Social Rights

Parliament sets out rules to end exploitation

Posting of workers

We can and must end the abuse of posted workers, says Terry Reintke. Posted workers have waited far too long to see progress. There is a clear parliamentary consensus and we now expect to see EU Member States match the level of ambition agreed.

More political pressure needed

Schengen and migration

Greens/EFA co-president Ska Keller comments on the European Commission's plans for the future of the Schengen area and the European refugee and migration policy.

More action required to stop the poverty driving forced migration

Migration

"What is sorely missing now is proposals to really counter the poverty driving forced migration. Because that is what we want to see; that people are not forced to leave their home town to pursue a better future", says Green migration spokesperson Judith Sargentini.

Sustainable development at the core of our agenda

European Sustainable Development Week 30 May-5 June

The Greens/EFA Group always emphasized the need to integrate environmental and social concerns in all policies. Sustainable development is at the core of our agenda. We are active to ensure that these issues remain high on the programme of the European Parliament.

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 15-18 May 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: food waste; Commission statement: harnessing globalisation by 2025; ECJ ruling on competences of EU vs Member States in FTAs; Council and Commission statements - Making relocation happen; Vote on GMO objections; Situation in Hungary; Money laundering; Conclusions of the European Council meeting; Cross-border portability.

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.

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 parts of the proposals and made a first assessment.   Commission ini...

Gulf between vision and action is far too wide

European Commission proposals on Social Europe

The European Commission has presented its proposals for a European pillar of social rights and work-life balance. This coincides with the publication of a reflection paper in which it sets out its long term vision for a social Europe. For the Greens/EFA group, this may be a first step, but there is still a long way to go.

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.

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.

Closing loopholes will improve public safety

Gun control

Improvements to the firearms directive backed by the European Parliament include the prohibition of certain semi-automatic firearms and converted firearms, better measures for deactivation, tracing and storage of weapons, and more information exchange between EU countries.