The Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) – a small levy on financial transactions designed to raise funds for public services while ‘cooling down’ the pace of the financial speculation and bankers’ gambling responsible for the financial crash of 2008 – was agreed by the EU last year.

Initially, 11 countries – including France and Germany – agreed to take part.

But the UK refused to join – and immediately launched court action in a bid to block anyone else from implementing it either, fearful that it could be imposed on UK banks operating in the Eurozone later.

London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert said: “This ruling is really about whether or not we want to support speculative casino banking with billions of pounds of public money when the bankers get it wrong.

“In 2008, they got things spectacularly wrong, and we are all still paying the price with recession and government austerity measures.

“A ‘Robin Hood’ Tax would slow down the gambling – and raise revenue for public services at the same time. I can see why the French and German governments have embraced the idea.

“I welcome this ruling, which takes us down the road of delivering the more people-centred banking industry the Greens in Brussels are working hard for.”

It had been expected that the European Court of Justice would issue its decision later this year. The UK Chancellor is expected to appeal against the ruling.

Ms Lambert added: “With over 50 MEPs from around the EU in our group, we Greens have been able to make sure ordinary voices have been heard and propose a wide range of banking reforms, such as a Robin Hood Tax and a cap on bankers’ bonuses.

“Many of these reforms have been taken up at EU level, and we look forward to them being enacted in the UK too.

“The Government here likes to pretend this is about the UK’s freedom from Brussels, but really it’s about the banks’ freedom from democracy.”

The post EU court rules in favour of Greens’ ‘Robin Hood’ Tax appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

I welcome the European Parliament’s rejection of cuts to the EU budget last week – the decision to reject the plans will mean social and environmental projects can continue.

MEPs had been asked to approve government plans for a €34bn reduction in the so-called ‘Multi-annual Financial Framework’ (MFF) – the EU’s long-term budget. The MFF is currently being negotiated alongside the EU budget for the 2013-14 financial year.

Had the proposals been adopted it would mean less many for social and employment-boosting projects across Europe, as well as fewer projects to protect the environment, and, crucially, a reduction in development work in poorer countries outside the EU.

A ‘yes’ vote by MEPs would also see an end to parliament’s effective involvement in future negotiations about the level of the budget – and the way it was spent.

Cuts to the EU budget are just cuts.

It’s vital projects to tackle poverty, boost employment, protect human rights and enhance our fragile environment that would suffer from a reduced income at EU level – the subsidies paid out to rich landowners under the Common Agriculture Policy, for example, would remain untouched.

As I have argued elsewhere, austerity measures and spending cuts by governments are hitting the most vulnerable: women, older people, young people, the disabled, hardest – and in this context we need more, not less, money to be spent at EU level on programs to alleviate this reality.

Now MEPs have rejected ministers’ proposals on the budget, we must all get back around the drawing board and find a budget we can all agree on in the best interests of the EU – and its 450,000,000-odd citizens.

The post Statement on the EU budget vote in the European Parliament: ‘Cuts to the EU budget are just Cuts’ appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

The booklet features articles from Green Members of the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee on subjects such as youth unemployment, minimum income schemes, homelessness and gender equality.

Download here: Green Social Europe

The post Green Social Europe: Thoughts on Social Policy from the European Greens appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

The First European Semester and its contribution to EU2020

The post The first European Semester and its contribution to the EU2020 appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

Starting within the five boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest and Greenwich, the East London Green Jobs Alliance will seek to stimulate the local green economy and provide training and jobs for local people, especially the young and unemployed.

Jean has been a long-term advocate for green jobs as evidenced by her recent ‘What is a Green Job?’ campaign, launched in February with the premier screening of the ‘What is a Green Job?’ film at the Arcola Theatre, Dalston.  The short film looks at how three London enterprises from across the city are using their successful businesses to contribute to a fairer society and a greener environment for all.

As a member of the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee, Jean has taken the opportunity to push the European Union to support new jobs in the environmental sector and changes in existing workplaces to help create a low carbon economy for future generations.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Jean said: “The change towards a sustainable economy is not only an ecological necessity but an important step towards securing fair employment and training for all, yet the UK continues to miss out on possible new jobs thanks in part to a historic lack of investment.

“In the face of draconian public spending cuts, the East London Green Jobs Alliance is just the kind of grassroots initiative needed to trigger a green revolution in the east of the city, bringing essential opportunities to the young and unemployed.  I wish the Alliance the very best as it seeks to build a fairer and greener community for future generations.”

Notes to Editors

1. For further information about East London Green Jobs Alliance, please visit: http://www.otesha.org.uk/programmes/east-london-green-jobs-alliance
2. ‘What is a Green Job?’ can be viewed on the Green Party YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGSsAvSSQ14

The post Green MEP welcomes launch of East London Green Jobs Alliance appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

It looks at the situation at London, UK and European levels, and makes recommendations to develop key sectors, invest in green skills, and to work with trade unions and businesses to green workplaces. Given the urgent challenge of climate change and current economic problems, Green Work calls for greater investment in green jobs and training, which will benefit the environment and make the economy more sustainable. It also idenfies a number of barriers inhibiting greater progress, and calls for their removal.

Hard copies of Green Work are available from Jean’s London office on request.

Download Green Work Report

The post Green Work: Employment and skills – the climate change challenge appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

In the European Parliament, I am a member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, concerned with issues such as training, working conditions and social inclusion. I am also a member of the SAARC (South Asia) delegation and, having seen that other speakers will be talking about their experiences in Indonesia post-Tsunami, I wanted to speak about my related experiences. I spent Easter 2005 in Sri Lanka and the Maldives as a part of a delegation visit to look at the effects of the Tsunami, as well as other issues relating to the conflict in Sri Lanka and Human Rights in the Maldives.

In Sri Lanka, we saw the area near the capital, Colombo, where a quirk of geography had resulted in a relatively small part of the coast being hit but at enormous cost. We visited the school en route to Galle where water had swept through and destroyed the headteacher’s house; as it was a holiday, he and his family had been away, and luckily none of his pupils had been lost. He had visited many of his pupils’ families, urging them to return their children to school on January 10th – the start of the new term: a few parents would sit by the gates, unwilling to be far from their children – just in case.

We visited a less populated area further along the coast, closer to a conflict zone. We could just make out the remains of the floors of houses –everything else had been swept away. We saw a few remaining small fishing boats being repaired and were shown the wells – now unusable as they were contaminated by salt water: it is estimated it will take up to ten years for the underground aquifers to be replenished by fresh water. This a growing issue in many coastal areas following fierce storms – likely to be an increasing occurrence in the face of climate change

Everywhere, we saw evidence of local aid efforts and international aid organisations – some already in the country due to poverty levels and conflict. UNHCR was, for the first time there, working with people displaced by environmental disaster. It is unlikely to be the last

In the Maldives, the loss of life had been less severe (fewer people hit by or entangled in rubble). The wave had also been more a swell across the low-lying islands (the highest natural point is 1.8m above sea level), possibly cushioned by the outlying coral reefs. In the capital, Male, it was also felt that the effect had been lessened by the improved sea defences, built by the Japanese in order to help mitigate the possible effects of climate change.

The Maldives are part of the Small Islands Group – likely to disappear as sea levels rise. The day of the tsunami, they had just left the category of “least-developed nations”: the tsunami probably put them back there.

As the IPCC report made clear yesterday: Don’t be poor if you face environmental disaster. The poor have fewer resources and fewer choices.

The Maldivians had already been planning for climate change: aiming to alter the topography of their main islands to provide a rise at the island edges to protect the land behind. They were then considering the need for a high point on each island as a “safe point” in the event of a tsunami warning. Now they have to plan for natural disaster as well as man-made ones.

It is not clear what environmental lessons are being learnt in Sri Lanka. Certainly, the post- tsunami period has not seen a move to reconciliation and peace, as we have seen in Aceh.

The UNEP, WWF and other organisations all felt that the “greenbelt effect” of coral reefs and mangrove swamps helped to lessen the effects of the tsunami, just as they have helped to reduce the effects of cyclones and severe storms.

Up to half the world’s mangrove swamps have disappeared in the last 20-30 years because of the development of tourist resorts, transport infrastructure and commercial prawn fishing (Cripps, WWF in Associated Press 07.01.05). Bangladesh is losing its mangrove swamps, which are a protection against coastal flooding and a source of livelihood and biodiversity.

Globally, coral reefs have been hit by wastewater from new developments, dynamite fishing and warmer waters due to climate change.

The lesson is that all countries are having to re-adapt to nature. We are having to reconsider our ideas of development, responsibility and solidarity. The latest IPCC report reinforces that need.

The large amounts of money donated post-tsunami may be used for climate-proofing reconstruction, although I am not totally hopeful, but climate change will not be addressed simply through money. It requires a change in behaviour and an understanding of cause and effect, as demonstrated in Christian Aid’s excellent campaign. Turning off the lights becomes not only good domestic economics but an act of international solidarity.

The world’s poorest countries are suffering the effects of the rich world’s careless lifestyle.

We also need to understand that the effects will not only be felt abroad (out of sight, out of mind as it were ) but also at home. I’m from Essex, so I think of Canvey Island, Thames Gateway which are at sea level – not just Bangladesh. Research from the Association of British Insurers makes sober reading. This really is an international issue: think global, act local – takes on a new resonance.

We also need to be “climate-proofing” our development: in our own lives, our places of work and in what we teach.

The EU’s revised Sustainable Development Strategy now recognises the importance of education and training. It says: Education is a prerequisite for promoting the behavioural changes and providing all citizens with the key competences needed to achieve sustainable development. Success in reversing unsustainable trends will to a large extent depend on high-quality education for sustainable development at all levels of education… .

Alan Johnson’s recent statements on teaching about climate change will not just affect the geography curriculum but also science, technology, religious studies and, most certainly, citizenship.

Teaching about climate change and working on the practical consequences has a real purpose and urgency. Education, across the age range, really has the power to transform our lives and our world. You have the power to help effect that change.

The post Climate, Education and Unions appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

If we are to have long-term sustainability and develop a truly Green economy, we have to take care that we foster environmentally-friendly businesses which use resources efficiently: that includes its workforce.

If we are demanding that businesses provide social and environmental audits, we need the accountants and other professionals that can do that.

If we want builders who can construct energy-efficient buildings, we need to train them. Hence our call for all EU funded training initiatives to take the environmental dimension into account.

Social inclusion is a key component of a sustainable society: hence the need for a guaranteed minimum income to provide for basic needs: we need to combat discrimination and poverty and hence the Social Agenda has a role in creating a sustainable society.

Hence our call for rapid progress on enabling people to work efficiently through effective consultation and participation, reduced working hours and good quality work in safe working conditions, supported by an effective system of social security.

Strong local economies have a vital role to play in, for example reducing transport requirements and maintaining social cohesion so we want to see the budget lines maintained to support that

Sustainable development is about creating a world in which there are no losers. As the Commission’s Communication points out:

“Sustainable development offers the EU a positive long-term vision of a society that is more prosperous and more just and which promises a cleaner, safer, healthier environment – a society which delivers a better quality of life for us, for our children and for our grandchildren.”
(It’s a pity the Nice Treaty missed this opportunity!)

We cannot achieve this if we continue with policies that pull in different directions and even undermine each other: we have to find an effective way to ensure integration and sustainability.

The post European Parliament debate on sustainability appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.