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Welcome to our blog on the nominations and hearings for the new European Commissioner candidates. You will find our group's opinion on and analysis of the nominees and their portfolios, with analysis, insight and comment after each hearing in the European Parliament, as well as links to the livestreams of the hearings themselves.

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Welcome to our blog on the nominations and hearings for the new European Commissioner candidates. You will find our group's opinion on and analysis of the nominees and their portfolios, with analysis, insight and comment after each hearing in the European Parliament, as well as links to the livestreams of the hearings themselves.

Libya

Successful elections a step in the right direction

The results from the first elections since the overthrow of Col Gaddafi and Libya's first free elections in fifty years have been announced. While the outcome of the elections for the 200-member national assembly - which...

Call for a progressive agenda on creation and innovation

Send us your input

This year has seen many important victories over the perpetual increasing of "intellectual property"rights and their enforcement. We do not allege to have a one-stop solution. That is why we are launching this call. We are looking for concrete proposals.

Anti-Nuclear Bus

Campaign Bus for nuclear-free Europe reaches Brussels

Green and Anti-Nuclear activists from the Baltic coast met with Greens/EFA Co-President and longtime nuclear campainger Rebecca Harms, and Green MEP and energy expert Claude Turmes today in the European Parliament. The bus had most recently travelled from Berlin and ther was a very valuabel exchange of views and ideas between the participants and the MEPs.

e-fa: News Round-Up:

news bulletin from the European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament

July 2012 Round-Up The European Free Alliance (EFA) draws together political parties fighting for democracy and self-determination for the stateless nations and regions of Europe. European Free Alliance MEPs sit in a Eur...

ACTA Diary

R.I.P.

July 4th, 2012 - 13:00 - ACTA is defeated. This vote represents a victory for the citizens who mobilised and forced their MEPs to listen. Green MEPs celebrated this by holding up posters in the Hemicycle saying "Hello Democracy, Goodbye ACTA".

Greens/EFA Round-up

Debriefing of the plenary week Strasbourg 2-6 July 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included promoting rail through better EU rules, animal welfare and EU action, sealing ACTA's fate, the subversion of Schengen, the Syrian crisis and the EU response, illegal fishing and international flagging rules,...

Brussels agenda

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 25-29 June 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for the week include rendition and illegal detention by CIA in EU countries, European patent, new energy saving rules, tackling climate-damaging car emissions, rights management in the digital age and implementing the European Citizens' Initiative

Illegal fishing and Endangered Species

Greens call on Commission and member states to oppose new rules that could undermine fight against illegal fishing

CITES is an international agreement to regulate international trade in endangered species. It is currently discussing new rules that have the potential to create loopholes allowing illegally caught fish onto the EU marke...

Climate campaign newsletter

Issue 56 - July 2012

GREEN EYE ON THE EU'S CLIMATE EFFORT - RIO+20: We could do so much better! - EED mixed response to the compromise agreement - Poland determined to remain a dinosaur rather than become an energy hero - German closer to carbon capture law - Climate: A long list of tasks & expectations for the new Cyprus Presidency ROUND-UP - CLIMATE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD - Oil rush in the Arctic threatens climate action - California sea level will certainly rise at higher rate - Colombia willing to reduce GHG emissions through better forest protection - Australia puts a price on carbon

Strasbourg Flash

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 2 - 6 July 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for next week's Strasbourg Plenary include promoting rail through better EU rules, animal welfare and EU action, sealing ACTA's fate, the subversion of Schengen, the Syrian crisis and the EU response, illegal fishing and international flagging rules,...

Brussels agenda

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 25-29 June 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for the week include the commission proposal on combating tax fraud and evasion in the EU, the EU summit and several Greens/EFA events...

RIO + 20 Diary

Game over already? Emerging analysis

It was strange for ministers to land to discover what appeared to be an already agreed document. Some countries arrived with the intention of negotiating at ministerial level, which would have increased political ownership. The NGO community was very clear that the text as it stood was completely out of touch with reality, lacking mention of planetary boundaries and tipping points and thereby making a joke of the title, 'the future we want'.

GMO (In)Digest

Issue 5 of the GMO Campaign Newsletter

EFSA discharge, national bans proposals, biopatents, 7th European conference of GMO-free regions,... here are some of the issues of this month newsletter

The challenge in Rio

Europeanvoice article by By Sandrine Bèlier, Isabella Lövin and Bas Eickhout

Brazil illustrates the ‘destruction as usual' status quo that we need to change.

e-fa: News Round-Up

news bulletin from the European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament

June 2012 Round-Up The European Free Alliance (EFA) draws together political parties fighting for democracy and self-determination for the stateless nations and regions of Europe. European Free Alliance MEPs sit in a Eur...

Accounting transparency

EP vote for tougher EU rules would reduce scope for unethical corporations and tax avoidance

Crucial new draft EU legislation on accounting and transparency for large companies moved a step closer to reality after a vote in the economic and monetary affairs committee yesterday evening. One of the key aspects of ...

Fair Politics

Isabella Lövin is “Fair Politician of the Year”

Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA, Sweden) today was announced winner of the “Fair Politician of the Year” award in the European parliament. She received the award for her work with making the EU fisheries policy more fair to developing countries.

Shale Gas

EP Committees fight back

As a report in the Environment committee on the environmental impacts of shale gas makes it way through the European Parliament, two other committees, Development and Legal Affairs, voted on their own opinions on the rep...

Brussels agenda

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 18 - 22 June 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for the week include the debate on the agricultural policy reform and the vote on ACTA in the committee on international trade. Other highlights are the EU Council on the Euro crisis and the committee vote on rules on credit rating agencies

Greens/EFA Round-up

Debriefing of the plenary week Strasbourg 11-15 June 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included border controls and preserving Schengen, preferential trade for poor countries, Eurozone economic governance, regulating the global arms trade, own resources and the EU budget, safer baby food through EU rules, fixing EU fisheries, ...

EU-Kosovo

Visa dialogue roadmap an important, if belated, step forward on path to EU integration

During a meeting with a government delegation from Kosovo today, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will hand over the roadmap for visa liberalisation for Kosovo. Welcoming this event Green MEP and EP dr...

End overfishing

Why saving the fish will bring profits to fishermen

The Greens today denounced a decision by EU fisheries ministers attempting to delay an end to overfishing. In the ongoing fisheries reform, the Commission had proposed to set sustainable catch levels in line with the &qu...

International Arms Trade

EP calls for a robust UN treaty

The European Parliament today adopted a very strong position on the forthcoming Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) negotiations at the UN.  For more than 10 years the Greens have been lobbying for the establishment of a treaty...

GMO Campaign Blog

Letter to Commissioner Dalli: No speed up of new GMO approvals

Despite the Danish Presidency's efforts to sway some countries towards its compromise proposal allowing more freedom for Member States to prevent the growing on their territory of a GMO crop that is allowed at the EU lev...

Greek Health Crisis

Access to medicine in freefall

Healthcare in Greece has reached a crisis point. Its organisation and delivery has been rendered almost impossible. As treatment in public hospitals has shot up due to the crisis, spending and staff levels have ...

IT Security

Confusion in EP over internet security and infrastructure

Intellectual property rights infringements are not related to network stability and internet security issues. While the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted in favour of a report from MEP Ivailo Kalfin (S&D, ...

Strasbourg Flash

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 11 - 15 June 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for next week's Strasbourg Plenary include border controls and preserving Schengen, preferential trade for poor countries, Eurozone economic governance, regulating the global arms trade, illegal Israeli settlements, own resources and the EU budget, safer baby food through EU rules, fixing EU fisheries, Energy saving rules,...

50 reasons to reject ACTA

The reasons the matter to you

The vote of the European Parliament will be decisive for the future of ACTA. It has already been rejected by the Development, Civil Liberties, Legal Affairs, and Industry committees in the European Parliament, but the bi...

Climate campaign newsletter

Issue 55 - June 2012

GREEN EYE ON THE EU'S CLIMATE EFFORT - Climate discussions: too little and very late… - Meanwhile across the EU, GHG emissions continue to rise - European Parliament calls for better use of resources and stands firm against tar sand - No, shale gas is NOT a bridge fuel

Forever Putin?

Russia at the crossroads

The mass protests since the falsified Duma election last December have changed Russia. The country’s political system is more fragile than ever. The politics of the street appear exhausted.  With Vladimir Putin ba...

Brussels Agenda

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 4 - 8 June 2012

Highlights of the week for the Greens/EFA include events on Rio+20, reindustrialising Europe, research and innovation culture production and consumption and human rights activists in Turkey, as well as upgrading EU rules on credit rating agencies and a Europe wide action against ACTA

Gender and Asylum

EU asylum process is failing women

During 2010, over 257,000 asylum applications were made across the EU, 35 per cent of which were made by women or girls.  For thousands of these women, the experience of attempting to claim asylum was one hallm...

European Social Entrepreneurship Funds

European Parliament strengthens Social Economy

The economic and monetary affairs committee (ECON) of the European Parliament has adopted new legislative proposals, which aim to create a new type of European investment fund providing capital to the 'social economy'. T...

e-fa: News Round-Up

news bulletin from the European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament

May 2012 Round-Up The European Free Alliance (EFA) draws together political parties fighting for democracy and self-determination for the stateless nations and regions of Europe. European Free Alliance MEPs sit in a Euro...

Politics begin at home

New post on our climate blog

The Environment Committee this morning voted in favour of strenghtening the Commission's proposal on monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. The legislation aims to increase transparency and reliability of data, which in turn should aid implementation of existing rules and development of new policies.

Greens/EFA Round-up

Debriefing of the plenary session Strasbourg 21-24 May 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary session included shifting the focus from austerity in the Euro crisis, bluefin tuna on the brink, balancing trade with China, rights and democracy in Ukraine, taxing financial transactions, equal pay for equal work, resource efficiency,...

Resource efficiency

European Parliament demands concrete action

Yesterday the Parliament voted on a report on resource efficiency. The Greens welcomes Parliament's decision to strengthen some key aspects of the Commission's proposal through concrete measures and clear targets for resource use.

Brussels Agenda

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 28 May -1 June 2012

Highlights of the week for the Greens/EFA include rejecting ACTA, EU data protection rules, keeping track of the EU's climate change efforts, EU project bonds to boost investments, promoting rail transport, encouraging investment in start-ups and social enterprises,...

Homophobia

European Parliament strongly condemns homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe

With a large majority*, the European Parliament today adopted a resolution to condemn homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe. For the first time since the last European elections, all five mainstream political grou...

Equal pay for equal work!

Gender pay gap still exists in all member states

Equal pay for equal work has been one of the most basic principals of the European Community since its foundation in 1957.  However, despite legislation, women continue to earn less than men. On average women needed...

European Parliament will listen to Citizens

Mandatory hearings for Citizens' Initiatives introduced

The European Parliament decided to change its Rules of Procedure and introduce mandatory hearings for successful European Citizens’ Initiatives. The new regulation will ensure that Europe keeps its ears open towards active citizens.

Think Biodiversity

The future we really want

The United Nations proclaimed today, the 22nd May, the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. In the 20 years since the Rio Earth Summit, much rema...

Durban Platform - first discussions in Bonn

Which Future for the Kyoto Protocol?

The second and final week of the climate discussions in Bonn, Germany, has just started. The Greens want the EU to do its utmost to ensure that the new alliance delivers and that we avoid what some call the BAU scenario – Bonn As Usual....

Strasbourg Flash

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 21 - 25 May 2012

Greens/EFA priorities for next week's Strasbourg Plenary include shifting the focus from austerity in the Euro crisis, bluefin tuna on the brink, balancing trade with China, rights and democracy in Ukraine, taxing financial transactionsequal pay for equal work, resource efficiency,...

Bluefin Tuna

New EU rules needed

Bluefin tuna is the most valuable fish in the world, with a single fish selling for over €100,000 at times. As such, it is also one of the most difficult fisheries to manage. A virtual arms race has developed between those attempting to catch up and control its exploitation, and those developing ever more sophisticated techniques for catching the fish or exploiting loopholes. A new report from Green MEP Raül Romeva to be voted on next week seeks to change the approach and jump ahead in this race, giving the species a real chance of avoiding extinction, and taking the industry with it.

Brussels Agenda

Weekly preview of the Greens/EFA group - 14-18 May 2012

Highlights of the week for the Greens/EFA include reducing risk in EU banks, strenghtening EU economic governance, our conference on reindustrialising Europe,...

50 reasons to reject ACTA

Tell us about yours!

The vote of the European Parliament will be decisive for the future of ACTA. Discussions are currently taking place. We believe it is essential to survey the various fields and sectors impacted by ACTA.