Poland: European Commission begins infringement proceedings

Quote from Ska Keller

On the announcement that the European Commission will begin infringement proceedings against Poland, Ska Keller, Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, comments.

Austria

Open for shady money

Tax loopholes, the sale of passports to dubious figures and inaction against money laundering makes Austria a safe haven for tax evaders, kleptocrats and corrupt cash according to a new report from the Greens/EFA group. The study "Austria - (still) open for shady money" released at the beginning of the Austrian Presidency of the EU shows that while Austria has made some progress on issues of financial secrecy in recent years, the country remains an attractive destination for dirty money.

Save Your Internet!

Copyright Directive

Unfortunately, the internet as we know and love it is under threat. The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs voted on 20th June in favour of the European Commission’s proposed Copyright Directive, which will tighten copyright laws and restrict our freedoms, In particular two amendments are the most dangerous.

European summit conclusions

Quote from Ska Keller, Greens/EFA Co-President

This summit buries the right to asylum in Europe. In future, refugees will de facto no longer have the possibility for asylum on European soil. The heads of state and government follow the right-wing nationalist agenda.

Green light for new flagship programme

European Solidarity Corps

The Greens/EFA group has welcomed a breakthrough in the negotiations over the EU’s flagship solidarity programme, European Solidarity Corps. The Council had originally refused to provide fresh funds to make the programme viable in the current budget period. However, after consistent pressure from the European Parliament, the Council finally backed down and agreed to provide more than €75m in additional money to fund this new flagship programme.

European Parliament calls on the EU to take a stand against Viktor Orban's assault on democracy

Hungary

The European Parliament has backed a report from Greens/EFA MEP Judith Sargentini for EU Member States to trigger Article 7 sanctions procedures against Hungary. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban's re-election in April the Hungarian government has continued its authoritarian crack down on civil society, academia and freedom of speech. Last week the Hungarian government passed the "Stop Soros" package of laws which aim to single out NGOs working on migration in the country and will make it almost impossible for organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to continue their operations in Hungary.

Results must not be dictated by Orbán and Seehofer

EU (mini) summit

In the run-up to next week's EU summit and the planned mini-refugee summit on migration this weekend, Green/EFA Group Co-Presidents Ska Keller and Philippe Lamberts comment.

Cross-party letter to President Tajani

Discrimination in Europe

The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, upon the initiative of Marco Affronte and Philippe Lamberts, has organised a cross-party letter to the President of the European Parliament, calling on him to speak out against the recent racist and discriminatory remarks of some European political leaders.

Quote from Josep Maria Terricabras

European Citizens' Initiative reform

The European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs committee has today voted on the reform of the European Citizens' Initiative, with the majority blocking all meaningful improvements.

The battle for a more democratic Europe heats up as we push for meaningful reform of the European Citizen’s Initiative

Despite the concerns raised by more than 60 NGOs as part of the #EPforgetusnot campaign, tomorrow’s vote on the reform of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) looks like it will fail to address the democratic aspirations of the 9,000,000,000 citizens who already signed an ECI in the hopes of having their voices heard by the European Commission. Read and take action

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 11-14 June 2018

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary week included: Multiannual Financial Framework; Brexit; Iran nuclear deal; Netherlands PM Mark Rutte on the Future of Europe; Poland: independence of the judiciary; Renewable Energy Directive; Circular economy at the heart of cohesion policy; Tax justice: transparency of big companies; FIFA: Play Fair – Fight for the forgotten; Climate change photo exhibition.

European Commission cannot have carte blanche on foreign affairs priorities

EU foreign policy

The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament has today expressed strong concerns about the European Commission's proposals to bundle multiple peace-building, defence and security policies under one budget line.