Breakthrough for whistleblowers as EU institutions agree on new law to protect them from retaliation

Thanks to the high profile revelations by whistleblowers in recent years, including the #luxleaks case and #PanamaPapers, and to the campaigning efforts of NGOs, trade unions and journalists, the final result is an ambitious text that will set minimum standards for how whistleblowers should be protected across the European Union.

The future isn't nuclear, it's 100% renewable!

What is brighter than a 100% sustainable future? We want a system based on energy efficiency and renewable energies!

International Women's Day

We strike for a feminist Europe

A Europe against gender-based violence, where women can make decisions over their bodies, that secures equal pay for equal work, that guarantees access to sexual healthcare, that fights for gender equality. The future is now

What's coming up in Parliament

Greens/EFA priorities 11-14 March 2019

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

Eating well for a fuller future

Eating is not just a physiological act by an individual, it is also an action that carries great social and environmental weight. Today, our protein-rich diet, which is sustained by animals fed within an intensive, low-cost meat and fish industry, has significant impacts on the planet, our health, other countries and animal welfare.

European Court of Justice to decide if transparency over cancer studies should override commercial secrets

On the 7th March 2019, the European Court of Justice will deliver its verdict in a landmark case pitting the public interest in transparency against the commercial interests of private companies. The case was brought by four Greens/EFA MEPs in May 2017, after EFSA claimed that it had used unpublished studies by Monsanto, Syngenta and Cheminova to conclude that glyphosate was not carcinogenic.

Citizens’ Rights improved as European Parliament Strengthens the Role of the EU Ombuds(wo)man

To improve democracy and the rights of citizens in Europe, the Greens/EFA decided to strengthen the European Ombuds(wo)man’s office so that it could better investigate maladministration and conflicts of interest. We also managed to secure a role for the Ombuds(wo)man’s Office in important areas such as whistleblower protection and sexual harassment.

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 11-15 February 2019

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the EU-Singapore trade agreement, the protection of animals during transportation, the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, the debate on the Future of Europe with the Italian Prime Minister, the final trilogues on copyright and on the gas directive, ...

United we can fight climate change!

Your message for the climate: Upload your picture!

Over the past few months, young people across Europe have been marching on our streets to raise their concerned voices against the biggest threat mankind has ever faced. We want to bring your/their voice to the European Parliament. Politicians should not ignore, but listen to the Thousands of people fighting for climate protection in the streets.

It's time to fix globalisation for the better!

Enough with trade policies that demand too much of our planet, hurt the world's most vulnerable, put profit before people. It's time to fix globalisation for the better! A sustainable model that delivers for all is possible

What's coming up in Parliament

Greens/EFA priorities

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

Money laundering and affordable housing - what’s the link?

Impact of money laundering on housing prices across the EU

Tax evasion and money laundering through real estate can contribute to the increase of rental and housing prices in your city. We Greens/EFA are fighting hard in the European Parliament against money laundering - not least, because everyone in Europe should have the right to affordable housing!

The #TruthNeedsFriends Campaign

Join the Campaign to Protect the Truth

People who expose the truth nowadays are harassed, demoted, fired, or sued by employers who are desperate to silence them. Also known as "whistleblowers", these people speak up to defend our rights. The European Union is on the verge of adopting a new law that would protect people who tell the truth. Join our campaign and put pressure on your government - because the #TruthNeedsFriends.

What type of agriculture do you want ?

40% of European funds is spent on agriculture. That's around 114 euros per person, per year. But this question is never asked: what kind of agriculture do YOU want? If you want to have a say on Common Agricultural Policy, try this interactive CAP reform tool to help us improve EU food systems and agriculture.

After years of deadlock and political nightmares, are we finally ready to change the discussion on GMOs?

What care ethics can bring to the conversation

Today, the European Parliament backed four objections against the authorisation for import of new GM plants into the EU, bringing the total number of such objections to 31 in just over three years. Nevertheless, the European Commission decided to override this opposition and to authorize 24 of them. Why and how did we end up in this political stand-off? And, more importantly, how do we get out of this situation? A team of researchers may have opened a path with the publication of several studies on the Politics of Care and how it could be used to assess emerging technologies.

Whistleblower protection around the corner as EU governments agree on their position

New Whistleblower Directive

The European Union is on the verge of enacting new legislation that would change the lives of people who reveal the truth about illegalities, corrupt practices and other dodgy dealings - otherwise known as “whistleblowers”.

Effective tax rates for multinational companies in the EU

A report commissioned by the Greens/EFA

A new research commissioned by the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament shows that many companies do not pay much tax in many EU countries – in absolute values or in comparison to nominal rates or to some other countries.

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 14-17 January 2019

GREENS/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the special committee on pesticides, glyphosate, gender equality and taxation policies, Brexit, the Romanian presidency, nuclear decommissioning, rights and values, …

Ska Keller debates with Spanish Prime Minister on the Future of Europe

Watch our co-president Ska Keller's debate with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for a progressive Future of Europe.

What's coming up in Parliament

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

The green, just transition away from coal

A Greens/EFA working paper

The transition away from coal and other fossil fuels is not only about coal, energy and our climate. People have to be be placed at the heart of the transition. They must feel empowered to act.

Our achievements in the European Parliament 2014-2019

Greens/EFA successes

The Greens/EFA are a driving force in European politics. Our Group makes a difference in the European Parliament. Discover the overview of our achievements during the legislative period.

Our vision for trade policy

Read our paper 'Green trade for all'

Trade policy requires a rapid and radical rethink. Globalisation currently demands twice the resources that the planet can provide. We need a systematic transformation to ensure maximum human well-being with the minimum use of resources. Read our ideas and steps we can take right now, in our 'Green Trade for All' paper.

Best Green wishes for 2019

The Greens/EFA Group wish you all the best for 2019. As far as we are concerned, we will continue pushing for progressive, fair and sustainable solutions to the issues facing the European Union.

We need to act now

COP 24 - Bas Eickhout asks for more ambitious on climate policy!

Climate strike

Polish students in school strike for climate

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 10-14 December 2018

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary week included humanitarian visas, conflict of interest of Czech Prime Minister, transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain, the digital service tax, the revocability of Art 50 ...

Fossil fuel lobbies at the climate negotiations

Yannick Jadot at the COP 24

Conflicts of interest

The case of Czech Republic

Our MEPs demand action on the allegations of conflicts of interest by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis

Gender and climate toolkit

No climate justice without gender justice!

Climate change is one of the most urgent global challenges. We are also aware that climate change is a deeply unjust phenomenon: those who contribute the least to climate change are often the ones that are most affected by its impacts. All aspects of climate change have a gender dimension: the causes, the impacts, as well as the policies to respond to climate change which can have different effects on women and men.

A fair for coal lovers ?

COP 24 in Katowice

Bas Eickhout and Annalena Baerbock

The “innovation principle” is a regulatory Trojan horse from the industry

How a group of industries with problematic products are trying to weaken the precautionary principle

Few words carry a more positive image than “innovation”: solving humanities’ problems, bringing comfort, relief and fun. So why the hell are the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament opposing the introduction of the so-called “innovation principle” in the Horizon Europe Regulation, which will be setting the terms for the next 160 billion euro EU research funding programme? Because this is in reality an industry stunt to hinder the precautionary principle, and the EU citizens' safety. Here is how.

What's coming up in Parliament

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

The costs of corruption across the European Union

This report compares the costs of corruption to public investment in education, healthcare, childcare and housing, elderly care, or policing and fire services. The aim is to raise public awareness about the cost of corruption across the EU and to call for a substantial increase in the fight against corruption by the European Union institutions.

A new EU law for more transparency in the food chain

No more dirty secrets in the authorisation procedure for pesticides, GMOs, food additives and novel food!

Democracy and science have in common the fact that they cannot be properly carried out in the dark: both require transparency. The altercation around the reauthorisation of the herbicide glyphosate in 2017 shed an uncomfortable light on the opacity of both the assessment process and the authorisation process of pesticides in the EU. The Commission's imperfect attempt to make the situation better will be debated and voted on next week in the European Parliament, under strong industry lobby pressure.

Hungary: Orban and the end of the freedom of speech

Media freedom and democracy in Hungary

During the past weeks, we have seen important breaches of democracy in Hungary: a convicted thief, the former prime minister of Macedonia was granted asylum, the Central European University was shut down and will have to move to Vienna, and government mouthpiece media came under the control of one foundation, headed by an ally of Viktor Orbán. The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament call on the Council to react to protect democracy and freedom of speech before the situation deteriorates further.