The EU-Mercosur Agreement: A threat to the environment and livelihoods?

20.11.2019

A Greens/EFA Conference

The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, due to be voted by the European Parliament during this mandate, will be discussed in detail with researchers, experts and civil society. The event is open to all and will be livestreamed on the day

Greens/EFA call on action instead of empty declarations

Climate emergency

A Group of MEPs among which the Greens/EFA tabled an amendment for the resolution ahead of the UN Climate Conference COP25 to ask for the declaration of climate emergency on a European level. The European Parliament should not only officially declare climate emergency, but also agree on a number of concrete measures to make the declaration tangible.

Breakthrough for climate budget

EU budget 2020

The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission agreed on a green EU budget for the year 2020. The climate budget is finally becoming real under pressure from the Greens/EFA and the European Parliament. The ambitious fight against youth unemployment threatened to fail because of national egotisms in the Council. Yet, in the end, the European Parliament prevailed.

EIB takes big step towards becoming a climate bank but loopholes remain

European Investment Bank

EU Member States and the Commission agreed to a new energy lending policy for the European Investment Bank. It is a good step in the right direction and a milestone on the road to ending investments for fossil fuels altogether. The EIB needs to become the climate bank of Europe but we're not quite there yet.

US formally requests to withdraw from Paris Climate Agreement

Climate change

Donald Trump is shirking the USA's responsibility to the world and to its own people by pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

European Parliament demands better protection for bees

Bee protection / pesticides

The Parliament's objection is sending a strong signal to the Commission not to bow to the pressure of Member States and the agro-chemical industry. The Parliament is demanding a new text that fully implements existing scientific guidelines. Bee populations are suffering everywhere largely due to the use of pesticides, with major consequences for our ecosystems and food supplies.

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.

EIB must become climate bank & stop support for fossil fuels

Climate

Today, the European Parliament will debate 'Greening the European Investment Bank' (EIB) at the plenary session in Brussels. The Greens/EFA group support calls for turning the EIB into a climate bank and are calling for the EIB to stop financial support for any fossil fuel projects by 2020, ...

European Parliament votes to make the MFF work for the climate

EU budget

Today a large majority of MEPs voted to make the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 work for the climate. Rasmus Andresen, shadow rapporteur for the Greens/EFA group on the EU's 2020 budget, comments: "The European Parliament wants to turn the EU budget into the driving f...

Right intentions and promising words are not enough

Hearing with Frans Timmermans

On the hearing of Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President-designate for a “European Green Deal”, Bas Eickhout, Coordinator of the Greens/EFA in the Committee on Environment, comments:

MEPs vote for ambitious budget that invests in climate protection, youth & sea rescue

Quote from Rasmus Andresen MEP

MEPs voted for more than €2 billion to be invested in climate protection and around €500 million to combat youth unemployment and promote youth exchanges through the Erasmus programme. The Greens/EFA group was successful in its demand for a new budget line for an EU sea rescue mission.

Greens/EFA call for urgent action on oceans & extreme sea-levels

IPCC Special Report on Oceans

The dramatic melting of ice and rising sea levels must be an urgent warning that we cannot wait any longer for real action on climate change. The EU can't afford to come away empty-handed from the UN Climate Change Conference in Chile this December and in Glasgow next year after the poor showing of this week's summit in New York.