Analysis of the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur

Greens/EFA Study

The study offers a comprehensive review of the disciplines and mechanisms covered in the hundreds of pages of text which make up the agreement, and of their potential effects. It covers all chapters published so far, addressing changes to trade flows in goods and services, rules, standard-making and non-tariff barriers to trade. The study is based on a textual analysis of the agreement itself, while also integrating secondary literature, impact assessments, and the perspectives and analyses of stakeholders on the agreement.

The abuse of European Patent law must stop!

This Thursday, 19 September, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution on the issue of the patentability of biological plants and animals, aka plants and animals that could be found in nature or bred by farmers.

GREENS/EFA Proposals on Media Freedom in the EU

Media freedom, pluralism and independence across Europe are being undermined in many ways. Although the European Union institutions may claim to have limited competence to defend media freedom and pluralism across the region, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament is convinced that more can, and should be done.

Greens/EFA demands for a Social Union

Greens/EFA are convinced that we urgently need clear steps towards the sustainable transformation of our economy and the creation of quality, long-term jobs. Europe needs a plan to face the challenges of climate change and a just transition roadmap that fairly distributes the benefits as well as the effort required to get to a resource-efficient future economy.

10 priority measures to protect our climate

If the climate were a bank, the governments would have saved it long ago. The Greens/EFA group stands for bold actions against climate change that are in line with the Paris Agreement. We want to reduce CO2 emissions of 65% by 2030 and go carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest by shifting to 100% renewables...

Fund farms, not factories

10 Priorities for the cap reform and beyond

What kind of agriculture do we want? What kind of animal agriculture should the European Union promote through its various policies, including of course its Common Agricultural Policy?

Every Farm Counts

Why we need to keep as many farms on the land as we can

A quarter of all farms disappeared in the EU between 2005 and 2016. And corporate power still pushes farmers to go big or go out of business. But there are alternatives! Many small to medium-sized farms provide better income and more jobs and are more resilient than big farms. The key to their success is the adoption of agroecological and organic practices.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ending corporate abuses: why Europe must support a UN Treaty

Towards a UN binding treaty on business and human rights

Globalisation heavily relies on the exploitation of workers in developing countries by Transnational Corporations. However, when these workers' human rights are abused, it is basically impossible for them to achieve proper redress. International pushes for the creation of a UN binding treaty on business and human rights seek to redress this profoundly unequal dynamic and end corporate impunity.

Pesticides found in hair samples

Pesticides are ubiquitous in our environment and food

The Greens/EFA set up a campaign to measure human exposure for a selection of 30 pesticides, reported as endocrine disruptors, among the EU population. The analyses detects toxic pesticides such as fipronil but also chlorpyrifos. Read more

EU-Japan Agreement

Preliminary Review on behalf of the Green/EFA Trade Working Group

The EU-Japan deal will be publicly presented as a symbol of an open, liberal trade regime, in contrast with the protectionist measures taking place in the US and elsewhere. The attack on the rules-based international trading system makes it all the more important for the EU to embed its’ values and live up to its commitments for sustainability and ecological responsibility in the agreements it signs. Based on the following analysis, we conclude that the EU-Japan agreement is another missed opportunity to fulfil this often-cited mantra.

Reporting taxation

Analysing loopholes in the EU’s automatic exchange of information and how to close them

The report highlights how EU citizens can continue to use tax havens through avoiding the automatic exchange of financial information by setting up bank and other financial accounts in countries not applying OECD standards effectively, or by holding accounts in the US through a legal entity. Wealthy individuals can also easily circumvent EU tax rules through "Golden Visa" schemes which allow people to buy residency or citizenship in another country.

Hungary: Q&A on Sargentini Report on the rule of law

On Wednesday 12 September, the European Parliament will vote on the report on Hungary by the Dutch Green MEP Judith Sargentini. If a two-thirds majority supports Sargentini’s conclusions, then for the first time in history the European Parliament will conclude that in an EU country there is a clear risk of a serious breach of democracy, fundamental rights and rule of law.

Green light for sustainable mobility

Vision and pathway to 2050

Too often, policymaking is dominated by cars and aimed at reducing road congestion, rather than at the broader challenge of a transition towards a sustainable transport sector. The Greens/EFA commissioned a study to explore what a truly sustainable mobility sector in 2050 might look like, and how we might get there.

Pathways to a Euratom Reform

Short legal evaluation and strategy approach

On 3 July, the EU Commission is going to present its ideas for the future of energy and climate poli...

Green Trade for All

A Greens/EFA paper

Green trade policy needs to identify the first bold steps on the path to bring us closer to an ecological vision for trade. Such steps should be developed as much as possible at the multilateral level, including proposing the necessary changes to the existing rules of the world trade system as embodied in the WTO.