or visually impaired; Refugees and migration.

Estonia's EU Presidency welcomed

EFA President Josep-Maria Terricabras on Estonia's EU Presidency

President of the EFA Group in the European Parliament, and Greens/EFA Vice President Josep-Maria Ter...

5 GMOs authorized for import in the EU without any political support

5 GMO authorizations were published on 4 July 2017, without any political support, neither from the Member States nor from the European Parliament. This is further proof that the decision process concerning GMOs needs to be changed quickly to a more democratic and more transparent one. The Greens/EFA are actively working to that end.

Climate change needs more than a family picture!

G20 meeting in Hamburg

At the end of this week, the G20 will hold itsmeeting in Germany. With the recent geopolitical developments, the EU - which is the largest trader in the world and which always presents itself as being the leader in the fight against climate change - has a particularly important role to play. The G20 must clearly come with more than just a mere family photo...

A longer lifetime for products

Let's put an end to planned obsolescence

The European Parliament adopted Greens/EFA MEP Pascal Durand's report aiming to make the goods we buy last longer, cutting down on waste while providing a better deal for consumers! A clear consensus on the need to end planned obsolescence.

What's coming up next week in Parliament

Strasbourg Flash 3-6 July 2017

A look ahead to next week's session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The European Patent Office’s new rules are unacceptable

Patents on “natural” seeds

The European Patent Office (EPO) has missed the opportunity to change its internal rules in a way that would have clearly prevented the granting of patent on non genetically modified seeds.

Give bees a chance

EU Commission gets strong support in favour of its proposal to ban three neonicotinoids

Despite efforts by industry to halt bans on neonicotinoids, there is a clear majority at the European Parliament in favour of the Commission’s proposal to ban clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid. The Greens/EFA are now urging Member States to be as progressive as the European Parliament and not only to vote in favour of the Commission’s proposal without further delay, but also to refrain from adopting national emergency authorisations to circumvent the EU wide ban.

How the EU can work better for citizens and the climate

Greens/EFA proposals to improve cohesion policy

Now more than ever, it is vital that the EU shows how it can clearly and directly improve the lives of people across the continent. That is why it is so important that the EU takes the correct steps in strengthening its Cohesion Policy.

Letter to the European Patent Office

Patenting of "natural" seeds.

Today and tomorrow (27.-28.07.17), the European Patent office will discuss the patenting of "natural" seeds. Two resolutions of the European parliament, an opinion by the Council and a legal notice by the Commission all asked the EPO to stop this practice which is not allowed by the European regulation. Since 2014, EPO has been letting corporations privatise and hold rights on plants existing in Nature or bred by farmers, an unacceptable situation bordering bio-piracy

Position Paper on the future of Cohesion policy post-2020

On 26th and 27th June 2017, the European Commission is holding the 7th Cohesion Forum, which will be...

Opening the doors to dialogue

World Refugee Day 2017

On World Refugee Day and for the rest of the week, Greens talked to refugees from all over the world through live video chats in front of the European Parliament.

A chance for EU ministers to deliver on the Paris Agreement

the Energy Efficiency Legislation

Today EU Energy ministers will meet to discuss a crucial file of the Energy Package: the Energy Efficiency Directive. The Greens urge EU Energy Ministers to raise their ambition on this particular legislation, as not only it is key for Europe to respect its commitments to the Paris Agreement, but energy efficiency also because offers numerous benefits to all of us.

We want to get rid of conflict of interests in the EU agencies!

As the debate over independence and conflicts of interest in scientific assessments continues to heat up, Members of the EU Parliament’s Environment committee organised an exchange of views this morning with the Court of Auditors and the European agencies on Medicines, Chemicals and Food (EMA, ECHA, and EFSA respectively). The aim of the meeting was to undertake a comprehensive analysis of these agencies’ approach in dealing with potential conflicts of interest. Greens/EFA MEPs called for more stringent measures to avoid any corporate bias in the agencies’ evaluations and conclusions.

From remainers to retainers – Brexit's impact on culture and education

EFA - Culture committee considers Brexit

The implications of Brexit for culture and education were the focus of a hearing of the European Par...

Copernican revolution of the CAP needed

Cut the spraying, shift the spending!

Deliver food security, create long term jobs all across the EU, mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, protect animal welfare and at the same time improve soil fertility, water management and biodiversity: mission impossible?

The feasibility of associate EU citizenship for UK citizens postBrexit

A study commissioned by EFA MEP Jill Evans

This report has five principal findings on the protection of the status of Union citizenship and the...

Stop blocking Dublin reform and open legal channels for migrants and refugees

S&D and Greens/EFA letter to the European Council

The S&D and Greens/EFA groups in the European Parliament have sent a joint open letter to European Council President, Donald Tusk, and the Heads of States and Governments, ahead of the next European Council meeting on 22/23 June, asking for immediate action to reform the Dublin Agreement and open legal channels for migrants and refugees.

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 12-15 June 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Tax justice: Country by country reporting; Glyphosate renewal; Energy efficiency labelling; 2016 report on Kosovo; Effort sharing regulation and President Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement; Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement; Panama Papers follow-up and the rule of law in Malta; Preparation of the European Council of 22 and 23 June 2017.

New GMOs

Not as precise as advertised... and still useless

More precise, less risky, more efficient, less costly: that is how their promoters have been selling the idea of deregulating new biotechnologies to the legislators, both at EU and national level.

Transparency and accountability vital to avoid misuse of European funds

Debating the future of European Political Parties

Greens/EFA Vice President, and President of the EFA Group in the European Parliament, Josep-Maria Te...

Follow-up of the Panama Papers and the rule of law in Malta

Briefing ahead of European Parliament Plenary Debate on Malta

The Panama Papers has been a blow on Malta’s reputation to fight anti-money laundering and enable tax dumping, with revelations by the ICIJ consortium in April 2016 that politically exposed members of the Maltese government owned shell companies in tax havens. This briefing looks at the revelations and sets out key asks of the Greens/EFA group.

Letter to European Commission on money laundering allegations in Malta

The European Commission must to look into these serious allegations and open an infringement procedure against Malta if deemed necessary.

Q&A on the Effort Sharing Regulation

The ‘Effort Sharing Regulation’ (ESR) sets binding national emission reduction targets for 2021-2030 for road transport, buildings, agriculture and waste. These sectors represent around 60% of EU greenhouse gas emissions. But will it meet the EU's Paris Climate Agreement commitments?

World Refugee Day 2017

Every year, on World Refugee Day, our group talks about refugees and the issues they face in Europe and in the world. This time, it will be different

"Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a Republic?"

EFA MEP Jordi Solé on Catalonia's plans for an independence referendum on 1 October

The Catalan government has announced a referendum on independence which will take place on 1 October...

More food needed?

Just replace pesticides with biodiversity!

Making biodiversity work for farmers is good for farmers, good for bees, good for climate, good for the economy, good for you ... and the Greens/EFA group has always been a frontrunner in pushing in this direction.

Europe's Languages Charter – 25 years later

25th anniversary of the adoption of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages

To mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Langua...

Conservatives duck out of tax transparency reforms

Country by country reporting

Reforms to oblige big companies to reveal financial information in every country they operate would defend citizens’ interests and answer calls for the EU to do more against tax avoidance. The proposal is now at risk, after changes supported by the conservative and liberal groups in the European Parliament.

Six ways to improve the Erasmus programme

With 4000 students being involved at any one time, it’s clear that the Erasmus programme has been a massive success in bringing students from all over Europe together and in allowing them to experience totally different environments. However, like any system, there are always ways to make it better.

What's coming up next week in Parliament

Strasbourg Flash 12-15 June

Topics Tax justice: Country by country reporting (Committee Vote Monday) Glyphosate renewal ...

Four actions we as a planet can take to help save the oceans

In honour of today being World Oceans Day, we’ve put together this list of four Greens/EFA demands on how the European and global community can protect Earth’s oceans. With the United Nations Ocean Conference taking place this week, now is the time to get the planet talking about this issue.

Panama Papers investigation: obstruction and lack of cooperation hinder progress

Greens/EFA paper on one year of the PANA committee

One year into the investigation of the Panama Papers, we look at what has been learned so far, and what needs to be done to deliver tax justice.

Lobbying Transparency versus “freedom of the mandate”

A false debate

Members of the European Parliament are about to miss a big opportunity to deliver on lobby transparency in Europe. This is because Members from the EPP, S&D and ALDE groups are - rather ironically - arguing that their “freedom of the mandate” would make it legally impossible for them to enact policies that could finally transform the EU lobby register into an effective transparency system.

Greens/EFA go to court over lack of transparency on glyphosate

It was over a year ago when our MEPs Bart Staes, Benedek Jávor, Heidi Hautala and Michèle Rivasi first sent the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) an official access to documents request, trying to access the studies on which EFSA based its assessment that glyphosate is not carcinogenic.