European Union

Today, the European Commission released their Fit for 55 legislative package. This bundle aims to revise the EU’s current 2030 climate and energy rules. The package will implement the goal of reducing average EU carbon emissions by 55% in 2030. In response to the package, Evelien van Roemburg, Oxfam EU Head of Office said: “We are at a tipping point in the fight against the climate crisis. The EU has the opportunity to keep us from tipping over the edge by capping the rampant increase in global temperatures to 1.5° Celsius."

The European Parliament voted on its EU budget for aid and foreign policy (NDICI). In response to the vote, Evelien van Roemburg, Oxfam EU Head of Office said: "This new financial instrument stands a real chance at combatting poverty and inequality which has leapt during the pandemic."

Today, EU countries rubber-stamped the deal on the EU’s new supply chain rules. This law — the Corporate Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) — aims to make companies accountable for the damage they cause to people and the planet. 

Today, EU ambassadors failed to rubber-stamp the recently agreed deal on new EU supply chain rules. This law — the Corporate Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) — aims to make companies accountable for the damage they cause to people and the planet. 

Today, EU countries agreed on a renewed EU global health strategy - the EU’s global vision for funding and international cooperation in relation to health. In response, Oxfam EU health expert, Piotr Kolczynski, said: “In the EU’s Health Commissioner's own words, where you live should not determine whether you live or die. But EU countries only pay heed to these words within Europe’s borders. In the rest of the world, the EU is playing the industry's game and undermining the right to health of the world's poorest people. 

When a crises hits, be it an unfolding conflict or a natural disaster, humanitarian aid is a lifeline for people. The EU has a role to play in making sure that peoples’ needs come first, and that they receive live-saving aid and support as is their right.

The global food system is broken. It is unsustainable for people and planet. The combination of extreme inequality and poverty, human rights violations, conflict and the climate crisis has left hundreds of millions of people struggling to find their next meal. More recently, the sharp food price inflation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have added fuel to the fire

The EU and EU countries must commit to a feminist foreign policy. This means an intersectional feminist approach which puts gender, racial, economic and climate justice at its heart, prioritizes decolonization and puts the voices of those who have historically been least represented, and are often most impacted, at the centre of policymaking. 

The EU must relaunch its relationship with Latin America (LAC) by putting the region and its societies higher on the EU agenda. This ‘relaunch’ must focus on ending inequality in LAC – one of the world’s most unequal regions.

Companies cannot be left off the hook for the damage they cause to people and the planet. Precarious working conditions, low wages, and human rights abuses including slavery are rife in supply chains. Women are disproportionately affected as they are overwhelmingly concentrated in the least secure and lowest paid positions in supply chains, and routinely denied to use their voice.