Overproduction of food (waste)

produce less, feed more!

For many years the Greens/EFA group has been leading the fight for food security, social justice, robust ecosystems and against climate change. Today the European Parliament adopted another non-binding resolution calling...

Ensuring transparency, balanced participation and ethical decision-making in the UNFCCC

Global climate conference

This week kicks off the intersessional climate change conference in Bonn, Germany. When we see the climate crisis continuously escalating, the people negotiating our future need the best possible space to do it. They need a space free from the fossil fuel lobby. However, as reports regarding conflicts of interest and sponsoring of the COPs have shown, this is far from reality.

Commission’s decision to withdraw Anti-Corruption Report Widely Criticised

The European Commission was supposed to publish its second Anti-Corruption Report last year, but after a series of delays it has now been withdrawn and will no longer be published. Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans confirmed to the European Parliament last week that they had decided to scrap the report but promised to MEPs, who have heavily criticised this decision, that corruption is still an important topic.

Greens/EFA call on Juncker and Commission to rethink direction of Europe

An alternative scenario...

A scenario where the European Union becomes a continental space of freedom, security, democracy and human rights

Attack against civil society stalled until independent Court of Auditors Report

Response to the controversial EPP report

A couple of weeks ago, we sounded the alarm in response to a controversial report, penned by the EPP group in the European Parliament, which attacked NGOs and civil society organisations in a biased and unconvincing manner.

The role of middlemen in the Panama Papers

PANA investigation confirms Greens’ findings

The PANA committee’s findings support those outlined by the Greens earlier this year, namely that so-called intermediaries such as banks, law firms and accounting firms help clients to set up offshore structures for dodging taxes or laundering dirty money.

World Press Freedom Day

We can all help to protect press freedom together!

Today, 3rd May, is World Press Freedom Day. A day for celebrating freedom of speech, and for acting to protect those who are struggling, every day, to expose the truth.

Remember the fight for garment workers’ rights this May 1st

Greens/EFA working to ensure Rana Plaza tragedy is not repeated

The first of May recognised around the world as the International Workers' Day. On this day we acknowledge the crucial role of the worker in our societies and the need for stringent standards across our industries to ensure everyone has the right to work in a safe workplace.

Budget accountability

Checking the spending of public funds

It’s that time of the year again, when the European Parliament reviews the spending of public funds by 52 EU institutions, and formally signs-off on the final accounting, this for time for the year 2015. Every year...

Monsanto is the hideous tree that hides the forest

How Bayer buying Monsanto is more than just another merger

The acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer threatens to undermine current safeguards, and this is why we strongly oppose the potential deal.

Land is not a commodity

European Parliament calls for access to land for small and medium farmers, not corporations

For a long time "landgrabbing" - that is, the large-scale purchase of land for financial investment and industrial agricultural production - was considered primarily as a problem for developing countries. But Europe faces the same problem: Large investors are discovering arable land as a safe investment.

European Pillar of Social Rights and Work-life Balance

A first Greens/EFA assessment on Commission initiatives

On 26 April 2017, the Commission presented its proposals for a European Pillar of Social Rights and Work-Life Balance. Since advancing social Europe is a key objective of GreensEFA, we had a closer look at the different ...

Greens/EFA sounds the alarm against attacks on civil society and NGOs

It is beyond dispute that there is an increasing trend across the world to undermine democratic principles and shrink the freedoms and liberties that citizens and civil society organisations now enjoy. Hungary, Poland and Romania are recent EU examples of this.

Garment workers remain unsafe four years after Rana Plaza

Blog post by Jean Lambert MEP and Judith Sargentini MEP

Four years on from the Rana Plaza disaster, urgent action is needed to clean up the garment industry, say Green MEPs Jean Lambert and Judith Sargentini.

World health day

Nestlé’s global tax practices: clear as clean water?

7th of April marks World’s Health Day. This year this day is a bit special: it follows the 150th anniversary of the Swiss company Nestlé. The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament decided to commemorat...

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 3-6 April 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Palm oil and deforestation of rainforests; One year anniversary of the Panama Papers; Dieselgate: inquiry report and type approval legislation; EU-Syria strategy; Brexit: Article 50 resolution; Money Market Funds; MFF revision; GMO objection; Roaming charges.

International Romani Day

Green Publication on Countering antigypsyism in Europe

On the occasion of the International Romani Day on the 8th of April, a new publication by Green MEPs has been launched. It raises awareness of the most critical aspects of discrimination against European Roma and contributes to the fight against antigypsyism.

Citizens must be central to Brexit talks

According to MEPs from the European Free Alliance group, the negotiations should be fair and in good faith, with citizens' interests coming first and people not used as bargaining chips

One-year anniversary of the Panama Papers scandal

Have we seen a revolution yet?

One year ago today, over 100 investigative journalists working together from 80 countries, published the biggest leak in history, the Panama Papers. The release of 11.5 million documents and thousands of press articles allowed the world to understand the global scandal of tax evasion and money laundering.

Europe needs independent oversight to prevent another Dieselgate

Dieselgate inquiry

The Dieselgate inquiry is at and end and its come forward with some important recommendations about how to stop further cheating. One of the key demands is the establishment of an independent agency to monitor the market. Bas Eickhout writes on the battle to make sure this happens.

GM maize for cultivation

The Commission must accept the appeal committee’s vote and refuse new authorizations

With a clear majority of Member States voting against the cultivation of three GM maize varieties within the EU on Monday 27 March, it should now be clear to the European Commission that it is time to withdraw its proposals. But is the Commission paying attention?

The European Commission is tabling science fiction legislation on GMOs

20 types of GM maize have been proposed for authorisation in feed and food... some of them do not even exist yet!

The European Commission is proposing to authorise a new GM maize developed by Syngenta that contains up to 20 types. This means that a single authorisation could lead to a 20-fold increase in the amount of GM maize in our food and feed.

Parliament calls for improved citizen participation and transparency in report on e-democracy

From the Greens/EFA Transparency and Democracy Campaign

The European Parliament recently adopted a report on e-democracy which makes a series of recommendations on digital tools, citizen participation, and internal party democracy. Since transparency and democracy is one of our key priorities, we tabled a number of amendments to give the report some teeth.

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 13-16 March 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Mercury rules; Gender equality: still a long way to go on equality; Arctic policy; Animal welfare; Firearms control; LuxLeaks appeal verdict; Official controls in the food chain; Shareholders' rights; Conclusions of the European Council/Rome Declaration; Conflict minerals; Fishing sector data collection.

Still a long way to go until we reach gender equality in the EU

Report by Green MEP Ernest Urtasun

We continue to have many reasons to keep on fighting for equality. In the current political atmosphere in Europe, we need the EU’s leaders to take a firm stance on gender equality and make it a priority

European political parties should respect European values

Plenary debate with Josep-Maria Terricabras

MEPs have been discussing a request to review how the European parliament funds European political parties. The main concern is to avoid a misuse of public money and to ensure that European political parties respect European values.

Scotland's place in Europe's family of nations

Plenary intervention by Alyn Smith

Scotland faces the prospect of being removed from our family of nations against our clearly expressed democratic will. It's not fair, and if the EU is not a community of justice and law and democracy then what are we for?

Europe must ban drilling in the Arctic!

A blog from our climate campaign

The European Parliament is going to adopt its position on an ‘integrated EU Policy for the Arctic’. The Greens call on the EP to prevent dirty lobby from putting the Arctic even more at risk than it already is, and to strongly oppose any offshore hydrocarbon or mineral exploration and extraction in this very vulnerable corner of our planet

Will the European Commission give the Parliament more powers to deliver tax justice?

A look at the LuxLeaks tax debate

The European Parliament held a debate to look at the work that’s been done so far in response to the LuxLeaks scandal. The debate, which came on the back of a request from the Greens/EFA group, was quite revealing about where Europe stands in its fight for tax justice.

Rabbits and animal welfare

No to factory farming!

The European Parliament adopted Tuesday 14 March a report on minimum standards for the Protection of Farm Rabbits 2016/2077(INI) calling for specific legislation on minimum standards. Animal welfare is of a very high priority for the Greens/EFA group.

What's coming up next week in Parliament

Strasbourg Flash 13-16 March 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary include notably gender equality, EU Arctic policy, circular economy, LuxLeaks appeal verdict, animal welfare and rabbit farming, firearms, official controls in the food chain, shareholders' rights, conflict minerals, ...

Remember Fukushima, 6 years ago

Anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi I Nuclear Plant

The Fukushima nuclear disaster showed us once again that nuclear reactors will always remain extremely dangerous. Nuclear disasters damage the health of the local population but also create a huge financial burden for society.

Radioactive contamination of water and food

EU protection rules still decided behind closed doors

Many of the current nuclear reactors in the world are the result of technological choices of people who are not necessarily alive anymore. Yet the consequences of those choices affect people today all around the world, as well as generations to come, far beyond political borders and timeframes.

Palm oil

Time to stop fuelling deforestation and land-grabbing, to help victims of corporate abuses and to apply agroforestry

The environment and food safety committee of the European Parliament adopted on 8 March 2017 a strong report tackling the issue of palm-oil related deforestation and its human and environmental consequences. The Greens/EFA group is an active change driver in the EU and had taken the responsibility of drafting the opinions from the development and agricultural committees.

Panama Papers investigation

Has Société Générale told us the truth?

Almost one year after the Panama Papers scandal, the European Parliament committee (PANA committee) set up to investigate this matter is still looking into the issue and one of the key focuses of our work within the committee is the role of middlemen.

Principles for European whistleblower legislation

From the Greens/EFA Transparency and Democracy Team

The need to protect whistleblowers is increasingly recognised at international, national and local level, and in many different sectors, ranging from health care, to public spending, to banking or the environment.

Europe must embrace strongly pro-European historic nations like Scotland and Catalonia

Terricabras on the future of Europe

Terricabras was speaking in a debate in the European Parliament with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on his much awaited 'White paper on the future of Europe', which sets out five scenarios for the future course of the EU post-Brexit.

Anti-Corruption

Greens/EFA members call on Council of Europe to monitor Romanian government

Concerned about the recent attempts of the Romanian government to decriminalise corruption and weaken the country’s conflicts of interest rules, a group of Greens/EFA Members of the European Parliament have written on 27 February 2017 to Secretary General of the Council of Europe Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland, and to the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) led by Mr. Gianluca Esposito.

Dear Minister, support She Decides!

Global gag rule

EU governments must join forces to protect women's rights. Tell your government to support the #SheDecides initiative against the 'global gag rule'.

Join the Food Revolution Newsletter

Issue n°25 - February 2017

In this issue : new rules will help prevent overfishing / take action and tell your Ministries to block 3 genetically modified maize from entering EU fields / a European citizens' initiative to stop glyphosate / European Commission comitology reform / access to land for farmers in the EU

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 13-16 February 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Emissions Trading System revision; Whistleblowers: Greens keep up pressure on Commission to act; Austrian President Van der Bellen addresses plenary; Future of the EU: joint debate; Statement by the President of the Eurogroup; Parliamentary vote on CETA; Terrorism directive; Robotics: legislative recommendations; Aviation strategy.

EFA MEPs join CETA protest

EFA MEPs Josep-Maria Terricabras and Jill Evans joined protestors outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg to show their opposition to the controversial CETA trade agreement between the EU and Canada.

Time for the European Commission to facilitate the transition to a sustainable EU farming model

Stop glyphosate and make low risk pesticides available to EU farmers!

One week after the launch of a European citizens’ initiative aiming at banning glyphosate-based herbicides in the EU and setting EU-wide mandatory reduction targets for pesticide use, the European Parliament adopted today with a broad majority a non-binding resolution calling for increased EU availability of low-risk pesticides, focussing on those of biological origin.

European Parliament demands protection for whistleblowers uncovering fraud in the EU budget

A strong signal to the European Commission

The report focusses on the crucial role played by whistleblowers in preventing and uncovering fraud and mismanagement of the EU budget.

How to get your product on the market, whatever the human or environmental cost, in 4 easy steps

Imagine you want to make money. A lot of money. Imagine one way of making a lot of money is to place your industrial product on one of the biggest markets in the world, for as long as possible, and in as many areas of the market as possible.

President Juncker, be our valentine, give EU democracy back!

The Greens/EFA group is calling for reforms of the comitology system that lead to a truly transparent and democratic process, that takes decisions based peer-reviewed science. This is a great opportunity to put back decisions with potential impacts on health, human rights and/or the environment at the political level where they belong.

What's coming up next week in Parliament

Strasbourg Flash week commencing 13th February

The European Parliament is in session in Strasbourg from Monday 13th to Thursday 16th February. We take a look at the main issues coming up, including the vote on CETA and the revision of the Emission Trading System.

TAAKS AVOID: A PRODUCT NO LONGER AVAILABLE?

How to hide tax money if you know the right tricks

A year ago, the Greens presented the latest IKEA product: Taaks Avoid, an easy-to-assemble item of furniture providing the opportunity to hide tax money if you know the right tricks.

Keep the spirit of the Paris agreement alive!

MEPs must bring emissions trading scheme up to scratch

On 15th February, the European Parliament will vote on an extremely important piece of legislation: the European Emission Trading Scheme!

New Swedish climate law

Interview with Jakop Dalunde MEP

On 2nd February, the Swedish government unveiled a very ambitious new climate law. We are interviewing Jakop Dalunde, Green Swedish Member of the European Parliament, to find more about this.   1.  We hea...