In the final plenary session of this legislature, Members of the European Parliament passed the EU’s General Food Law reform Making the publication of toxicity data mandatory, the approved reform is a massive transparency win that will enable much greater scrutiny of the European Union’s food safety decisions. Reaction to the move was swift and came from Martin Pigeon,…
The 16-year old Swede, who inspired the worldwide “School Strike For Climate” movement, addressed MEPs in an Environment Committee meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday. In her opening statement, Greta Thunberg called for “permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” to combat the breakdown of the climate and eco systems. This includes reducing CO2…
A respected international academic has questioned the legality of removing parliamentary passes for ExxonMobil employees. It comes after the Greens/EFA group in parliament claimed that ExxonMobil refused to attend a recent parliamentary hearing on the company’s alleged role in funding climate change denial. The group sent a letter to Parliament’s President Antonio Tajani and the…
MEPs and African, Caribbean and Pacific MPs discussed the future of the partnership and agreed to enhance support for education and the fight against climate change. During the 37th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), which took place from 18 to 20 March in Bucharest, Members of the European Parliament and their counterparts from 78…
The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has this week approved a total of €2.4 billion of new financing to improve public services, upgrade infrastructure and strengthen private sector investment. · €905 million new financing for rail and road transport projects across Europe · €1 billion for business investment and corporate…
EU environment ministers are holding talks in the hope of agreeing a proposal for further ivory trade restrictions in the next two weeks to be presented at the CoP in Sri Lanka in May. Ahead of that meeting, the EU is being urged to “be brave” and close its markets now like other nations including…
The European Commission has revealed the finalists of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards and the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP). The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards showcase local authorities that demonstrate significant efforts in promoting sustainable urban mobility, while the SUMP Award recognises outstanding sustainable urban mobility planning. The finalists for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2018 for larger municipalities…
A petition has been launched in France against the mineral wool giant Rockwool over a planned plant in Soissons in the Aisne region. There is public concern in the community over the potential pollution and related health problems that could be caused by the plant. These French concerns echo those over the new Rockwool factories…
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and its Atlantic Arc and North Sea Commissions have presented what it calls “positive proposals” to Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s Chief Negotiator for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the UK, to limit Brexit’s damaging impact on regions in the Atlantic, the Channel and North…
Concern is growing about the environmental and safety aspects of mineral wool products in the construction industry. The product is an efficient insulation material and affordable. But is it safe? Europe appears to be applying weaker quality and testing standards than the USA; is it time to review controls in the light of the increasing…
