Why should I be interested in the European elections?11 February 2008
Most environmental laws are now passed in the European Parliament. So far European Union (EU) laws have improved drinking water, recycling rates and safety at waste disposal sites.
But new laws can't be passed unless Members of the European Parliament vote for them. And Friends of the Earth research shows that UK MEPs have a bad record of voting against measures that would protect our environment (see EU Vote Watch).
As a constituent, you can have a lot of influence over what your MEP says and does (and they're particularly interested in what you have to say around election time).
So we've come up with 5 key pledges for the environment that we're asking prospective MEPs to support:
- Making big business come clean on its global social and environmental performance.
- Supporting our right to know what chemicals are in products.
- Calling for trade rules that protect communities and the environment.
- Making laws to protect our food and farming from GM.
- Tackling climate change by supporting tough caps on industry's emissions of greenhouse gases.
Find out how green your MEP is and what they think of our pledges.
The European Parliament decides most of our laws on the environment, public health and sustainable development. The run up to the European Elections is a great time to get your MEP candidates thinking green.
