European Union Office

Oxfam stunt in front of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, calling for EU policies as part of the campaign ‘food not fuel’.

The European Union office of Oxfam International is based in Brussels. We advocate for EU policies that fight the inequality keeping people locked in a cycle of poverty.

We want just and fairer economies. We strive for gender justice and for the rights of women and girls in all their diversity. We fight for climate justice and create safe spaces that allow people to hold the powerful to account. Rooted in communities, we tackle the causes and consequences of disaster and conflict.

Europe must lead on climate action

Oxfam advocates for the EU to step up its climate action. It must fulfil its promise to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, increase funding for international action to fight the climate emergency and not promote false climate solutions which fuel hunger by incentivising the use of land to produce bioenergy.

EU must ensure open civic space

Oxfam advocates for the EU to be a global champion for civic space. Civic space enables citizens to speak out against power, peacefully protest, express their needs, interests, and concerns, and propose and negotiate solutions.

Hold business accountable for damage to people and the planet

The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the toys we buy should be free from human suffering and environmental destruction. Oxfam advocates for EU rules to make companies accountable for the damage they cause to people and the planet.

Advancing gender justice in EU foreign policy

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, prioritises decolonisation and puts the voices of those who have historically been least represented at the centre of policymaking.

Fix the global food system

The global food system is broken. We need fair and sustainable food systems. The EU can support by strengthening food production at a local level in poorer countries and promoting the rights of farmers, especially women farmers, who are key in the fight against hunger and poverty.

A relaunch of EU-LAC relations

The EU must relaunch its relationship with Latin America. The relationship must focus on ending inequality in the world’s most unequal region.

Fighting inequality in Europe and beyond

Oxfam advocates for the EU to contribute to a fairer tax system to reduce inequality between the rich and poor. Making the super-rich and the most profitable corporations pay their fair share are essential to achieving a fairer tax system.

An Oxfam stunt calling for action to tackle tax havens. Credit: Tineke D'haese/Oxfam

EU aid must work for people in need

EU development aid is for ending poverty, reducing inequality, and promoting gender justice. Oxfam advocates for the EU to make sure that aid serves these ends and that there is enough money in the aid pot to do so.

Millions of people worldwide are affected by human rights violations, conflict and natural disasters, and even more need support to lift themselves out of poverty.

Putting people first in conflict and crisis

Humanitarian needs around the world are outpacing available funding. The EU must take the right response when humanitarian crises hit, be they natural disasters or conflicts, while spearheading processes to ensure an effective and locally-led humanitarian response and ensuring international law is always upheld.

A fair and efficient asylum system for people seeking protection in Europe

The EU and EU countries must work together to make rules that fairly share the responsibility of welcoming people across Europe. They must stop striking up migration deals and using aid to outsource their responsibility. They must end pushbacks and rights violations at Europe’s borders.