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Why we need a European climate law

A Climate emergency needs climate solutions

On 28 November 2019 the European Parliament declared the climate emergency. This call must now be followed by ambitious concrete action. The Greens/EFA group call for an ambitious and rapid implementation of the European climate law and listed a series of short and medium term actions to address the emergency we are in.

European External Action Service (https://www.flickr.com/photos/eeas/32978511020)
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Climate targets need action

Quote from Ska Keller

Agreeing on a target is important but only half the battle. What counts now is how the EU and Member States will work to achieve the targets. The long term budget is a litmus test for how serious they are.

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© Yury Kuzmin
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Taxonomy deal not agreed today by Member States

Sustainable Finance

The same day the Commission came forward with the "European Green Deal", Member States have not passed the Taxonomy deal agreed last Thursday. Member States will have another opportunity to revisit the deal on Monday.

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A welcome and necessary step but now we need to see real action

European Green Deal

The Green Deal has serious shortcomings when it comes to agricultural funds and trade policy and these need to be addressed for a truly ambitious climate policy. The Green Deal needs clear and binding measures that limit global warming to 1.5c, herald the phase-out of fossil fuels, and protect biodiversity.

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© Jaap Hart
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Hungary and the rule of law

Ministerial meeting with EP rapporteur, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA)

The ability for the Hungarian people to live in a free and democratic European country is too important to push into the long grass. Nothing will change for Hungarian people without courage and political will from Member States.

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The EU is not a cash machine for oligarchs and politicians

Greens/EFA Proposals to end fraud in farm subsidies

On the occasion of the International Day Against Corruption, the Greens/EFA Group is publishing a series of recommendations on how to end the abuse of EU farm subsidies. Farm subsidies make up the biggest portion of EU spending and are an indispensable measure to protect European farmers, ensure food sovereignty, and promote healthy and sustainable food production in Europe. However, the lack of controls on the way EU funding is disbursed by European governments means that in some cases, unscrupulous politicians and people in positions of power are able to abuse the EU funding system for their own personal gain.

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© Sigal Suhler Moran
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Compromise on sustainable investment will boost greener economic activities

Taxonomy

The European Parliament, Council and Commission have reached a compromise on a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, known as 'taxonomy'. This will create an EU classification framework for identifying which economic activities are sustainable will be created.

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Our future : fair & healthy food

12.12.2019

Decades of yield maximization and export-oriented monocultures in a globalising economy have broken our food and agricultural chain. Business-as-usual has become impossible. But the tide is changing. More and more cities put agroecology in practice in concrete urban food policies. It is now time for a new EU policy that reflects and supports this holistic vision.

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Woman with facial recognition graphic on face
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Automated Discrimination?

12.12.2019

How to prevent bias in AI and Algorithmic Decision-Making

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important yet invisible role in our everyday lives. The Greens/EFA Digital Working Group invites you to a hearing on 12 December 2019 to discuss the societal impact of automated decision-making processes with a special focus on discrimination.

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Public Domain
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North and East Syria/Rojava

11.12.2019

A Regional and Global Litmus Test

This conference will focus on the current situation in North-east Syria/Rojava, and on the implication of the Turkish state in it.

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5O housing solutions for the locked out in the EU
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50 Housing Solutions for the Locked Out

11.12.2019

Widespread cuts in housing prices and social budgets mean more and more people are "locked out" of the housing market. A collection of 50 innovative and daring examples of housing solutions for the locked out in the EU will be presented during this event.

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© European Union 2015 - Source EP
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Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 25-28 November 2019

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included the votes on climate emergency and the Climate Summit in Madrid (COP25), the new European Commission, the votes on the 2020 Budget, public country-by-country reporting, combatting gender-based violence, and an EP Mission to Malta following recent revelations around the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

leKids at lesbos refugee camp || Fotomovimiento (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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Take action

Time to put an end to the humanitarian crisis on the Greek islands

Time to take responsibility

At the next European Council on 2-3 December, our government leaders have the opportunity to solve a humanitarian crisis, which has long reached its critical limit. This is why we have sent them a letter calling them to immediately improve the living conditions and relocate asylum seekers to other member states. You can also take action.

Worldbank (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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European Parliament calls for the immediate return of the children of Jihadist fighters

Quote from Saskia Bricmont MEP

By calling for the repatriation of children and a coordinated European response, the European Parliament is taking responsibility and responding to Member States' inaction.

European Union
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What's coming up this week

Greens/EFA priorities - plenary session 25-29 November 2019

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

kids playing in grass @robert-collins
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30 years of children rights: let’s act!

Thirty years ago, 20 November 1989, Members of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). To date, it is the most widely ratified binding international treaty in the world - only the United States of America did not ratify it. However, there is still a lot of work to be done!

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Take action

MORE TRANSPARENCY TO FIGHT TAX AVOIDANCE

Help us sending a clear signal!

The responsible ministers of the EU countries will discuss the proposal in their meeting of 28 November. Send them a clear message: Ask them to stop blocking corporate transparency and tax justice!

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Protecting Journalists is Protecting Democracy

EU needs to step up ambition so that the #TruthNeverDies

The UN highlights each year, on 2 November, the need to end impunity for crimes against journalists, because journalists are in the front line when it comes to holding the powerful to account, which is why they are often violently silenced. This year, the UN is reminding us that each year one journalist gets a Pulitzer prize, but one hundred get shot. Press freedom across the world - including in Europe - is in crisis.

T.C. Başbakanlık Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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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.

© Photo European Parliament
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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,...

© Tiburonstudios
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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.

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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.

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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.