EU

On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire was projected at Mont des Arts in Brussels. This visual statement, projected in Europe’s capital, underscores the critical need for a permanent ceasefire to end the suffering in Gaza, where, in 54 days alone, more than 14 800 Palestinians (70% of them women and children) have been reported killed and more than 36,000 injured amid intensifying hostilities. 

On Thursday, 1 June, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will vote on the EU’s new rules to make companies accountable for the damage they cause to people and the planet: the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). If the European Parliament fails to vote in favour of ambitious amendments, the final text risks being a far cry from what is needed.

Read Oxfam EU's media briefing which breaks down the rules and what MEPs need to do to make them stronger. 

After years of deadlock, EU justice and home affair ministers will seek to reach an agreement this week on two key files: the border procedure which includes the potential detention of children, and the solidarity mechanism which puts relocations on equal footing with financial contributions.   

The European Union has adopted a new approach to foreign policy dubbed the “Global Gateway,” supported by a new European Financial Architecture for Development (EFAD). These policies are a direct response to the state of permacrises that the world finds itself in. It seeks to inject 180-300 billion euros over a period of six years into the EU’s partner countries in the form of infrastructure projects, a green transition and digitalisation. 

Today, Tuesday 5 October, European economic and finance ministers met to approve an update to the EU’s list of tax havens. This comes in the midst of the unfolding Pandora papers scandal and global tax negotiations. 

Today, European heads of state and government met in Brussels to discuss migration policy and EU-Turkey relations. They called for the intensification of ‘mutually beneficial partnerships and cooperation with countries of origin and transit’ while also condemning and rejecting ‘any attempts by third countries to instrumentalise migrants for political purposes’. 

With its action plan on inclusion and integration, the Commission has opened up an important opportunity for Europe to promoting inclusive and cohesive societies, where everyone has a stake, said Oxfam today. It’s now up to EU governments to set this plan into action, for the benefit of us all.

The European Union risks fuelling conflict and human rights abuses around the world if it adopts the European Peace Facility (EPF) in its current form, warned Oxfam and 39 other civil society organisations with expertise on peace, human rights and the protection of civilians.

With its new long-term budget, the EU missed a chance to put itself at the forefront of a fair and green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Oxfam said today.