| Political Platform: | Political Platform |
|---|---|
| Proposer: | Ostra Zieleń – Polish Young Greens |
| Status: | Published |
| Submitted: | 04/21/2022, 09:53 |
FYEG stands for cultural rights. The colonial, discriminatory and assimilationist policies in European countries have left ethnic and national minorities heavily marginalised and vulnerable. We defend the right of individuals and communities, including ethnic and national minorities, to practise and preserve their cultures, including their languages, religions, art forms, and ways of life. NationalEthnic and national minorities must have strong legal protection, sufficient and stable funding and cultural autonomy in support of their efforts to revitalise, retain
FYEG Political Platform
We, the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG), are the movement of the
Green youth at the European level. Our individual and organisational backgrounds
lie in the social and environmental justice movements, in feminist and queer
battles, and in the defence of fundamental rights and democracy. For more than
30 years, our member organisations have joined forces at the European level,
uniting their collective voices and aspirations to learn from each other, to
debate, to campaign together, and to make the green Europe we wish to see become
a reality.
Through our shared struggles and aspirations, we see that not a single one of
our political issues is a lone priority. We refuse to choose between the
survival and well-being of the planet, our personal liberties and freedoms, and
social welfare. To be Green means to fight for all these demands simultaneously.
To achieve our goal of a feminist, diverse, democratic, sustainable, and social
Europe, we use different channels, political arenas, and tools. The institutions
of formal politics are spaces in which many decisions affecting our lives and
our politics are made. We work to be present and heard at all stages and levels,
and to make clear the urgency of Green politics.
FYEG advocates for systemic changes that cannot be achieved through a catalogue
of single-issue political measures. They require the dismantling of various
systems of oppression and the transformation of society as a whole. Therefore,
our fight is not limited to institutions. We are also active at the grassroots
level, running campaigns together, supporting local struggles, and empowering
changemakers through non-formal education projects.
Our work and practices as a movement must be aligned with what we stand for. We
must fight against the sexist, racist, ageist, ableist, class-based systems of
oppression – also within our own organisations. Only in this way can we build a
truly inclusive movement for all.
The challenges lie not only in victories within institutional politics, but also
in changing the political playing field. The dreams and actions of a small
number of committed individuals and movements can bring causes to the centre of
the political debate and, by doing so, effect much-needed change.
As the Federation of Young European Greens, we agree on the principles laid down
in this document, which should serve as a basis for our work across Europe.
FYEG fights for intersectional (see Glossary 91) feminism (see Glossary 63), a
feminism that is anti-racist, anti-fascist, and draws from the queer (see
Glossary 138) and disability rights movements. A feminism that recognises
diversity and the different ways in which privilege (see Glossary 185) and
oppression (see Glossary 114) manifest in society. Our feminism is not just
about smashing the patriarchy (see Glossary 123), but about smashing all systems
of oppression. We are against societies that only feed the dominant power. We
push for an alternative model based on justice and equity for those devalued by
systems of oppression, one that actively undermines the dominant power.
Systems of oppression seek to divide us, control us, and harm everyone in
society. We will not let them. We fight any kind of discrimination or hate crime
on the basis of real or assumed nationality, race, ethnicity, religion or
beliefs, gender and sexual identity, ideology, disability, class, or age. We
recognise the difference and diversity among people and societies in Europe, and
see this as a richness.
We advocate for policies created with people who experience discrimination and
support affirmative action for underrepresented groups. We demand anti-
discrimination laws. Governments must take measures to ensure the safety and
health of marginalized groups.
As we work for a Europe which is truly welcoming and inclusive for all, we take
a twofold approach. First, we work for social justice (see Glossary 155) and
equality now – within the limits of the current norms, within the systems that
constrain us – while recognising that this can never be social justice for
everyone and that, in this way, only small gains are made. Second, we question
the systems, we think them anew, in order to break free from the norms and
boundaries that constrain us.
Systems of oppression are a social construct and can therefore be deconstructed,
with the help of collective action and organising. We can imagine and give life
to new systems that work for all. We question human-made borders, the
arbitrariness of passports and permits, and the dichotomy of binary gender (see
Glossary 38).
Global systems of patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism and racism, and their
byproducts, ableism, cis- and hetero-sexism and colourism, among others,
intersect to create overlapping and mutually reinforcing layers of oppression
and inequality. The solutions we push for must therefore be rooted in an
intersectional perspective. When approaching a specific case of oppression, we
should not lose sight of the bigger framework in which oppression takes place,
as well as other systems of inequality associated with it.
When fighting inequality and tackling societal problems, we keep in mind that a
person’s identity has many facets and oppose approaches which define a group as
homogenous and based on a single identity.
We understand that all dimensions of a person’s identity contribute to a
person’s access to justice and equality. Inequality can take many forms, ranging
from the lack of representation of a specific identity in the public sphere to
the criminalisation of identities. Our aspiration is a world in which such
inequalities are dismantled, and people can express themselves and their
identities freely and without fear.
When new policies are proposed at all levels of governance, they should be
analysed from an intersectional perspective , taking into account the
individual, systemic, institutional and historical dimensions of inequality to
ensure that no one is left behind.
Today, European societies remain deeply racist. In such a context, it is not
enough to simply not be racist – we must be anti-racist. Racism is not only
about hate speech and hate crime: it is the systemic discrimination against and
oppression of people on the basis of their supposed membership of a particular
racial or ethnic group. It includes antiziganism, antisemitism (see Glossary 4),
and
islamophobia (see Glossary 93). It is built through the perpetuation of
prejudices, as well as the belief that there are different races and that some
races are superior to others. In the case of antisemitism, this ‘belief’ has
evolved into a world-explaining conspiracy ideology which sees all evil in Jews
and their destruction as the liberation from evil. Antisemitism is a continual
presence in society in
its entirety and antisemitic attitudes can be found across all groups of
society. We must always fight antisemitism in all its forms and
appearances,including in an anti-racist context.
European societies are built on the ongoing oppression and discrimination of
racialised people (see Glossary 140), including Black people, people of colour,
Roma and Traveller communities, Indigenous peoples, Muslims, and Jews. Today,
racialised people are still second-class citizens in Europe. This oppression is
visible in the institutions, on the streets, and in culture. Racialised people
face police violence and are discriminated against in all aspects of life, from
job opportunities to access to healthcare and housing. Hate and discrimination
with respect to religions and religious individuals and groups also forms an
important part in analysing certain social phenomena, including hate crimes,
discriminatory acts and anti-religious sentiments, in an anti-racist context.
Though they are not related to race and/or ethnicity, they still intersect with
other parts of one's identity and are also being unjustly conflated with the
race and/or ethnicity. (See Religion).
Race should be understood as a social construct and as a category that is used
to discriminate against people of colour and other racialised groups, and not as
a biological reality.
Racism in Europe is, among others, rooted in the colonial and imperialist
history of European countries. The ideologies and inequalities that it created
are still present today. To properly tackle racism, Europe must face up to its
colonial past and recognise the racism present in European history, societies,
cultures, and institutions. An appropriate response to this must include
monetary reparations for the former colonies of European states, as well as the
return of stolen artefacts currently exhibited and kept in European museums. The
colonial art restitution debate is a necessity and key contribution to the
decolonization of these relationships.
As racism is a structural and systemic problem, public and private institutions
must review and change their structures and processes. FYEG supports mechanisms
to dismantle racism and achieve justice for those who are marginalised by
systemic racism. We support the introduction of mechanisms of affirmative action
including access to higher education or public jobs. States must fight
discrimination in access to healthcare, jobs, justice, and education. To ensure
that the population and in particular the next generation is educated about
racism, curricula should be designed that cover different forms and appearances
of racism, its history, systemic and structural causes and who has benefitted
from this.
Equipped with this knowledge and tools to reflect their situation and
circumstances of living, individuals have to recognise their own privileges,
educate themselves, and join in solidarity with people and communities affected
by racism.
More specifically, FYEG strongly believes that addressing racial oppression
holds the key to achieving not only social justice but also climate justice and
equity. Racialised activists have been at the forefront of justice struggles. In
their struggles they are either made invisible by white people or have been
disproportionately targeted by state violence. It is essential for our movements
to recognise and actively fight against the mechanisms that have resulted in the
exclusion and silencing of racialised activists.
FYEG supports the rights and fights of disabled people. Disability can refer to
physical or intellectual impairments and can include mental and/or chronic
health conditions. Ableism (see Glossary 1) is discrimination or social
prejudice against disabled people, such as assuming a disabled person does not
have the same capabilities as an able-bodied person to perform certain tasks or
roles within society.
Being disabled should not limit a person's choices to be present in public
spaces, interact with the world around them, and take part in social, political,
and cultural activities. FYEG supports the social model of disability, which
sees that social environments exclude and impair people, prevent them from
exercising their autonomy, and reduce equality, rather than the person's own
impairment.
To remove these barriers, FYEG supports a holistic approach to increasing
accessibility which puts disabled people at the centre of policy development.
Policies must be created by them and for them. FYEG recognises that disability
is unique to each individual and their own experience, and that there can be no
one-size-fits-all policy or healthcare approach.
We believe that sign language should be recognised by all states as an official
language, and that access to sign language, braille, and other methods of
communication should be broadened. FYEG also believes that all barriers should
be removed that prevent disabled people from accessing their civil and political
rights; these can include physical and social barriers.
When it comes to healthcare treatment for disabled people, medical professionals
should work on the assumption that individuals are capable of giving consent
unless they are informed otherwise. Medical professionals should not proceed
with any form of treatment without first seeking the consent of the person
receiving the treatment.
FYEG works towards a world in which people can thrive and know it is safe to be
themselves, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression, and sex characteristics.
Gender-based violence (see Glossary 72) is a brutal violation of human rights.
It affects people of all social and economic backgrounds across Europe. Women of
colour, women with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ (see Glossary 100) women, migrant
women, and poor and working-class women are most likely to be at risk and face
the biggest obstacles to getting help.
The historical, systemic exclusion of marginalised genders at all levels of
political decision-making, from local to European institutions, finally needs to
stop. Different mechanisms, including quotas, can help to correct this, and
ensure the proportional representation of all gender identities in assemblies at
all levels of government in Europe.
Our long-term aspiration is a fluid world. We recognise that labels, while
helping us to identify how to fight for rights and justice in a system built
against us, cannot represent the spectrum of identities and expressions we
embody. Our short-term task is to work for LGBTQIA+ rights, to work for sexual
and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), to fight against gender-based
violence, and to continue to advocate for gender equality at all levels of
society – at home, in the workplace, in politics, etc. We work towards a world
in which every person has the right to live freely according to their gender
identity and gender expression, and the right to self-determination (see
Glossary 148) and bodily autonomy (see Glossary 12).
1. Sexual and reproductive health and rights, combatting discrimination and
gender-based violence
Sexual and reproductive health and rights should be part of all educational
curricula and should be effectively implemented in all schools. The sexual
education curriculum should be non-judgemental, sex positive, consent-focused,
and comprehensive enough to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, gender
expression, and sex characteristics. More funding and research should be
allocated to sexual education and reproductive healthcare.
We demand free, accessible, good quality, and safe sexual and reproductive
healthcare and services for all. Healthcare should be based on human rights,
bodily autonomy, and informed consent (see Glossary 89) for all, especially the
most vulnerable groups, such as trans people (see Glossary 166), people with
disabilities, people without papers, and migrants. Additionally, there must be
appropriate funding for gender specific medical research since women, trans (see
Glossary 166) and gender non-conforming persons usually don't exist in medical
research at all or only as pathologised objects. This must change.
Free and accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare should include accessible
and free contraception for all, as well as medically-assisted procreation (see
Glossary 103). There will also be more money for research into new forms of
contraception, such as the male pill. Pink tax discrimination (see Glossary 126)
should end. Menstrual products should be cost-free and freely accessible
everywhere, including schools, universities, and public toilets. Wherever there
is free toilet paper there should be free menstrual products. Gender-neutral
toilets will be realized in all publicly accessible buildings and for employees.
In large buildings, there will be at least one toilet on each floor that is
accessible to everyone. Toilet shortages shouldn't be a problem for anyone.
Each year thousands of people die because of the criminalisation of and lack of
access to abortion. Banning abortion only causes greater harm to those who seek
it, who then undergo serious health, legal, and financial risks to have an
abortion illegally. We condemn all attempts to restrict access to abortion. We
advocate for free, accessible, non-judgemental, good quality, safe, legal, and
local abortion. The right to abortion must be included in the EU’s Charter of
Fundamental Rights (see Glossary 50).
Certain countries require trans people wishing to access legal gender
recognition procedures to undergo forced sterilisation. This violates their
dignity and right to bodily autonomy and must be banned. Non-consensual
surgeries on intersex people (see Glossary 92) should also be outlawed. States
must ban all dehumanising practices and offer reparations to all trans and
intersex people who have been forced to renounce their bodily autonomy in this
way.
The stigmatisation of HIV (see Glossary 83) must end. HIV treatment is highly
effective in reducing the transmission of HIV and people with an undetectable
viral load cannot transmit HIV. Legal discrimination against people with HIV
must stop. More funds should be allocated to education and raising awareness on
HIV and HIV prevention, as well as to research and treatment. HIV treatment, HIV
prevention, and testing for HIV should be free and universally accessible.
Women and girls (cis and trans) are often exposed to serious forms of physical
violence including domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. We demand the
legal definition of rape to respect individual self-determination. Today, rape
is generally defined as sexual intercourse with a person by forcible compulsion;
sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of consent by reason of being
physically helpless or mentally incapacitated; or sexual intercourse with an
underage person. We demand for it to be defined by lack of consent, not by the
threat of violence.
All European countries must implement the Istanbul Convention (see Glossary 94).
The Convention sets out measures to address all forms of violence against women,
recognising this violence as a human rights violation and a form of
discrimination. Countries need to provide clear and concise information for
victims in a language they understand, accessible and inclusive shelters, and
telephone hotlines.
We acknowledge the gender-based discrimination of women in the labour market,
including the underpayment of historically female-dominated occupations. We
therefore demand equal pay for equally valuable work and an end to
discrimination based on pregnancy and parenthood.
2. LGBTQIA+ rights
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, and asexual rights are still
under attack in our patriarchal, capitalist system. Even today, conservative
governments are trying to take away the hard-earned freedoms and rights of
LGBTQIA+ people. Homophobia (see Glossary 81) and transphobia (see Glossary 167)
can fuel hate speech and hate crime and should be criminalised.
Every person should have the right to live according to their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression freely and without fear. So-
called “conversion therapy” (see Glossary 28) is dehumanising and must be banned
and prosecuted immediately. The relationships of same- and opposite-sex couples
and their families should enjoy equal recognition. All couples have a right to
family life. This includes the right to adoption and foster care, the right for
all people with a uterus to have access to medically assisted procreation (see
Glossary 103), and the right of equal access to sperm donation, regardless of
their sexual orientation, health or relationship status. IVF treatments should
be equally reimbursable to all couples. Marriages and civil unions must be open
to all couples, and those recognised in one European country must also be and
automatically fully recognised in all others.
Trans women are women, trans men are men, being non-binary is valid, and trans
rights are human rights. Mandatory mental health assessments violate trans
people’s dignity and right to self-determination and should be banned. We demand
legal gender recognition procedures for all genders and none, and the right to
change names in an auto-declarative and unconditional manner. These procedures
should be quick, transparent, accessible, free, based solely on individual self-
determination, and without age restrictions. Additionally, we call for the
removal of all sex markers in identity documents, including passports.
Pluralistic societies (see Glossary 128) depend on enabling a safe space in
which each person is free to believe or not believe, practise their beliefs,
observe their beliefs, and organise for their beliefs. We fight against
islamophobia (see Glossary 93) and antisemitism (see Glossary 4), and condemn
any kind of discrimination and hate speech against people based on their
religion. We believe in a pluralistic society built on dialogue. The right to
religious freedom and the right to practise religion freely must be protected
under national and European law. We oppose the idea that religion is by nature a
divisive issue and a source of tensions, and that people should hide their
religious beliefs or feel ashamed of them.
We stand for a secular state (see Glossary 153) in which there is a separation
between religion and government, and where religious laws are not considered to
be above or outside civil law. We believe states should not give preferential
treatment to any religion or religious persons and organisations over other
citizens and charities as this creates a discriminatory system. Workers should
have the right to celebrate the holidays of their own religion without facing
discrimination or penalisation. The wearing of religious symbols should not be
used as a reason to exclude people from education, work, public services, or
public spaces.
FYEG stands for cultural rights. The colonial, discriminatory and
assimilationist policies in European countries have left ethnic and national minorities
heavily marginalised and vulnerable. We defend the right of individuals and
communities, including ethnic and national minorities, to practise and preserve their
cultures, including their languages, religions, art forms, and ways of life. NationalEthnic and national minorities must have strong legal protection, sufficient and stable
funding and cultural autonomy in support of their efforts to revitalise, retain
and develop their languages, cultures and ways of life. We support the
implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by all
European states (see Glossary 54).
FYEG also recognises the importance of respecting and protecting indigenous
european populations. For some of them, despite having used the land they live
on for thousands of years, their rights are ignored when it comes to decisions
that directly affect their economic and social wellbeing, and their cultures
risk being eroded and destroyed. FYEG stands for education for the general
population to reduce dated views about indigenous populations based on ignorance
and prejudice, and a recognition of their economic and social rights to continue
their ways of life. This should include local self-determination on issues such
as mining, animal herding as well as promotion and protection of indigenous
cultures and languages. We support efforts to ensure that these rights are
harmonised across artificial political borders, such as through international
conventions.
Europe and the European Union must provide support and offer asylum to those
whose cultural rights are being violated elsewhere.
Democracy is increasingly under attack, both in Europe and elsewhere.
Authoritarian leaders ignore democratic principles and violate the rule of law
(see Glossary 149) – even within the European Union. Some states proclaim
themselves to be so-called “illiberal democracies” (see Glossary 86). At the
same time, technological and digital developments are having wide-reaching
implications for fundamental rights, posing substantial challenges to our
democracies, while also bringing new possibilities for democratic participation
and new forms of activism.
FYEG fights for a Europe and a European Union which are truly democratic and
embrace and encourage the active participation of their inhabitants. We advocate
for the strong protection of the rights of these inhabitants, especially the
most vulnerable, young people, and those that engage in activism in order to
better our societies.
The rule of law is an essential element of democratic societies. In recent
years, attacks on the rule of law have multiplied in several European countries,
with women and minorities most strongly affected. FYEG stands for reinforcing
the independence of the judiciary, accelerating the fight against corruption,
and guaranteeing the independence of the media.
In the EU, we call for the full implementation of Article 7 of the Treaty on
European Union (see Glossary 6) allowing for the scrutiny and possible
suspension of a Member State’s voting rights in the Council of the EU if they
fail to respect the fundamental values of the Union including the rule of law,
in the short term.
This decision should be taken via qualified majority (see Glossary 137). In the
long term, the power to impose sanctions on member states and to suspend voting
rights of member states in the Council should become matters for the Court of
Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (see Glossary 33). FYEG also supports the
implementation of a strong rule of law mechanism (see Glossary 150), according
to which the granting of EU funding is made conditional upon Member States’
respect of the rule of law and fundamental rights.
While implementing those tools, we must ensure that citizens are not
disadvantaged by their governments’ poor behaviour. It should be made possible
to bypass corrupt national governments and for EU funds to be directly assigned
to local authorities or final beneficiaries. We also call for increased support
for organisations that are fighting for democracy, press freedom, fundamental
rights, and the rule of law, for example through the EU Rights and Values
programme (see Glossary 52).
The European judicial system should be reinforced. The Court of Justice of the
European Union (CJEU) (see Glossary 33) should have more power to protect
citizens and uphold fundamental rights, including human rights, democracy,
freedom of the press and independent judiciary. We support reinforcing the
prerogatives and powers of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (see Glossary
61) to investigate and press charges in more fields, beginning with corruption,
the misuse of public money, and international crime.
FYEG supports representative democratic systems in which citizens elect
representatives to debate issues and make decisions on their behalf. We support
parliamentary systems (see Glossary 121) over presidential systems (see Glossary
130) in which power is concentrated in the hands of a single person and proper
debate is not possible. Representatives should be elected using a system of
proportional representation (see Glossary 135).
Those current systems in which elected officials are seen as being cut off from
citizens and not accountable to the electorate are clearly not functioning well
enough and are creating mistrust in democracy itself. Action is needed at
several levels to protect and improve our democratic systems.
To complement representative democratic systems, FYEG supports introducing and
reinforcing direct democracy mechanisms such as participatory budgeting (see
Glossary 122), special assemblies composed of randomly chosen citizens,
citizens’ initiatives, the right to petition, citizen-initiated referendums (see
Glossary 22), especially on a local level, the right to challenge (see Glossary
146), and representative recalls (see Glossary 144). Democratic institutions
should also be made more transparent, with all debates open or publicly
available, public registers detailing the financial interests of every elected
official, and full transparency on lobbying activities.
But this is not enough: any democracy which does not provide adequate space for
debate and reflection is no true democracy, and FYEG therefore supports efforts
to create deliberative democracies. Through providing public spaces and
opportunities for rational debate and discussion between members of the public
and not just talking political heads, through citizenship, deliberation, and
participation education in schooling we can ensure that the policies of today
that will shape the future - such as on climate change - are well thought out.
FYEG is also supportive of the subsidiarity principle (see Glossary 158). Every
decision that affects the lives of citizens should be taken at the level that is
closest to them, where they can more easily play an active role and hold their
representatives accountable. Local and regional governments should be given more
power, and their participation in decision-making processes at the European
level should be reinforced. Forms of democracy inspired by the principles of
commons (see Glossary 26) and based on the public, democratic management of the
commons should be implemented to the greatest possible extent. Our aim needs to
be to create liveable, democratic spaces in our towns and cities.
The right to take part in democratic processes should be open to as many people
as possible and should be based primarily on a person’s place of residence
rather than nationality. All foreign citizens should enjoy the right to vote in
their place of residence for all elections. Nobody should be deprived of the
right to vote because of their age, nationality, ethnicity, the fact that they
are in prison, or any other criteria. Young people in particular are
systematically excluded from decision-making processes. FYEG also stands for
lowering the voting age to 16 with the prospective to lower the voting age
further. Gender quota systems for elections are important tools to redress the
underrepresentation of women in politics and should be further adapted to
include all underrepresented genders.
Action needs to be taken to enable the civic participation of groups and
communities that are excluded from participation in decision-making processes.
FYEG recognizes that in our society, women, non-binary people, gender non-
conforming people, socio-economically disadvantaged people and young people are
subjected to higher burdens to political participation, as well as to violence
and tokenism. Discrimination constitutes an attack on democracy. Strengthening
training, supporting youth political organisations, using non-formal education
methods, using gender balanced lists of speakers and quotas are all examples of
interventions that build towards full and meaningful participation of all groups
in society, thus to the legitimacy of democratic processes.
Democratic participation must never be limited to the polling booth. The right
to protest is a fundamental part of democratic culture and must be protected. We
encourage active participation in our democracies, not only through political
organisations but also through civil society and activist work. The EU, its
Member States, and other European states must actively support and encourage
civil society and youth political engagement. FYEG engages itself to promote
regenerative forms of activism that protect members’ physical and mental well-
being, and urges the social and environmental movements it partners up with to
do so as well.
The right to organise and to take part in protests freely, without experiencing
threats, intimidation, or violence, should be protected. We also defend the
right of journalists and citizens to document demonstrations and police
activities during those demonstrations.
In their work for a better society, activists often make use of civil
disobedience (see Glossary 23). While the authorities may not welcome its use,
their reaction to civil disobedience is often disproportionate to the point of
being unacceptable. The rights of activists must be defended under all
circumstances.
This also applies to cases in which actions to bring about effective climate
action or defend human rights go against the law as it stands.
FYEG stands for reinforcing the protection and the support to whistleblowers, as
they reveal information and documents of public interest and for the common
good.
Most of the challenges Europe is facing cannot be solved at the local or
national level alone. A stronger, more integrated, and federal Europe (see
Glossary 62) is needed to address citizens’ demands.
As the only directly elected EU institution, the European Parliament (see
Glossary 60) is key to building a stronger Europe. In the short term, its
Members should be elected partly on national lists and partly on Union-wide
lists, while ensuring the fair representation of all Member States. Instead of
being presented with the European Council’s (see Glossary 57) choice of European
Commission (see Glossary 55) president, the European Parliament should be able
to elect the candidate of its choice. We believe Commissioners should not be
appointed by Member States but chosen by Members of the European Parliament
while guaranteeing fair representation of Member States. Moreover, the European
Parliament should have the right to initiate legislation.
We call on Member States to find a solution to the issue of the seats of
different EU institutions, while making sure all decision-making bodies are not
concentrated in the same city, country or part of the EU, but are spread across
the whole EU. Moreover, the costly moving circus of the European Parliament
should be stopped.
Many long-awaited progressive initiatives have been blocked by the Council of
the European Union (see Glossary 32). In the short term, decisions at the
Council should be taken by qualified majority (see Glossary 137) and not by
unanimity (see Glossary 175) on budgetary, social, and fiscal policy. This would
both facilitate European action in many fields and reinforce the influence of
the European Parliament.
In the long term, FYEG demands the election of a European citizens’ convention.
This body would be responsible for drafting an EU constitution that would
replace the existing treaties and pave the way for a federal and truly
democratic EU. This EU constitution should then be voted on through a Union-wide
referendum.
A stronger EU requires a real EU budget. The EU budget should be substantially
increased, in particular by the creation of new “own resources” (see Glossary
116) such as a European kerosene (see Glossary 96) tax, a carbon tax (see
Glossary 18), a carbon border adjustment mechanism (see Glossary 14), a tax on
tech giants, and a tax on financial transactions (see Glossary 162) (see Chapter
4 – Fiscal policy). The EU should also be able to issue bonds to contribute to
its budget. We call for deepened European defence cooperation and in the long
term the development of further interoperability between EU member states
armies.
We believe that every person in our societies should be safe and feel safe.
Today’s mainstream public safety policies are not fulfilling that objective:
many citizens still feel unsafe and are being attacked based on their gender,
appearance, supposed sexual orientation, or gender identity, and on racist and
xenophobic (see Glossary 187) grounds. Violence is still a major part of our
societies. A public safety policy that aims to end violence by employing even
more violence, and that is executed at the expense of public freedoms and
fundamental rights, is doomed to fail. FYEG stands for a reinvention of public
safety policy based on prevention and rehabilitation rather than violence and
repression.
Prevention should be central. We believe that, among others, better education,
the teaching of nonviolent communication, gender equality, and tackling racism
contribute to reducing the level of violence in society. Public safety is
interlinked with social policies. Implementing stronger social policies and
fighting against poverty is key to improvement in the long term. We support the
integration of stronger, more situation-specific social policies in
neighbourhoods with the highest levels of poverty. Prevention recognises that
the police cannot be the solution to every issue. Specific personnel such as
psychologists and street and other social workers can work better with people in
certain psychological states, with homeless people, and with victims of
violence. These jobs should be supported and better funded.
The police has become a cornerstone of failing public safety policies. While we
believe some form of policing is needed, the police needs to be fundamentally
changed. A zero-tolerance policy on racism, sexism, and other hateful conduct in
the police is essential. The police should be made accountable for its actions
and an independent police oversight body should be put in place to investigate
police violence and other complaints. Democratic scrutiny of the police, in
which police chiefs are accountable to local assemblies and regularly answer
questions during public sessions, is of critical importance. Additionally,
policing must be demilitarised. It is unnecessary for the police to have
military-like vehicles and heavily armed officers with assault rifles and
grenades. There must be structural change – a movement away from state-sponsored
violence and repression and towards prevention and cooperation as tools for
dealing with conflict in our societies. Defunding the police would lead to this
structural change by refocusing public money towards social good.
We also support the improvement of the employment and working conditions of
police employees. In some countries, many are overworked and under a lot of
pressure, have poor working conditions, and receive low salaries. This
contributes to an increased use of violence, higher levels of corruption, and
poor quality service. Police employees should receive better training,
especially concerning gender-based violence, the tackling of unconscious bias
(see Glossary 176), nonviolent communication, and nonviolent conflict resolution
techniques.
Certain policies such as drug policies and migration policies create avoidable
violence. The criminalisation of the use, cultivation, and selling of drugs, as
well as the criminalisation of migration, actively supports the development of
underground mafia systems who rely on the use of violence. FYEG stands for the
legalisation of drugs (see Glossary 97) and opening borders as a way of reducing
violence and reinforcing security (see Chapter 5 – Health).
The judicial system also has a role to play in the prevention of crime by repeat
offenders, by ensuring that convicted people receive adequate psychological
support, prioritising alternatives to prison, and promoting the rehabilitation
and reintegration of convicted people.
As citizens’ use of digital products increases, digital rights become more and
more important. FYEG believes digital rights are key to fully exercising other
fundamental rights, such as the right to access information held by public
authorities, to freedom of opinion and expression, and to political activism.
Digital activism has become an important part of political activism and must be
defended. We therefore stand for an internet in which those rights can be fully
exercised and for a regulatory framework that fully protects citizens.
Digitalisation (see Glossary 39) should not be an excuse for states and
companies to spy on citizens. Communication via the internet must be protected
by encryption. We oppose government-requested loopholes or the weakening of that
encryption. The secrecy of correspondence (see Glossary 152) should be extended
to include all digital communication, including metadata (see Glossary 104). We
defend the principle of self- determination in relation to one’s personal data,
as well as the outlawing of mass data retention (see Glossary 102) by private
companies. Targeted advertisements and third- party cookies should be made
illegal. The right to be forgotten (see Glossary 145) should also be protected.
FYEG believes in the power of free software and open source-based platforms (see
Glossary 113), which must be strengthened by the European Union in order to
guarantee full transparency in the fight for consumer rights. Alternatives to
tech giants should be established that abide by these principles. In order for
alternatives to emerge, it is essential to defend the principle of net
neutrality (see Glossary 110).
We fight for access to the internet and an accessible internet. This means
universal access to the necessary infrastructure and broadband, as well as
internet access at no charge. It also means accessibility for disabled people
through the mainstreaming of subtitles, alternative text (see Glossary 2), etc.
It is also vital to ensure that people from different backgrounds have equal
opportunities to use digital domains. For language minorities it is often
difficult or impossible to use their own languages digitally as they lack
sufficient digital infrastructure, such as localised software, keyboard layouts,
grammar checkers and online dictionaries. The development of language technology
resources for minority languages must be supported in order to ensure digital
language equality.
In times in which almost everyone and everything is digitally connected, we also
fight for a stronger right to disconnect (see Glossary 147) for workers.
Digital and technological developments have the power to fundamentally change
our societies. The opportunities these technologies bring must be used to
strengthen democratic participation. Online pseudonymity must be protected as
this is key for people to express their political or personal opinions without
fear and without risking negative consequences.
The digital sphere is not a lawless space. Private companies that are active in
the digital sphere must be regulated and pay their fair share of taxes.
Discrimination and hate speech in the digital sphere must be recognised as
problematic, and combatted. This includes developments in the realm of
artificial intelligence (see Glossary 7), which has the potential to transform
our societies for the better but also risks reinforcing existing discrimination
through biased algorithms. More attention should be paid to the negative
consequences of automated decision-making. Automated decision-making that can
lead to discrimination and ethnic profiling should be regularly tested and
adapted to counter this.
The spread of disinformation and fake news has the potential to undermine our
democracies and must be dealt with accordingly by effective legislation and
training. This includes protection against foreign interference in democratic
processes and the fight against terrorism. The pursuit of these goals must never
be used as an excuse to pass legislation that restricts the freedom of
expression, freedom of assembly, or other fundamental rights. We oppose the use
of upload filters (see Glossary 180).
The climate crisis is the largest threat facing humanity. FYEG considers the
current economic system of material growth and environmental exploitation as a
root cause of climate change. To stop climate change, we need a shift towards a
democratic economy able to properly address environmental damage, the use of
natural resources and the voices of groups affected (see chapter 4). Without
urgent action, it will jeopardise many human achievements and fundamental
rights, endanger food and water supply, and put many territories at risk.
Climate change is also likely to have important geopolitical consequences.
FYEG considers climate change a real injustice. Those who are the most
responsible for climate change are least likely to be affected by it, whereas
those who are the least responsible will bear the brunt of its negative effects.
FYEG believes it is essential to adopt an intersectional approach highly
critical of capitalism when analysing the causes and effects of the climate
crisis. We advocate for just solutions to the climate crisis that take into
account the racial, gender, class, age, disability, and colonial dimensions of
the climate crisis.
Since the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (see
Glossary 173) in 1992, the Paris Agreement (see Glossary 120) in 2015, and the
declaration of climate emergency by the European Parliament in 2019, and thanks
to the work of many activists and scientists, awareness of the seriousness of
the crisis has grown. But the actions that have been taken to tackle climate
change, including those of the EU, are still widely insufficient. The world is
still on track for an increase in global temperatures way above 2 degrees
Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels (see Glossary 170).
The climate crisis is not the only global existential crisis humanity is facing.
The biodiversity crisis is also a reality, the seriousness of which is still
being underestimated. The sixth mass extinction (see Glossary 154), resulting
from human activity, is accelerating. Various sources of pollution are still the
cause of many diseases and deaths.
FYEG considers these crises as symptoms of an economic system that relies on
unlimited economic growth, the exploitation of animals and nature. We need to
rethink that relationship and offer concrete solutions to these crises.
FYEG supports the objective of maintaining global warming below 1.5 degrees
Celsius. Much stronger action is needed to fight climate change, directly
tackling root causes. This implies changing our entire economic system in an
extremely short time altering our production and consumption patterns, in a just
way, for emissions to drop overall. These types of shifts cannot be done by the
market; instead, strong action from the state is needed.
European countries historically holds greater responsibility for climate change
than most parts of the world. This means that European Countries holds a bigger
responsibility to tackle climate change and its worldwide consequences. European
countries and the EU must be the frontrunner in reducing their greenhouse gas
emissions. Countries with the most resources should be even more ambitious and
reach their climate objectives earlier.
FYEG supports the objective of reaching climate neutrality in Europe by 2030.
We encourage EU member states to implement a general tax on greenhouse gas
emissions. The amount of the levy is equal to the damage that the greenhouse gas
can cause per kilogram. In addition, this amount can be higher if it appears
that the objectives are not being achieved. FYEG is also in favour of further
using the European emission trading system by drastically lessen the number of
emission rights.
Europe must also provide support in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to
poorer countries, including via financial support and technology transfer. It
must also assist them in tackling the effects of climate change, as well as
supporting them in making their societies, their economies, and their food and
water supplies more resilient to climate change. We must also be careful to
ensure that Europe’s path to climate neutrality does not involve externalising
emissions to third countries. Instead, it should aim to reduce the emissions
caused in third countries as a result of European consumption.
Globally, but also within Europe, the transition towards a climate neutral
economy must be socially just. We are concerned about the unequal impact of
climate change and of environmental hazards which often disproportionately
affect poor people and marginalised groups. We need to make sure our response to
the climate crisis does not reinforce existing inequalities. For example, the
extraction of rare minerals needed for this transition should not be at the
expense of the populations of the countries in which those minerals can be
found. While we believe that technological progress has an important role to
play in solving the climate and biodiversity crises, we are critical of
approaches that tend to overestimate the positive impact of uncertain future
technologies to avoid addressing core issues and engage in systemic change. An
example is carbon capture and storage (see Glossary 15), often used as a reason
for less ambitious emissions targets, in spite of the fact that the technology
has not yet been fully developed.
Current mainstream environmental and climate policies do not affect everyone in
the same way. FYEG calls for those policies to be both socially just and to
fight inequalities. We call for support measures for every worker at risk of
losing their job because of the transition towards a carbon neutral economy (see
Glossary 16). They should receive help including, but not limited to, having a
job guaranteed and having access to retraining. It is also important to
reinforce our social welfare mechanisms (see chapter 5) and to take into account
the gender and racial aspects of a just transition (see Glossary 95). Failure to
tackle the climate crisis would have terrible implications for all, including
workers. We should make the transition a just transition.
In order to meet our climate objectives, a deep transformation of our energy
system is needed.
Europe must phase out all fossil fuels, starting with coal and fracked gas (see
Glossary 68), which must be phased out in Europe by 2027 at the latest. Fossil
fuels must be replaced by renewable and emission-free solutions: wind energy,
solar energy, marine energy, and waste heat recovery (see Glossary 183). The
production of electricity should be 100% renewable by 2035 at the latest.
Taxpayers’ money must therefore not finance fossil fuels. The opening or
extension of fossil fuel extraction sites must be prohibited immediately, and
existing sites should be closed as soon as possible. New fossil fuel
infrastructure should not be built in Europe. This includes gas
infrastructure.It is also crucial that the energy gap in certain areas in Europe
can be quickly filled in and that an optimal energy mix across the continent is
achieved.
FYEG supports energy democracy and stands for the development of a decentralised
and interconnected energy system. Energy systems should be localised. We support
forms of collective ownership of energy production, such as energy cooperatives.
Networks to transport energy are crucial to enable this transition; they should
be owned, developed, and operated as commons, for example being publicly owned.
The cleanest and quickest way to achieve the energy transition is to reduce our
energy consumption. Efforts should be made to improve energy efficiency, to
renovate all buildings, and to transform the industry. Governments must organise
the renovation and insulation of all buildings by 2030. This would also play a
key role in reducing energy poverty across Europe.
Although nuclear energy (see Glossary 111) emits less carbon emissions, it
raises high risks and many serious long-term concerns that by far outweigh the
benefits and we strongly take a stand against any attempt to frame nuclear
energy as a climate change solution. These include issues regarding the
extraction of uranium (see Glossary 181), the disposal of nuclear waste, the
safety of nuclear installations, the security measures and level of state
control required, the huge consequences of potential accidents, the link with
nuclear weapons, the long time it takes to build, the fact that it does not
improve the stability of the electricity grid and the significant cost, which
could much more efficiently be used to pay for renewable energy sources.
Potential solutions such as nuclear fusion (see Glossary 112) will be unable to
provide a concrete response in time to solve the climate crisis. We therefore
believe that the construction of new nuclear plants should be avoided at all
cost, and that nuclear energy should be phased out as soon as possible across
Europe. The phase-out of nuclear energy should be carried out in a way that does
not endanger climate objectives and if fossil fuels are no longer used for
electricity production on the same network. European countries should not export
their nuclear technology or build nuclear plants outside of Europe.
We believe natural carbon sinks such as forests, oceans, wetlands, and peatlands
have an important role to play in reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere. Policies should be adopted to protect and enhance their
potential. On the other hand, technologies such as geo- engineering (see
Glossary 76) are often presented as solutions to fight climate change, but their
large-scale efficiency remains undemonstrated and their risks remain unclear to
the public. While their full potentials are still yet to be seen, these
technologies should never be used as an excuse to continue the burning of fossil
fuels and delay real climate action.
Water is the backbone of life and agricultural production. It therefore must not
be considered as a commodity. Water sources and resources must be protected from
potential pollution through agriculture, mining, production, construction and
waste disposal. Food is essential to life. It therefore cannot be considered as
a commodity. FYEG stands for food and agricultural policies that guarantee that
every person has access to local, healthy, diversified and quality food.
Farmers and agricultural workers play an essential role in ensuring this right
to food and their own rights should be respected, as enshrined in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural
Areas (see Glossary 172). Farmers and agricultural workers should be able to
earn a decent revenue from their work. We believe in a model consisting of
numerous small- and medium- scale farms, guaranteeing thriving countrysides.
Industrialised agriculture is responsible for substantial greenhouse gas
emissions, massive biodiversity loss, water scarcity, soil depletion, and a
range of public health issues (e.g. antimicrobial resistance (see Glossary 3)).
A transition towards a form of agriculture which respects the environment,
preserves soil, water, and the climate, and is based on agroecological practices
and organic agriculture is urgently needed. Artificial fertilisers and
pesticides (see Glossary 124) must be phased out within a reasonable time frame,
starting with the most dangerous (e.g. neonicotinoids and glyphosate). A rapid
drop in animal farming and in the consumption of animal products is also needed
with the goal of phasing out industrial livestock production. Traditional
indigenous livelihoods such as hunting, fishing and animal herding must be
protected. In general, we consider it desirable that as little meat as possible
is consumed, taking into account health concerns and the aforementioned issues.
This would improve public health and animal welfare as well as drastically
reduce the environmental impact of food production. The precautionary use of
antibiotics in animal farming must be banned immediately and the maximum amount
of animals held per area must be drastically limited.
Food systems should be rebuilt on the principles of food sovereignty (see
Glossary 66), eliminating corporate capture of food, reducing food waste,
prioritising short supply chains and locally produced food, ending imports of
deforestation-driving products such as soy or palm oil, and making sure that
European agriculture is not exported in a way that harms agricultural systems in
other countries. To achieve this, we need a food production system that ensures
environmental and economic sustainability and food security for all, without
endangering the food security (see Glossary 65) of future generations. It is of
utmost importance to find ways to guarantee an economically viable system that
does not have negative effects on nature and the wider environment. To this end,
FYEG looks positively towards promising new methods of food production. Research
capacities have to be significantly strengthened and mainstreamed in order to
find ways of reducing the environmental impact of the food system, while
guaranteeing farmers' rights and ensuring decent living conditions in rural
areas. Forms of urban farming such as vertical farming can offer solutions to
provide cities with sustainable food, since they reduce the use of some natural
resources, such as land area and water. Since sustainable methods of clean meat-
production could potentially help the transition to a vegetarian society, while
also coming with potential risks, research into safe, efficient and
environmentally-friendly clean meat (see Glossary 24)-production needs to be
intensified.
This transition towards a more sustainable and fairer agricultural system
requires changes in the regulatory framework as well as ambitious public
policies. FYEG stands for more transparent labelling, with details of origin,
composition, methods of production, use of pesticides, animal welfare, and
nutritional values. A thorough reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (see
Glossary 25) is needed, taking environmental issues, animal welfare as well as
working conditions into account in its subsidy scheme. The promotion of
sustainable and plant-based diets should also be encouraged.
GMOs in agriculture have both positive and negative effects. GMOs are meant to
provide better yields, increase nutritional capacity, or be more resistant to
pests and extreme weather conditions. Yet, they can also increase corporate
control through patents, increase farmer dependence on biotech firms, and
threaten biodiversity through increased unforeseen mutations and increased
herbicide and pesticide use. Associated with mono-cropping practices, GMOs make
overall ecosystems less resilient to pests. We believe the use of GMOs,
including new GMOs, should be regulated and subjected to individual scientific
assessments for and by public institutions, concerning all risks to consumers,
farmers, and the environment, prior to authorisation. FYEG believes that
heirloom seeds and the development of agroecology represent a better solution to
the challenges faced by our food system. Moreover, in a world where the amount
of food produced would be sufficient to feed all, increasing yield productivity
is not the only leverage point to reduce hunger. Food distribution, the
reduction of food waste and shifting towards vegetarian diets are all part of
the solution. We firmly believe in food and land sovereignty. Financial
interests must never be placed above the environment and biodiversity, nor above
people.
Transport is responsible for almost a quarter of greenhouse gases emitted in
Europe and is one of the only sectors in which emissions have risen in recent
years, despite important technological progress. Transport is also one of the
main sources of air pollution, which is responsible for the premature deaths of
400,000 people in the EU each year. Changes in both practices and modes of
transport are needed, with a shift towards zero-emission travel a priority.
While keeping up efforts to reduce aircraft emissions, Europe needs to fly less.
This can be achieved by introducing a EU-wide kerosene (see Glossary 96) tax,
and an end on both the construction of new airports and the extension of
existing ones. Train travel should be favoured over air travel. An effective
policy could involve the phase-out of commercial flights for trips where it is
possible to use an alternative, more environmentally friendly means of transport
with a journey time of less than 10 hours. At the same time, train networks
should be further developed, including the construction of high-speed trains and
the introduction of more night train routes, with the aim of achieving a network
of high-speed lines connecting major cities in Europe. We should prioritise the
renovation of existing train tracks over the construction of new ones whenever
possible in order to minimise the environmental impact. At the same time,
existing secondary lines in rural areas should be maintained and the frequency
of their service increased. Efforts should be made to achieve a 100%
decarbonised network by 2035. Travelling across Europe by train should be made
easier, for example by the introduction of a European train ticket system.
For everyday shorter journeys, regions and cities should continue developing
public transport networks as well as safe and efficient cycling and pedestrian
networks. We aim to eliminate the use of private cars in city centres and
residential areas. Comprehensive urban planning (see Glossary 27) plays a
crucial role in creating socially accessible and ecologically just cities and
residential areas in which people can live, work, and spend free time without
having to travel long distances. Insecurity in public transport which
disproportionately affect women and gender minorities, should be tackled in
order to make public transport really attractive to all. During air pollution
peaks, teleworking should be made mandatory. Rural areas should not be left out:
regions should guarantee public transport solutions, relying on intermodality
between cycling, buses, trains, and private cars. New fossil-fuel vehicles
should no longer be available for purchase in Europe by 2025, and their use
should be phased out as soon as possible. FYEG also supports efforts to
introduce fare-free local public transport throughout Europe, starting with
people belonging to vulnerable groups and young people.
Further efforts should be made to ensure that public transport is fully
accessible for all, including people with disabilities.
Technological innovation and new technologies can bring about substantial
positive change in society. Progress in the medical sector, in digital
technologies, in energy production, and in the development of clean vehicles is
crucial to fight the ongoing crises Europe is facing.
Technological progress is not always a synonym for social and societal progress.
We are firmly attached to the precautionary principle, meaning that innovations
should be assessed thoroughly and should be proven harmless for the environment,
human health, and society as a whole before being authorised. Uncertainty should
not be used as a reason to postpone measures to prevent environmental
degradation or preserve public health. New innovations should be open to
scientific and public assessment to determine their potential costs and
benefits.
While we believe that technological progress has an important role to play in
solving the climate and biodiversity crises, we are critical of approaches that
tend to overestimate the positive impact of uncertain future technologies to
avoid addressing core issues and engage in systemic change. An example is carbon
capture and storage (see Glossary 15), often used as a reason for less ambitious
emissions targets, in spite of the fact that the technology has not yet been
fully developed.
FYEG believes that space science and exploration are important emerging policy
areas which deserve more attention. Space science gives us tools in the fight
against the climate crisis. It allows us to measure where, when, how and why
climate change is taking place, and assists the world with detailed maps and
images during disasters. Space travel should only serve scientific research,
innovation, and exploration, not financial profit-making or military activities.
In addition, FYEG supports cleaning up our immediate space environment - space
junk colliding with each other risks causing catastrophic chain reactions.
While most European citizens agree that the welfare of animals should be
improved, not a lot is being done. We need to consider animals as subjects and
sentient beings who should be protected from harm, and we should reflect
critically on our place within the animal realm. Animals have rights that should
be respected and be taken into account when transitioning towards a sustainable
and just agriculture and society. We have to provide an appropriate and painless
livelihood especially for animals kept as farm animals.
Animals should not be subject to cruel treatment. FYEG stands for the immediate
ban of the cruellest practices, such as the production of foie gras through
force-feeding (see Glossary 67), corrida (see Glossary 31), fur farming,
dolphinariums (see Glossary 40), and hunting with dogs. We also believe that
animals should not be kept in conditions contrary to their natural behaviours.
We believe animals should not be allowed to be kept in a circus and that zoos
should be subject to a much stronger regulation.
Every year, nearly 70 billion land animals are slaughtered worldwide for food.
With the industrialisation of animal farming, the conditions in which farm
animals live have become worse and worse. It is essential to both reduce the
consumption of animal-based products and improve the welfare of farm animals.
Cage farming, one of the commonest forms of industrial animal farming, must be
banned with immediate effect. FYEG defends the small-farm model in which animals
have access to sufficient space, are able to go outdoors, play and interact with
others of their kind. Newly created animal breeds that favour rapid animal
growth but often cause the animal to suffer should also be phased out. Stronger
regulation of animal transport should be put in place, with a ban on the export
of live animals outside the EU.
We support work towards the abolition of the use of animals in research and
support research into techniques that will allow scientists to replace, refine
and reduce the number of research animals they use. We recognise the importance
of animal welfare and the essential contribution that animals have made and
currently make to research that improves human and animal health. We support the
replacement (through methods that avoid using animals such as computer (in
silico) models, in vitro techniques, or human volunteers), refinement (through
improvements to scientific procedures and husbandry that minimise pain,
suffering, distress or lasting harm and/or improve animal welfare, for example,
through improved housing and husbandry and better welfare assessments) and
reduction (through good experimental design and statistical analysis) of the use
of animals in in vivo experiments. We oppose in vivo experiments where research
animals are not housed or treated in a manner in keeping with international best
practice.
Wild animals should also benefit from better protection, with the protection of
wild natural spaces and the stronger regulation of hunting (see g). The Covid-19
pandemic, which likely originated from interactions between wildlife and humans,
is one example of the consequences that zoonotic diseases (see Glossary 188) can
have on humankind, and has clearly demonstrated the need to take measures to
prevent their development.
FYEG also defends stronger regulation in order to fight overfishing, regenerate
fish populations, and restore marine ecosystems. The use of fishing techniques
with a low impact on the environment should be encouraged, while higher impact
techniques such as bottom-contacting fishing gears, electric pulse fishing (see
Glossary 45), and fish aggregating devices (see Glossary 64) (FADs) should be
banned. Small-scale fisheries have to be prioritised immediately, and measures
must be taken to stop the concentration and industrialisation of the fishing
sector in Europe. The rapid development of industrialised fish farming in recent
years must be addressed with the introduction of stronger regulations on fishing
quota, fish welfare and environmental protection. Activities of fishing
companies in fishing grounds of lesser developed states, in particular African,
must immediately end. Furthermore the EU and European states must end bilateral
contracts which allow European companies to raid African fishing grounds.
Instead the EU and European states should support African State to build and
develope coast guards which have the ability to effectively protect their
fishing grounds from foreign intruders.
Nature should not be regarded as a commodity, as something humanity is separated
from, but as something that it belongs to. Like climate change, nature knows no
borders. We believe it is time that nature be properly recognised and protected.
FYEG supports giving rights to nature that ensure its protection under national
and international law. We want the crime of ecocide to be recognised in domestic
and international criminal law. The most destructive fishing, deforestation,
soil degradation, and mining practices should be banned. We must fight
overfishing. Hunting should be strongly regulated, no longer permitted for
commercial and leisure purposes except for indigenous peoples practising their
traditional livelihoods, and only authorised as a last resort to preserve
balance within an ecosystem.
We support the objective of giving protected status to at least 30% of our
planet’s land and seas, with 10% granted a particularly high level of
protection. The rainforests, coral reefs, Arctic ice pack, and oceans are global
commons, and decisions regarding these global commons should be a global concern
for all. We reject approaches to nature conservation that perpetuate colonial
domination and violate fundamental rights. No one should be displaced or forced
to leave their home because of a nature reserve.
We are on the brink of mass extinction. It is not enough to just protect
ecosystems; we must promote the restoration and renaturalisation of devastated
areas according to scientific criteria. Furthermore, our own human ecosystems,
such as cities, can and must be renaturalised — allowing space for new
ecosystems to flourish.
Across the world, environmental defenders are facing threats and violence, with
many being murdered for their defence of the environment. This is unacceptable.
Defending the natural world is not a crime. Those who threaten environmental
defenders must be prosecuted, and the European Union should grant protection and
offer asylum to those under threat.
The transition to a zero-carbon society might also have an impact on and
conflict with nature conservation. The impact of infrastructures such as wind
farms, hydropower plants, and high-speed railways should be minimised as much as
possible.
The Federation of Young European Greens identifies the root causes of the social
and environmental crises as lying within the current economic system. We believe
that this capitalist system, based on unrestrained competition, consumerism, the
exploitation of workers, and profit maximisation (see Glossary 133) is
unsustainable and incompatible with our planet’s limited resources and the goal
of an economy that benefits all. This system deliberately imposes social and
environmental costs on low-income countries, future generations, and other
species. It makes all the reproductive and care work invisible, a work mainly
accomplished by women. It creates extreme inequalities and excludes most people
from decision-making processes concerning how and what is produced and valued in
an economy. This is because it relies on some people owning means of production
and living by that, while others have to work to make a living. This creates
injustices within societies as well as between them: division between rich and
poor, global south and global north all root in capitalism. The crises we are
facing are the result of the patriarchal, racist and capitalist system that is
disrupting human well-being and destroying our collective resilience, and which
represents an existential threat to humanity.
FYEG sees an urgent need for a new vision of progress that is fit for the
century ahead of us. In order to bring an end to environmental destruction and
human deprivation, it is crucial to change the way our economies are built and
defined. We need to shift from economic growth (see Glossary 43) to human and
planetary well-being and thus create a new economic system. We need to go beyond
indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) (see Glossary 79) and make
issues such as quality of life and environmental well-being centerpiece. We
believe the technological shift to a zero-waste industry and economy is not
enough. The green and feminist economy we want to build implies a radical change
in the democratisation of the economy, the redistribution of wealth, and a just
transition.This economy is also feminist, implying that a feminist economy takes
equally into account all beings and the environment in its propositions. It
makes social protection a priority and values the care work, accomplished mainly
by women, for people and the environment.
Economics should not prioritise economic growth, profit, and consumption, but
rather human well-being and welfare. The indicators currently used by economists
fail to take social and environmental factors into account. We therefore think
it is time to develop new indicators which factor in environmental degradation
and economic inequality. The genuine progress indicator (GPI) (see Glossary 75),
for instance, measures overall quality of life rather than just economic
progress, and takes into account the needs of individuals and their environment.
A market model creates privately owned and monopolised resources while
alternative economic models, such as “doughnut economics” (see Glossary 41),
degrowth (see Glossary 36), and the Economy for the Common Good (see Glossary
44), provide a system which is sustainable, fair, and just.
We need to look at the economy in a new way, dismantling the myth of unlimited
growth, putting an end to excessive capital accumulation, and prioritising a
redistribution of wealth and production factors. We strive to use the European
Green Deal to recover from the current crisis in a sustainable way: to foster a
circular economy, economic security and certainty, and gender equality, and to
bring about the destruction of the gendered division of labour.
Intergenerational and intragenerational equity are also fundamental social
values for a green and feminist economy.
For governments, economic policies must be guided by the goals of the Paris
Climate Agreement and the UN’s 2030 Agenda (see Glossary 171) for Sustainable
Development, not by the pursuit of endless economic growth.
The current structure of the economy is a source of injustice, inequality, and
environmental destruction. The monopoly some international companies hold
prevents the entrance of new actors onto the market. It is more and more
difficult for states and citizens to hold companies accountable for their
actions. These companies are the gatekeepers for change. FYEG believes that in
order to create a more sustainable and fair approach to the economy, our
economic system has to change. It must serve human, non-humans, and our
ecosystems, not billionaires.
It is time to rethink how we do economics.
Many economic challenges come from large companies who seek profit at all costs.
They undermine workers’ rights and environmental standards as well as small
local businesses and worker cooperatives. They often avoid paying taxes,
compromising the ability of the state to provide public services. We therefore
call for the economy to be structured differently. Companies that are considered
too big to fail (see Glossary 164) or hold monopolies must be split up. Small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should have more opportunities to run their
businesses without facing the threat of multinational corporations. Enterprises
that serve goals other than maximising profits, who operate simply in order to
provide services or create jobs, are a solution.
We believe workers themselves can take a more active role in shaping the
economy. We demand that businesses be governed by the people that work in them.
One important step towards this goal would be the occupation of at least 50% of
seats on company boards by employees. Another tool is the cooperative business
model (see Glossary 29) as it helps to democratise the economy and shift the
focus to placing people over profit and building a more inclusive economy.
Mechanisms should be put in place to make it easier for workers to transform
their companies into cooperatives, especially when the original owner is
planning to close the company.
A green and feminist economy rejects the commodification and privatisation of
the commons. Basic human needs and social rights should always be guaranteed and
must never depend on markets. This applies especially in the cases of housing,
health, education, food, and transport. It is particularly important knowing
that the impact of this commodification and privatisation is gender biased.
In order to reduce the impact of the economy on the environment, it is also
important to deal with the negative impacts of globalisation. While we recognise
some of its benefits, it has both social and environmental consequences and
favours major companies over small business. We support, where feasible,
relocalising (see Glossary 142) the economy, starting with the production of
essential goods such
as food and medicine.
The goal of economic policy should not be to boost exports at all costs but
rather to improve resilience and reduce imports, dependency on single actors,
and environmental impacts. More transparent and shorter supply chains that can
be more easily surveyed for exploitative and destructive practices should be
encouraged. The introduction of not only carbon but also of social border taxes
could be one of the ways to encourage the relocalisation of the economy.
Transforming our economy into a green and feminist economy also means reducing
consumption and pollution. The Earth cannot possibly sustain today’s levels of
consumption. Therefore, challenging consumerism should be at the centre of a
just transition.
We want to turn the linear economy (see Glossary 101), which is based on a
“take-make-waste” model, into a fully circular economy (see Glossary 21). In a
circular economy, products and materials are used over and over again instead of
being discarded. We believe we can shift from a linear economy to a circular
economy based on the following principles: minimising the usage of energy and
resources; preserving value in the economy; preventing waste, toxic materials
and pollution; keeping goods and materials in use and in closed loops; ensuring
human health; and encouraging the prevention of waste.
For consumers to be able to play an active role and change their buying habits,
we defend the right to access more detailed, harmonised, and reliable
information on the social, environmental, and climate impacts of goods and
services over their lifecycle, including durability and repairability (see
Glossary 143). We also emphasise the need for change in relation to product-
related greenwashing (see Glossary 78) and false environmental claims. We call
for regulation encouraging producers the use of non-proprietary standards,
designing by the principles of open hardware and a loss of patents and duty to
publicise constructions and building plans when spare parts are no more
produced. In order to ease repairability of goods producers must ensure the
availability of spare parts over the entire lifecycle of the product.
Today, most items and packaging are meant to be used once and discarded. This
creates vast quantities of pollution and waste materials. As landfills exceed
capacity and micro-plastics pollute the whole planet, there is a substantial
need for change. We support a move towards a zero-waste society, phasing out
single-use plastics and encouraging the development of bulk buying.
Consumption is influenced by an ever more visible advertising presence. We
support regulation in advertising, including a ban on advertising the most
polluting products and behaviours (e.g. car and air travel, meat consumption).
We support a ban on targeted advertisement that uses people’s personal data to
influence their behaviours. We also think the environmental and visual impact of
advertisements should be addressed, for example by limiting the size of
advertising billboards in cities, making sure they are not illuminated at night,
and banning digital advertising screens.
Taxation is needed to fund public budgets, maintain quality public services and
welfare states, and fund investments needed for a just transition to a zero-
carbon economy. We oppose the austerity policies (see Glossary 8) that have been
put in place across Europe. Massive investments into social and urban
infrastructure, health systems, education and fighting climate change are needed
for the young
generation. Young people need decent jobs, health care, free public transport
and a liveable planet more than they need a balanced state budget .
We demand fair taxation and a stronger fight against fiscal fraud. Taxation can
also be a powerful tool in itself, reducing inequalities, redistributing wealth,
and contributing to changing behaviours.
We defend the introduction of a European common taxation policy in order to
fight tax avoidance (see Glossary 160) and tax havens (see Glossary 161), both
inside and outside the EU. A baseline 20% EU corporate tax (see Glossary 30)
should be introduced to reduce the attractiveness of tax avoidance. Part of that
corporate tax should automatically feed into the EU budget.
Taxation should be used to reduce inequalities. We support progressive income
taxation (see Glossary 134), with higher taxation for the richest taxpayers. We
also support the introduction of a wealth tax (see Glossary 184) on
millionaires, possibly at the EU level. Finally, we believe a higher taxation on
inheritance is key to reducing the transfer of inequalities from one generation
to the next.
The Federation of Young European Greens also believes that taxation can help
support positive behaviours and discourage harmful behaviours, and that over
time we should prioritise phasing out taxes on work in favour of taxes on
behaviour and wealth. Behavioural taxes such as a carbon tax, the taxation of
meat products, the taxation of single-use plastic items, and the taxation of
polluting cars, among others, can be powerful tools to encourage change. Those
taxes should be implemented fairly to avoid overburdening citizens already
living in precarious situations. Their revenue should be redistributed globally
and help support a just transition.
More than a decade after the global financial crisis, financial markets and
banking systems remain dangerous and flawed. Financial markets continue to cause
systemic instability and social inequality. Investments continue to flow to
unsustainable, carbon-intensive (see Glossary 19) industries. Banks still ignore
the damage their investments are causing to societies and the environment.
We need to change finance. We cannot make the transition to a fairer, greener
future economy without a global financial system that can allocate capital to
where it is needed, drive sustainable investment, and manage risk equitably. The
financial system must serve the needs of society, not the other way around. To
achieve this, transparency, fairness, and sustainability are key. The taxation
of financial transactions (see Glossary 162) is an important tool to fight
short-term and instant transactions. We support its introduction at the EU
level.
We need a global banking system – and a system of banking regulation (see
Glossary 10) – that responds to today’s needs and prioritises the public good.
It needs to encourage productive investments in the local green economies of
today and tomorrow, rather than propping up polluting industries or encouraging
dangerous speculation. It needs to address inequality, both globally and
locally, rather than entrenching it. And it needs to be accountable to society,
rather than lawless and deregulated.
The digital economy is becoming a central part of the economy. It has the power
to change our society – for the better or for the worse. We need to act quickly
to ensure that the development of the digital economy is not used to attack our
rights and privacy (see chapter 2), or to bypass social regulations as in the
case of platform workers (see Glossary 127) (see chapter 5). We need to make
digitalisation an opportunity for our society and ensure that regulations are
creating a level playing field (see Glossary 99) for all actors, as well as
improving training on digital jobs.
The size and influence of some of the big digital companies raise legitimate
concerns. We support dismantling tech giants (see Glossary 163) and de-
monopolising (see Glossary 37) digital offerings.
Europe’s physical communications infrastructure (see Glossary 125) must be
built, owned, operated, and maintained on a non-profit basis as a common
resource. This allows faster expansion, with more people gaining access at a
lower cost.
While digitalisation can be used to tackle climate change, the biodiversity
crisis, and pollution, we must not forget that digitalisation itself is not a
climate-neutral activity. From web servers, crypto-currencies, and cables to
antennas, phones and computers, digitalisation relies on infrastructure that
consumes large quantities of energy and therefore contributes to greenhouse gas
emissions. It also requires the use of many rare earth elements, the extraction
of which causes serious harm to the environment.
The premature obsolescence of digital products exacerbates this phenomenon, as
well as generating large quantities of electronic waste that is not properly
recycled and therefore contributes to water and soil pollution.
A lot more needs to be done to ensure the sustainable implementation of
digitalisation. We must remember that digitalisation is a tool to achieve our
wider goals and not an end in itself.
FYEG sees the need to prevent runaway climate change. However, we also see the
need to prepare for the impacts of climate change, and what might happen if we
fail to stop it at 1.5 degrees.
To ensure that the consequences we will undoubtedly have to deal with as the
world warms do not hit those who are less well off, while wealthy groups
nationally and internationally can continue to live their lives and consume as
normal, all actors in society need to be engaged in stronger and more equitable
preparedness - institutions and businesses as much as civil society
organisations and individuals. Food and water, healthcare, and general
preparedness are three areas where we believe significantly more work needs to
be done across Europe.
We need to ensure that Europe is agriculturally self-sufficient in order to be
sure that when the crisis comes, food does not become something only the wealthy
can afford. In the climate of the future, we cannot rely on harvests in other
countries to turn out well. Nor is it morally right for a rich country to rely
on imports of vital crops when we know that climate change will lead to food
shortages, especially in poorer countries. To this end, FYEG believes in an
expansion of existing strategic food stockpiles, and an agricultural policy that
focuses not only on environmental and climate aspects but also resilience,
appropriateness, and security of supply.
The same goes for water - there is insufficient knowledge in many European
countries of how much ground reserves they have, and many countries rely heavily
on just one or two major sources for the majority of their drinking water. To
avoid situations where people lose access to drinking water while nearby
industries still use water for their operations, there should be clear
prioritisation plan developed in each locality for use of limited water
supplies, and where feasible backup systems should be developed in case of
contamination or interruption of normal water supplies. As Greens we believe in
human security, and there is no need more human than that for water.
Disasters can create supply holdups, and we need to ensure that Europeans can
survive while help is on the way. FYEG believes that national governments should
develop emergency rationing plans to be prepared for if the worst happens, and
require housing associations and households to ensure that they store at least
two weeks worth of these durable, basic foodstuffs. This should be combined with
a requirement that all newly built structures contain emergency shelters,
adapted to local emergency conditions.
In addition, it would be optimistic to assume that COVID will be the last
pandemic our generation sees. FYEG believes that all countries should be
required to hold emergency pandemic and total defence stockpiles, aimed at
providing food, medical and protective equipment, and medicine that a population
might need in a long global emergency. Humans security, rather than military
security, should be our priority.
For several decades we have witnessed one social crisis leading to the next.
Each crisis either revealed or created more cracks in our social systems and
shone a spotlight on our deeply dated healthcare systems and unstable European
working environment.
Housing has become increasingly difficult to find, with wages stagnating while
living and housing costs rise. We live in a society that tolerates the fact that
some people are too poor to have a roof over their heads.
Instead of reducing inequalities and providing opportunities for all, education
systems across Europe are being transformed by a neoliberal (see Glossary 109)
and productivist (see Glossary 132) mindset and are reproducing inequalities
from one generation to the next.
Those policies are still primarily dealt with at the national level, reinforcing
inequalities between as well as within countries. We need a truly social Europe.
This includes fighting inequalities, rethinking the way we work, and taking
strong action on housing, health, and education. The system needs to change –
now.
Millions of people across Europe are at risk of poverty and social exclusion,
with certain parts of Europe experiencing an increase in poverty rates. At the
same time, the rich are getting richer, with some individuals accumulating
indecent amounts of wealth. Neoliberalism and myths such as trickle-down theory
(see Glossary 169) have not delivered on their promises. Inequalities are on the
rise, threatening
the cohesion of our societies.
FYEG supports strong welfare states, which it considers essential in the fight
against poverty and to guarantee the enforceability of fundamental rights. Their
dismantling in several parts of Europe must end. Action to fight poverty should
include but not be limited to ensuring that all individuals receive an income.
Existing benefits must be fair, must allow people to live above the poverty line
(see Glossary 129), and should rise in line with average wage increases. Social
services should help to ensure that everyone has access to a home, healthcare,
and training and/or work. Our social policies must leave no one behind.
FYEG stands for the implementation of a minimum income across the EU, set at an
amount matching the cost of living in each region. Our social policy’s goal is a
guaranteed social security net that leaves no one behind, the right to a
meaningful job, abolishing the low-wage sector with strong minimum wages and
tariffs, and a significant reduction of working hours while maintaining the wage
level. This should be financed by the higher taxation of the super-rich, among
other measures (see chapter 4 – Fiscal policy).
At the same time, Europe must not forget its privileged position in the world
and must also work towards eradicating inequalities worldwide (see chapter 6 –
Trade and global justice).
With technological progress, digitalisation, and the need to reduce the
environmental impact of our economies, work is changing and is likely to
continue to do so. It is important to reflect on the future of work to ensure
these changes improve everyone’s welfare and well-being.
FYEG supports a better balance between work and personal life. This will require
a whole range of changes, including a reduction in working hours. Studies have
shown that a reduction in working hours is accompanied by gains in efficiency.
Reducing working hours is also a feminist demand as it enables the
redistribution of unpaid care work. As a first step, we therefore propose a
maximum 32-hour working week within the European Union while maintaining wage
levels. We also support raising the number of paid holidays to a minimum of 40
days per year.
Work needs to be paid fairly. In order for people not to face economic
difficulties when working fewer hours, we have to start changing wages
immediately and start valuing work differently. Jobs that are traditionally
occupied by women tend to be valued less, although they bring significant
benefits to society. We should take into account not only the societal value of
a job but also the level of mental and physical effort it demands in order to
determine wage levels. To use the example of care work, jobs in this sector are
systematically underpaid, with the mental and physical demands of the job not
adequately reflected in the wages paid, and involve poor working conditions.
FYEG supports raising wages to above average levels for people who work in the
care sector.
Wage differences across Europe are used by multinational companies to maximise
their profits, exploiting workers in countries where wages are the lowest and
firing workers in countries where wages are higher. In order to prevent the
lowering of social standards and the deterioration of workers’ rights, we
support the introduction of an EU minimum wage scheme (see Glossary 51), with
minimum wages based on the cost of living in a particular country or region and
a mechanism to progressively harmonise them. Noone who works should live below
the poverty line. Workers should be able to travel freely, seek employment, and
work in the country of their choice. Strong protective measures are needed to
ensure that the foreign posting of workers is not used to bypass national social
protection schemes.
Interns and trainees also must receive fair pay in order to cover their living
costs and in recognition of the value of the work they do. FYEG wants an
immediate ban on unpaid internships.
It is easy to lose a job – and it can be extremely difficult to find another
one. Unemployment is not an individual failure, but an inevitability in our
broken economic system. The welfare state should be a safety net that leaves no
one in poverty. People need to be protected during periods of unemployment. We
fight for fair unemployment benefits (see Glossary 177) and the fair treatment
of those trying to
re-enter the labour market. Over the course of their lives, individuals change
jobs far more frequently than in previous generations. We therefore support the
reinforcement of lifelong learning schemes to allow people to study or train for
new jobs at any point in their lives.
We support the introduction of parental leave (see Glossary 119) schemes across
Europe that guarantee that every new parent, regardless of their gender, has
access to a period of paid parental leave of at least three months. Mechanisms
should be put in place to ensure that parental leave schemes contribute to
gender equality. Mandatory parental leave for new fathers can help to reduce the
discrimination
that new mothers face when applying for jobs, as well as promote the equal
distribution of domestic tasks in the household. Therefore we support a model
where both parents have 4 more months of paid parental leave with additional 4
months left to distribute freely between themselves.
FYEG recalls the right to unionise and considers that trade unions (see Glossary
165) play a crucial role in improving working conditions. The right to unionise
as well as the right to strike must be recognised and protected across Europe.
Moreover, bodies which represent employees’ interests should be strengthened,
and 50% of the seats on the boards of large companies should be reserved for
employee representatives.
Digitalisation has led to new forms of work and employment such as the gig
economy, in which workers are not employed on regular work contracts which
include social protection, but are instead paid for each task completed. While
this can bring a flexibility that some workers enjoy, we must ensure that gig
workers have equal social protection, including health and work-related accident
insurance, protection against discrimination, parental benefits and rights, and
pensions. We must also ensure that the platforms and companies who use gig
workers are paying salary, tax, and other costs in line with other actors, as
well as requiring platforms and other companies to officially employ “false
self-employed” individuals in the event that they request this.
We also believe that work which has a positive impact on the environment and on
society should be properly rewarded, for example through grants. We propose
setting up a care income (see Glossary 20) in the form of a premium paid by
states to reward those who care for people, society in general, and the
environment on a non-professional basis.
We believe in fair retirement policies, such as a progressive retirement age
which allows people to continue working after that age if they freely choose to
do so. Many retired people, especially women, receive extremely low pensions. We
support decent pension incomes for all which are sufficient for a dignified
life.
FYEG recognises that racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism,
and ageism – which it believes to be inherent to neoliberal capitalism – do not
stop at the doors of our workplaces, and stands for anti-discrimination policies
in the workplace.
Every European company should have a clear policy in relation to toxic behaviour
including unconscious bias, hateful speech, and sexual harassment in the
workplace, as well as organising regular trainings on this. We also want to
strengthen European law in order to make it easier for people who have
experienced sexual harassment to come forward and take legal action against
their harassers.
A European regulation for equality in the workplace should be adopted, making it
mandatory for companies to implement an equality plan, ensure gender balance and
promote diversity in all levels of company governance , and have a clear plan to
ensure the closure of any wage gap. Companies with more than 20 employees must
implement a quotum for governing bodies in the middle and top layer of the
company, ensuring that a maximum of 60% of people within these governing bodies
is cis-gendered and male. Companies who fail to implement basic principles such
as equal pay for equal work should be sanctioned.
FYEG stands for the full equality of all genders. We are calling on the European
Union to develop a strategy to end gender discrimination. This strategy must
include non-binary and trans people.
Racism in workplaces must be fought, and finally ended. In order to achieve
this, companies must commit to diversity internships, fellowships, and other
programmes. Additionally, antiracism policies, diversity and inclusion reports,
and regular training must be made mandatory. We support using testing to expose
discrimination and condemn companies that discriminate against people.
We support freedom of movement (see Glossary 69), as well as the freedom to stay
(see Glossary 70). The exploitation of migrant workers must be brought to an
end. Working and employment conditions, as well as access to benefits, should be
determined according to the country in which a person is working, not their
nationality or background. Companies, governments, and courts should treat
migrant workers the same as other workers. We are concerned about the current
practice of several European countries to treat highly skilled migrant workers
and other migrant workers differently. We call for the establishment of a
universal right to migration for work purposes, as well as a common European
policy framework for labour migration.
Young people all over Europe need to work in order to study or to support their
families. They are often treated differently to their older colleagues. FYEG
would require employers to pay young people (including minors) the same amount
as their older colleagues for performing the same work. Union-supported and
regulated wage increases based on the number of years working in a certain field
or at a particular workplace could still be permitted.
FYEG stands for housing for all. For this to happen, housing must be affordable
for all and no longer a profit-making activity. We aim towards a world in which
housing is no longer a commodity but rather a human right. States should
intervene on the housing market to prevent speculation (see Glossary 157) and
ensure that everyone has a home.
We believe that affordable housing should also be decent and of good quality.
With extreme weather events becoming more and more frequent, it is more
important than ever to build houses which can withstand disasters like flooding
and earthquakes. In order to ensure that housing is truly a right for all, we
believe that all new buildings must be made accessible for disabled people.
There will be stricter supervision of real estate agents and private landlords.
For example, use is made of "anonymous tenants" to combat discrimination in the
housing sector. In addition to warnings and fines, rental permits can also be
withdrawn if there is structural mismanagement.
Many Europeans are still facing energy poverty (see Glossary 47) and are not
able to heat their homes, in particular single-parents, mostly women. Buildings
are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2
emissions in the EU. We believe all housing should be energetically renovated
within the next 10 years and environmental standards for buildings must aim to
minimalise the use of embodied energy during planning and construction and a
maximum of energy efficiency during their lifecycle .
We need higher taxation for property purchases that exceed individual needs. We
also need better rental rights for people who cannot afford to buy a house and
those who prefer not to own a home. In places where rents have increased in the
last decades we support the introduction of rent control measures, which have
already been implemented in several places. We also support cities who are
putting restrictions on short-term tourist lets that drive up rental prices. The
geographic side of public housing in Europe is currently based on the economic
value of houses. This results in segregation between rich and poor and thus also
between ethnic groups. We counter this on a policy basis.
We have to increasingly invest in public housing (see Glossary 136) at local,
regional, federal, and EU levels in order to combat overburdening by housing
costs, which affects around 80 million people in the EU. In many countries,
public housing is not evenly distributed between cities and districts, thus
increasing inequalities. We support the introduction of public housing quotas by
city and by neighbourhood.
While some people are overburdened with housing costs, others cannot afford
housing at all. The number of homeless people in the EU has risen by 70% since
2010, and more than 700,000 people are now sleeping rough all over Europe. We
must therefore launch a Europe-wide plan for everyone to have access to
inclusive, climate friendly, and decent homes. We support approaches such as
Housing First (see Glossary 82) that provide homeless people with housing
without preconditions, seeing this as the first step towards integration. Our
general aim is a fair housing market without excessive costs for tenants and
buyers and where everyone can afford a place to live. Over the long term, there
should be serious consideration given to deprivatising the housing market.
As stated in Article 25 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
“everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for [their] health and
well-being”. A free and accessible universal healthcare system is essential to
achieve these standards, based on physical and psychological well-being as well
as social care and prevention. Healthcare should be inclusive of everyone
without discrimination and be based on the best current scientific knowledge.
FYEG supports publicly funded healthcare. Health is not a commodity, but a human
right. Healthcare that is free at point of use means that people are not
expected to pay for accessing healthcare services (primary and secondary care).
Instead, their health insurance is covered through tax. Healthcare workers are
essential, and their working and employment conditions must be improved.
The huge disparities between rural and urban access to healthcare, such as
emergency and specialised services, should be addressed, with investment made to
support and increase the number of healthcare services and workers in rural
areas.
Cooperation between companies and states allows health crises to be tackled more
effectively and solutions to health issues more easily available to countries in
need. International organisations such as the WHO should therefore be
strengthened, while also being made more transparent and inclusive.
The European Union is beginning the process to establish a European Health
Union. FYEG supports a mechanism to harmonise healthcare across Europe. To
develop this, the EU should commit to properly funding its EU4Health programme
(see Glossary 53).
About 25 % of Europe's citizens suffer from mental health problems. As FYEG, we
demand that mental health and related conditions be taken more seriously. We
have to increase the availability of counselling and psychotherapy as well as
funding for other mental health services in order to provide adequate and
affordable care for every European citizen who is experiencing mental health
problems, independent of their economic or social background.
Marginalised groups (for example women, LGBTQIA+, racialised people) often face
issues when trying to access healthcare, such as stigma around their health
needs and discrimination, to the point of being refused treatment or not taken
seriously. Those with existing medical conditions (such as people with
disabilities and/or chronic illnesses), may face difficulties receiving
treatment for other conditions. All discrimination should be fought against,
with awareness-raising and stigma-reducing campaigns and training for healthcare
workers. Additionally, we demand more research to be conducted into mental
health in marginalised groups, as well as initiatives that specifically target
loneliness and the social isolation of specific groups such as elderly people,
chronically ill people, and disabled people.
FYEG fights for sexual and reproductive health and rights (see chapter 1).
FYEG also supports a stronger focus on prevention in public health policy.
Fighting air and water pollution, eliminating endocrine disruptors and
carcinogenic substances, promoting healthy diets including the reduced
consumption of heavily processed food, and promoting sport are all key actions
to prevent severe chronic disease. A healthy lifestyle should be affordable for
everyone. Therefore, fruit and vegetables should be cheaper and unhealthy
products should be increased in price. Sports are important for social contact
and should not only be promoted, but also be accessible for all. Therefore,
financial support should be given when necessary. Prevention policies on smoking
and drinking should also be put in place, for example through information
campaigns, taxation, the regulation of sales, and bans on advertising. FYEG
encourages countries to create separate shops for alcohol and tobacco. Smoking
should be banned in public places where it is clearly a nuisance to people's
health. FYEG supports a harm-reduction approach through prevention programmes
within drug policy and the treatment of addiction. Alongside addiction
awareness-raising, the stigma around addiction should be tackled. Addiction
should be recognised as a medical condition, and social protection and medical
and social support should be offered to those suffering from addiction.
We support the full legalisation of drugs across Europe, while increasing
prevention measures. Drug legalisation would deprive organised crime structures
of a lucrative source of income. Tax revenues from drug sales should be used to
fund the healthcare and prevention sectors and social services.
We demand a fair, publicly owned pharmaceutical sector. Large pharmaceutical
companies should not hold the monopoly (see Glossary 106) on public safety,
especially when this leads to unequal access to life-saving treatments.
Additionally, life-saving drugs should not be sold at a profit. All contracts
made between pharmaceutical companies and national governments or the European
Union should be transparent
and made publicly available.
Individuals’ well-being, dignity, and wishes should be fully respected in the
healthcare system. We fight for improving palliative care (see Glossary 117) and
for allowing people to choose how and when they die.
Education is more than just learning how to spell, counting to 10 or training
workers. It should also be the process of learning how to grow as a person and
as a member of society. Education must be accessible to all genders, ages,
sexualities, religions, and ethnicities, independent of ability,origin, place of
residence, access to digital tools, wealth, or legal status.
Education should not depend on the balance of your bank account. It should be
free and publicly funded, from kindergarten to university. Education should not
focus on performance or economic profitability. Pressure should be taken off
children and students, and special attention should be paid to their mental
health.
Vocational colleges (see Glossary 182) and universities are of equal importance
to institutions of higher education. Young people who want to pursue a more
practical education should be given the same resources as those who are more
academically inclined. We believe that young people who pursue a practical
education should receive payment for the duration of their apprenticeship and be
ensured qualified guidance throughout their education.
All types of curricula should be inclusive. Topics such as LGBTQIA+ issues, sex
education, mental health, and anti-racism, among others, should feature in every
school’s curriculum. We believe that students from ethnic or linguistic minority
groups should have access to, for example, their culture and/or language of
origin in schools, either as an extra-curricular activity or as part of the main
curriculum. It should be safe and possible to break gender norms and class norms
in the educational system, and students should be encouraged to follow their
dreams and passions instead of fulfilling social expectations.
FYEG also believes that European and international mobility should be accessible
to all from an early age. With that in mind, we support increasing the budget of
the Erasmus+ programme to guarantee that every young person has the opportunity
to take part in an international mobility programme before graduating from
secondary school and before graduating from university.
The current international system has not achieved its promise of ensuring peace,
guaranteeing fundamental rights, and reducing global inequalities and poverty.
Conflicts are taking place all around the globe. Illiberalism (see Glossary 87)
and autocracy (see Glossary 9) are on the rise. At the same time, the
international organisations and rules that have characterised international
cooperation over the last decades are
increasingly under attack. The changing geopolitical context (including the
withdrawal of the USA from the world stage and the rise of other powers such as
China) will have far-reaching consequences for the international system. On top
of this, the effects of the climate crisis will contribute to instability. We
stand at the beginning of a period of significant volatility.
The European Union has tried to establish itself as a global actor over recent
years. We believe that it is only together that the European Union Member States
have enough weight to tackle complex global challenges effectively. The external
action of the European Union must be built on and guided by values. We believe
that European foreign policy must uphold human rights, democracy, the rule of
law and the respect of international law; preserve and build peace; pursue
multilateral (see Glossary 107) solutions; and fight for effective action at the
global level to fight climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and other global
environmental and social challenges.
Challenges such as the climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic are global in
nature and cannot be overcome by any state alone. In a world that is becoming
increasingly connected and complex, international cooperation is the only way
forward. At a time when international organisations are being undermined and
with certain states pursuing a course of unilateralism (see Glossary 178), the
European Union, as well as other actors, needs to actively fight for
multilateral solutions and the strengthening of international organisations.
We oppose a move towards a world characterised by great power competition and
the rule of the strongest. It is our responsibility to fight for a fair, rule-
based international system that protects those who are more vulnerable and gives
them the power to actively shape their futures. We stand for the strengthening
of international courts and call for the EU to join the European Convention on
Human Rights (see Glossary 56) in a timely fashion in order for it to be held to
account in cases of human rights abuses.
The European Union will also advocate for reforms within the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) (see Glossary 90) and the World Bank (see Glossary 186).
Their decision-making processes must be decoupled from the financial
contributions of Member States. These institutions must contribute to a stable
and sustainable world economy. Multilateral solutions on global issues such as
climate change, biodiversity loss, migration, weapons, and security should be
pursued.
While being strong supporters of multilateralism, FYEG also believes that it
needs to be deeply reformed. The current system is still institutionalising
existing power inequalities instead of balancing them. The fact that five of the
richest countries in the world, who happen to be among the largest military
powers and weapons exporters, hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council
(see Glossary 174) and have the right of veto is neither fair nor sustainable in
the long term. In the short term, this system should be reformed by giving
permanent seats on the Security Council to more countries, including those who
have historically been exploited and hindered in their economic development by
colonial powers, and by ending the right of veto. In the long term, the UN
should evolve towards a global democracy in which representatives from all
countries would be democratically elected.
As FYEG, we stand for the development and implementation of a European feminist
foreign policy. Feminist foreign policy is a political framework that is centred
around the well-being of marginalised people and invokes processes of self-
reflection regarding hierarchical global systems.
There is an urgent need for the European Union to reconsider the way it conducts
its external actions. Traditionally, foreign policy thinking tends to focus on
military force and the security of states. Feminist foreign policy offers us a
new, intersectional way to think about foreign policy from the viewpoint of the
most vulnerable. It aims to elevate women’s and marginalised groups’ experiences
and agency to scrutinise the destructive forces of patriarchy, neocolonialism,
heteronormativity (see Glossary 80), capitalism (see Glossary 13), racism (see
Glossary 141), imperialism (see Glossary 88), and militarism (see Glossary 105).
For European states, this means addressing its history of colonialism. Many
European states built their wealth on the brutal exploitation of other
countries. Colonialism and its aftershocks are affecting countries and the
hierarchies in the international system to this day. A European feminist foreign
policy must be a decolonial foreign policy. A first step into this direction is
debt forgiveness (see Glossary 35) and reparations for formerly colonised
countries. In the longer term, the way the European Union conducts development
assistance needs to be rethought and global economic institutions need to be
reformed to effectively address the situation of formerly colonised countries.
FYEG supports the right to self-determination for peoples. The European Union
should promote the right to self-determination for peoples, in adherence to
international law and states’ territories, and with the prospect of improving
the human rights situation and democracy.
In terms of peacebuilding, a European feminist foreign policy means that more
women and other marginalised groups must be brought to the negotiation table.
Our focus should not be on top-down processes, but rather on community-centred
initiatives.
As part of a European feminist foreign policy, the institutions which shape
foreign policy, such as the European External Action Service (see Glossary 58)
and national foreign services, must reflect the diversity of the societies they
work for. Foreign policy continues to be dominated by old white men, and it is
the task of institutions to actively take steps to change this.
Peace is more than the mere absence of war. Our understanding of peace entails a
positive peace that includes a commitment to justice and human rights and the
eradication of poverty, discrimination, and social exclusion, as well as
tackling the effects of the climate crisis.
Too often security is equated with militarisation. Such a perspective is not
only false and limiting, but harmful. We need a paradigm shift in terms of
security, putting more emphasis on crisis preparedness, resilience, and emerging
security challenges such as hybrid threats and climate change. Further
militarisation fails to meet today’s security challenges. Instead of
militarisation, we therefore call for an allocation of resources to where they
can contribute to human security (see Glossary 84) and truly sustainable peace.
This includes ensuring funding for civil society organisations and humanitarian
organisations.
Human beings, not state security, must be at the heart of all security efforts.
When it comes to conflict response, humanitarian action and dialogue must be
prioritised over militarised intervention. Imposing sanctions has precedent over
militarized intervention as well, yet sanctions must be targeted and do no harm
to the overall population. Within international organisations dealing with
security, the EU must actively fight for solutions built on the principles of
human security. Within the European Union, we must put an end to the unanimity
requirement to impose international economic sanctions. However, we recognise
that in certain situations dialogue is not enough. When genocide or other
horrific human rights abuses are occuring, or unprovoked crimes of aggression
occur and mediation has proven unsuccessful, we through the EU need to be able
to forcefully and militarily respond to protect human life and security. To this
end, we support the development of rapidly deployable and interoperable EU
military forces that are able to engage in peace enforcement and civilian
protection, such as the EUFOR Crisis Response Operations Core, so long as they
are truly used for this purpose and not as an instrument of economic or national
interests.
Through the production and export of arms, European States are fuelling
conflicts across the world. We demand the end of arms exports. In line with the
principle of human security, we also call on European States and the EU to
increase efforts to make nuclear weapons illegal under international law and
join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (see Glossary 168). We
also advocate for the global prohibition of lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs)
(see Glossary 98).
We support all Stateless Peoples subjected to oppression by other states. We
highlight the importance of supporting their fight for freedom and recognition,
and call for international treaties to be respected in context of colonizing or
apartheid regimes, only as defined by the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court. Military activities, as well as other forms of subjugation, must
be put to an end under the mandate of international organisations such as the
United Nations Security Council, or the International Court of Justice.
Recognition of new borders for these Peoples needs to be respected by all
parties in order to include them as a rightful member of the international
community.
The climate crisis will only bring more meteorological and humanitarian
disasters, which can be deadly, create problems for the delivery of essential
services and risk destroying critical infrastructure. In times of peace we
support the training and use of military forces for disaster response and
preparedness, both within Europe and outside of it, in strict accordance with
international law and solely under mandate.
We believe in the unrestricted right to travel and migrate for education,
economic, security, freedom, peace, climate, and other reasons. Freedom of
movement should be considered a human right. Your freedom and opportunities
should not depend on where you or your parents were born or your ability to
acquire a certain nationality.
At the same time, we are also conscious of the root causes of forced migration,
especially from countries in which people are affected by famine, war, climate
change, exploitation, and various kinds of persecution (ethnic, cultural,
religious, political, ...). You should not be forced to look for better and
safer conditions in other countries because your situation is deteriorating to
the point where your life and that of your loved ones are put in grave danger.
Furthermore, sustainable development cooperation is not only giving aid to those
who need them. Europe should be proactive in rooting out the causes of forced
migration, especially when originating from European actor's actions, and
ensuring human security (cf Feminist Foreign Policy)
Europe must become a safe haven for people seeking refuge. Illegal pushbacks
(see Glossary 85) of migrants and refugees must stop, and the humane treatment
of migrants and refugees upon and after their arrival ensured, in particular
access to sufficient food, clean and safe drinking water, and healthcare. The
housing of migrants and refugees in mass camps with poor living conditions must
end, and dignified housing must be provided immediately. Member states and local
governments should strive to provide secure small-scale housing which will serve
as a springboard for migrants and their families to be able to rent in the
private housing market in the medium and long-term. In housing refugees, member
states and local governments should also put the particular sensitivities into
consideration including, but not limited to, unaccompanied minors, LGBTQ+
migrants, and migrants with disabilities.
Human rights activists who organise voluntary rescue operations have been
charged with heinous crimes. Humans have always been migrating and will always
migrate. Europe should support migration, facilitate secure travel for all
migrants, especially refugees and asylum seekers, and make sure that all people
are saved when in distress, as regulated in international admiralty law.
Criminalising and hassling private organisations and commercial ships which do
so is a breach of international law and must be prosecuted. The European States'
and the EU's externalisation of border management, through agreements such as
the ones with the Turkish government and the Libyan authorities and militias,
has further amplified the violations of human rights at the borders of the EU.
This must end immediately.
We defend the right to asylum. Europe must create legal and safe channels for
migration. We demand humanitarian and resettlement visas, allowing refugees to
come to Europe safely. Administrative procedures to obtain these visas should be
free of charge for applicants at the point of service.
We need a common European asylum policy based on the principles of solidarity
with migrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees. The Dublin system (see Glossary 42)
as we now know it should be replaced. Refugees and asylum seekers already in the
EU should be able to effectively register for asylum, have access to asylum
procedures, and be able to request asylum not in the member state of arrival but
in the one of their choice. A common system of EU procedures, requirements, and
checks must be implemented, with clear time frames, in order to relieve pressure
on the individual. We need a common European asylum policy based on the
principles of solidarity. Additionally, all member states, particularly those
who are of better financial standing, must welcome more refugees, in order to
relieve pressure on border countries. In welcoming refugees, member states and
local governments should also put particular sensitivities into consideration
including, but not limited to, unaccompanied minors, LGBTQ+ migrants, and
migrants with disabilities.
Europe does not have a migrant or refugee crisis, Europe has a militarisation of
migration and border policies crisis. FYEG is unequivocally against “Fortress
Europe”. The militarisation of border management, including through Frontex (see
Glossary 71), has turned Europe into a fortress, causing the death of thousands
of migrants every year. We demand the abolition of Frontex and the reallocation
of its
budget and resources towards policy and appropriate institutions based on the
human security framework. Their main objective is to create political, economic,
social, cultural, and environmental conditions in which peoples' vital rights
and freedoms are secure.
Current border policies institutionalise racism and social stratification (see
Glossary 156). Instead, we should make sure that our migration policies serve to
create a welcoming, inclusive, diverse, and peaceful Europe. This means equal
access to education, job opportunities for all, the recognition of education and
skills learnt in someone’s country of origin, and the provision of language
training. Moreover, it should be easier to gain study, work, and residence
permits in Europe and to be granted family reunification. The granting of
permanent residence permits should be the norm, not the exception.
Across Europe, millions of people live undocumented. The rights of these
paperless people (see Glossary 118) should be protected. There are millions of
young people who were born in the European Union but are not EU citizens because
of their parents’ migration status. Anyone who is born in the EU is European and
should receive an EU passport upon birth.
Digitalisation has brought new geopolitical challenges. Digital companies and
platforms are in an excellent position to use the flaws of the current
international system to their benefit, for example to avoid taxation or locate
the country that will offer them the best conditions and the lowest level of
accountability. At a time when certain companies have become more powerful than
states, only international cooperation and European legislation can provide
solutions and protect citizens’ personal data and privacy. We support
dismantling the biggest tech companies to allow other actors to compete on a
level playing field and to avoid the over-concentration of power. We also
support the development of alternatives to tech giants that must show greater
respect for people’s data and privacy.
Digitalisation has also created new online battlefields. The cyberattacks
reported by some media outlets, hospitals, and public services show the need to
reinforce cybersecurity (see Glossary 34). The attempts of some countries to
influence democratic processes such as referenda and elections, for example
through disinformation campaigns, also demonstrate the need to take preventative
measures. We support a ban on targeted advertising (see Glossary 159) and the
strong regulation of political advertising on social media.
Finally, digitalisation also has geopolitical consequences in relation to the
consumption of rare earth elements (REEs). REEs are essential for the
manufacture of many electronic devices but are only found in sufficient
quantities in certain countries, which makes them a source of geopolitical
tension. We support the development of recycling facilities in Europe as well as
limits on the export of waste containing REEs.
Sharp global inequalities shape today’s international system. Formerly colonised
countries are suffering from the legacy of colonialism to this day. Global
inequalities are also apparent in the climate crisis and the biodiversity
crisis, as those who are the most responsible are not the same as those who are
most severely affected. Global inequalities are perpetuated by free trade and by
international trade rules that leave countries powerless to face multinational
corporations.
FYEG stands for global justice. Global justice entails a rethinking of how we
conduct both development and trade. The EU should reserve 1% of its GDP for
development cooperation and should advocate for raising the OECD (see Glossary
115) standard to 1%. This amount must be fully spent on improving the situation
of people in poverty-stricken countries providing local aid groups, communities
or relevant authorities with funds and support to develop initiatives which fit
their own priorities, in respect of good governance. It should neither end up
with European companies that receive this as a covert subsidy, nor be spent to
prevent migration to Europe. The EU and its Member States must fundamentally re-
design their approach to trade agreements and finance development in order to
fully comply with highest fair trade and environmental standards. Its
development banks believe in outdated economic models that result in accumulated
debt and large corporations stunting the growth of local businesses.
Trade must be fair. This means that trade can never be conducted at the expense
of human rights, democracy, social and environmental standards, or the fight
against the climate crisis. We oppose any trade and any trade agreements that do
not fulfil these criteria. Like development policies, fair trade must
acknowledge the responsibility of former colonial European states towards
countries which have historically been exploited and hindered in their economic
development by them. Fair trade must respect the interests of formerly colonised
countries and must not counter the objectives of development policies.
The change we are calling for is not limited to trade agreements. We also call
for regulatory due diligence and transparency in supply chains to prevent
environmental harm and to ensure social rights. European companies must be held
responsible in European States and the EU for breaches committed in third
countries. A human rights due diligence (HRDD) legislation, legally referring to
all human rights, should apply to all business relations of all companies who
are making use of the EU’s single market (with specific considerations for SMEs)
to ensure that the entire supply chain is being looked at. We believe that HRDD
legislation must at least cover, but not be limited to, severe human rights
violations, and their enforcement must be uniform across the European Union.
FYEG stands for a different type of globalisation, one that is based not on
increasing profits and trade at all costs, but rather on exchanging ideas,
celebrating cultural diversity, and working together towards a better future.
The European Union will not become stronger by closing itself off from others.
Through the European Neighbourhood Policy (see Glossary 59) the EU has since its
inception tried and failed to guarantee democracy, human rights, fair economies
and rule of law for states bordering the Mediterranean and to the East of the
Union.
Though the expansion of the EU is not an end in itself, EU membership should be
open to all European countries that are not yet or no longer members of the EU.
We support the accession of countries who express the wish to join the EU if
they meet human rights, democratic, and rule of law criteria.
The European Union should develop and maintain strong cooperation with
neighbouring countries who are not members of the EU, including by guaranteeing
visa-free travel and participation in key programmes such as Erasmus+ (see
Glossary 48). For non-European states, the entire policy needs an overhaul with
enhanced conditionality, greater focus and rewards for progress on fundamental
rights, and cooperation on environmental and climate issues. As greens, we
support measures that secure peace and prosperity, and provide the basis for
environmental and climate action. The European Neighbourhood Policy has the
potential to do so, but does not contribute to the achievements of these
objectives right now.
Glossary
Ableism: Discrimination or prejudice against disabled individuals or
people who are perceived to be disabled.
Alternative text: A written description of an image to help screen-reading
tools explain the image to visually impaired readers.
Antimicrobial resistance: A process through which microbes evolve and
develop mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials
such as antibiotics and antifungals. This phenomenon is being accelerated
by the massive use of antimicrobials in intensive animal farming.
Antisemitism: A certain perception of Jews as a religious, ethnic, or
racial group, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews or
discrimination against them.
Antiziganism: Hostility, prejudice, discrimination, or racism specifically
directed at Romani people.
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union: Procedure to suspend certain
rights from Member States of the European Union in the event of a breach
of EU fundamental values.
Artificial intelligence (AI): The ability of a machine to complete tasks
which ordinarily require human intelligence.
Austerity policies: A set of government-imposed economic policies to
reduce budget deficits. Measures can include tax increases and spending
cuts.
Autocracy: A system of government in which supreme power over a state is
concentrated in the hands of one person.
Banking regulation: Government rules or regulations on how banks and
financial institutions should conduct business.
Bioenergy: Energy produced using biomass or biofuels, including energy
from wood or other plants, plant-derived biofuels, and organic waste.
Bodily autonomy: The right to govern what happens to one's own body.
Capitalism: An economic system in which the means of production are in
private ownership and operated for profit. It is characterised by the
accumulation of capital, investments determined by private decision, and
the fact that prices and the production and distribution of goods are
primarily determined by competition in a free market.
Carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM): A proposed tax to be imposed on
certain goods imported from outside the EU, based on their carbon
footprint. The CBAM would reduce emissions and encourage the use of
domestically produced goods.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS): A process which attempts to prevent the
release of large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere
from fossil fuel use in power generation and other industries. Waste CO2
is captured, transported to a storage site, and pumped into underground
geologic formations, where it is securely stored away and thus prevented
from reaching the atmosphere.
Carbon neutral economy: An economy that operates without releasing more
CO2 than can be absorbed by carbon sinks.
Carbon sink: Anything that absorbs more CO2 that it emits. Examples
include areas of vegetation (e.g. forests) and phytoplankton-rich seas,
which naturally absorb the CO2 present in the atmosphere.
Carbon tax: A tax paid by businesses that emit CO2 in the course of their
operations.
Carbon-intensive industries: Industries that emit high quantities of CO2
and are responsible for the vast majority of CO2 emissions.
Care income: Remuneration received by non-professional carers such as
family members for their care work.
Circular economy: In contrast to the linear economy, a circular economy is
designed to eliminate waste, promote the continuous use of resources and
materials, and use finite resources in a sustainable way.
Citizen-initiated referendum: A referendum that can be initiated by a
group of citizens as opposed to referendums that are initiated by
government and elected bodies.
Civil disobedience: Active and professed refusal to obey certain laws,
governmental demands, or commands. Used as a nonviolent and usually
collective means of political action.
Clean meat —also known as in vitro or cultured meat— is meat that is grown
in cell culture, rather than in an animal’s body.
Common Agricultural Policy: The agricultural policy of the European Union,
introduced in 1962. It now consists of a system of agricultural subsidies
as well as other programmes.
Commons: Cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a
society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable
earth. These resources are held in common as opposed to being under
private ownership.
Comprehensive urban planning: A process that determines community goals
and development aspirations as a first step. Areas such as transportation,
utilities, land use, recreation, and housing are all considered.
Conversion therapy: The use of any of various methods in an attempt to
change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual, or to change a
person’s gender identity to correspond to the sex they were assigned at
birth. Conversion therapy is not based on scientific evidence and is
ineffective and harmful.
Cooperative business model: A membership-based business model in which a
group of people with a specific need are willing to work together to found
and operate a jointly owned company that will meet that need.
Corporate tax: A tax that companies are required to pay on the profits
they make.
Corrida: Bullfight.
Council of the European Union: Decision-making body of the EU made up of
ministers of EU Member States. Together with the European Parliament, it
amends and approves the legislative proposals of the European Commission.
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU): The judicial branch of the
EU. It ensures that the legislation agreed upon is interpreted and
implemented identically across all Member States, and that such
implementation is in compliance with that legislation. The CJEU also deals
with legal disputes between Member States and the EU institutions and, in
certain cases, between businesses, organisations or individuals and the EU
institutions.
Cybersecurity: The application of technologies, processes, and controls to
protect systems, networks, programmes, devices, and data from
cyberattacks.
Debt forgiveness: The total cancelation of debt owed by individuals,
corporations, or states.
Degrowth: A concept that critiques a global capitalist system pursuing
growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental
destruction. It advocates for societies to prioritise social and
ecological well-being instead of corporate profits, overproduction, and
excess consumption.
De-monopolise: Break up existing monopolies.
Dichotomy of binary gender: The classification of gender into two
distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social
system or cultural belief.
Digitalisation: The use of digital technologies to improve business
processes. Digitalisation may change business models and provide new
revenue and value-producing opportunities. Also the process of moving to a
digital business model.
Dolphinarium: A pool or aquarium for dolphins and other aquatic mammals,
allowing them to be on public display.
Doughnut economics: An economic model which places emphasis on balance
between socio-ecological systems and highlights the importance of serving
one without excessively damaging the other, remaining within a safe and
just space for humanity.
Dublin system: An EU mechanism that determines which Member State is
responsible for the examination of an asylum application submitted by
someone seeking international protection within the EU under the Geneva
Convention.
Economic growth: An increase in the production of goods and services,
compared from one time period to another.
Economy for Common Good: A social movement advocating for an alternative
economic model. It calls for working towards the common good and
cooperation as values above profit-orientation and competition.
Electric pulse fishing: A fishing technique sometimes used which uses
electric shocks to catch fish.
Embodied energy: Embodied energy is the sum of all the energy required to
produce any goods or services, considered as if that energy was
incorporated or 'embodied' in the product itself.
Energy poverty: The lack of access to modern energy services.
Erasmus: Erasmus+ (formerly known as Erasmus) is a programme to support
mobility and cooperation opportunities in higher education, vocational
education and training, school education, adult education, youth work and
sport. Best known for its university exchange programme.
Erasmus+: See Erasmus.
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Legally binding charter that sets out
the rights and liberties of everyone in the European Union.
EU minimum wage scheme: Proposed EU directive on the introduction of a
minimum wage for workers in the European Union to ensure a decent living.
EU Rights and Values programme: The programme aims to protect the rights
and values enshrined in the EU treaties by supporting civil society
organisations and encouraging civic and democratic participation.
EU4Health programme: The EU’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. The largest
ever EU programme within the health sector, EU4Health aims to increase
preparedness for cross-border health threats, as well as strengthen health
systems across the EU.
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML): European
convention for the protection and promotion of languages used by
traditional minorities.
European Commission: The executive branch of the European Union.
Responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding
the EU treaties, and managing the day-to-day business of the EU.
European Convention on Human Rights: An international convention to
protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe, adopted in the
framework of the Council of Europe and that is enforced by the European
Court of Human Rights.
European Council: EU institution which defines the general political
direction and priorities of the European Union. It comprises the heads of
state or government of Member States, the Commission president, and the
president of the European Council.
European External Action Service (EEAS): The diplomatic service of the EU.
European Neighbourhood Policy is the structure that governs the EU’s
relations with states in its immediate neighbourhood.
European Parliament: Directly elected EU body that has legislative power,
budgetary power, and control over other EU institutions such as the
European Commission.
European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO): Independent office responsible
for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment crimes against
the EU budget.
Federal Europe: The transformation of the EU from a confederation (union
of sovereign states) to a federation with a central government.
Feminism: A range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies
that aim to establish gender equality in society.
Fish aggregating devices: An object used to attract fish such as marlin,
tuna and dolphins. Widely used in the industrial fishing of tuna, it is
accused of increasing the fishing of juveniles, bycatches of sensitive
species as well as creating marine litter.
Food security: The ability for all people, at all times, to have physical,
social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that
meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy
life.
Food sovereignty: A concept developed by farmers based on the right of
people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through
ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and the right of communities
to control the way food is produced, traded, and consumed. It could create
a food system that is designed to help people and the environment rather
than to generate profits for multinational corporations.
Force-feeding: A feeding technique used in the production of foie gras. A
nutritional substance is given to the goose by means of a small plastic
feeding tube passed through the nose or mouth into the stomach. As a
result, their livers become massively enlarged.
Fracked gas: Gas obtained through the use of fracking. Fracking is the
process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water
mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.
Freedom of movement: The right to travel, work, and live in a country, as
well as the unconditional right to leave and re-enter.
Freedom to stay: The right to remain in the country of one’s choosing.
Frontex: The European Border and Coast Guard Agency. An EU agency, Frontex
is responsible for border control of the European Schengen Area, in
coordination with the national border and coast guards of Schengen Area
Member States.
Gender-based violence: Harmful acts directed at an individual based on
their gender. It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power, and
harmful norms.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Animals, plants, or microbes whose
DNA has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.
Genital mutilation: A procedure that typically includes the total or
partial excision of external genitalia. Female genital mutilation (FGM)
involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or
other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is
recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and
women.
Genuine progress indicator (GPI): A national-level indicator that provides
information on sustainable economic welfare, rather than just economic
activity. GPI has been suggested to replace or supplement GDP.
Geoengineering (also known as climate engineering): The deliberate
manipulation of the Earth's climate to counteract the effects of global
warming from greenhouse gas emissions.
Globalisation: The growing integration and interdependence of the world's
economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade
in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and
information.
Greenwashing: A superficial or insincere display of concern for the
environment, usually in order to gain business advantage.
Gross domestic product (GDP): The market value of all the final goods and
services produced within the geographic boundaries of a country within a
specified time period, normally a year.
Heteronormativity: A discourse which is based on the assumption that
heterosexuality is the norm and privileges this over any other form of
sexual orientation.
Homophobia: A range of negative attitudes and feelings towards
homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian,
gay, or bisexual, as well as systemic discrimination against them.
Housing First: An approach to tackling homelessness in which permanent
housing is seen as a person’s first and primary need and is provided
without any preconditions.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): A virus that attacks the immune
system. If not treated, HIV can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome).
Human security: A security concept that redirects focus from the security
of states to insecurities in people’s daily lives, such as the threat of
hunger, disease, crime, environmental degradation, and issues related to
the labour market.
Illegal pushbacks: Illegal cross-border expulsions without due process.
Illiberal democracy: A governing system in which, although elections take
place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those
who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties.
Illiberalism: See “illiberal democracy":
Imperialism: The policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and
dominion of a nation, especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by
gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other
areas.
Informed consent: Agreement or permission to take a particular course of
action granted in full knowledge of the possible effects or results.
International Monetary Fund (IMF): A multilateral institution that lends
money to governments with the aim of stabilising currencies and
maintaining order in international financial markets.
Intersectionality: A way of understanding how people’s overlapping
identities impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.
Intersex people: Intersex is an umbrella term for differences in sex
traits or reproductive anatomy. Intersex people are born with these
differences or develop them in childhood. There are many possible
variations in genitalia, hormones, internal anatomy, and chromosome
patterns.
Islamophobia: A range of negative attitudes and feelings towards people
who practise Islam or are perceived as Muslims, as well as systemic
discrimination against them.
Istanbul Convention: The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and domestic violence. A legally binding
treaty aiming to put an end to violence against women and domestic
violence.
Just transition: A framework developed to encompass a range of social
interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when
economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating
climate change and protecting biodiversity.
Kerosene: A clear flammable liquid primarily obtained from petroleum,
commonly used as a fuel for jet engines.
Legalisation of drugs: Drug production and commercialisation is legal
under specific conditions that are controlled by the government.
Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWs): A type of autonomous military system
that can independently search for and engage targets based on programmed
constraints and descriptions.
Level playing field: A state in which conditions in a competition or
situation are fair for everyone.
LGBTQIA+: An initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans,
queer, intersex, and asexual, as well as other gender, sexual, or romantic
minorities.
Linear economy: An economic model based on the assumption of a constant
supply of raw materials, resulting in a “take-make-dispose” mentality.
Mass data retention: The collection and storage of data on individuals and
their online behaviour by governments and businesses.
Medically assisted procreation (MAP): A generic term for any of a range of
techniques that manipulate an egg and/or sperm to bring about
fertilisation.
Metadata: Data that provides information about other data.
Militarism: The belief that a country should maintain a strong military
capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote
national interests.
Monopoly: A company, person or state that has (near) complete control over
the supply of or trade in a commodity or service, meaning that it is
impossible for others to become involved in it.
Multilateralism: In international relations, multilateralism refers to an
alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal.
Neocolonialism: The use of economic, political, cultural, or other
pressures to control or influence other countries, especially formerly
colonised ones.
Neoliberalism: A political and economical ideology, associated with
economic liberalism and free-market capitalism. It supports privatization,
deregulation, free trade, austerity and reductions in government spending.
Net neutrality: The principle that internet service providers (ISPs)
should treat all data equally. According to this principle, ISPs may not
intentionally prioritise certain types of online traffic and block or
meter others.
Nuclear energyEnergy that is produced from nuclear reactions.
Nuclear fusion: A process in which two or more atoms are combined to form
one or more atomic nuclei and subatomic particles, producing energy.
Research is being funded into the use of this energy in electricity
production, for example through the ITER programme.
Open source-based platforms: Software that is publicly licensed and
designed with available source code, granting users the right to use,
copy, study, change, and improve its structure or design.
Oppression: Unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): An
international organisation with the mandate to stimulate economic progress
and world trade.
Own resources: The EU’s main sources of revenue comprising duties and
levies, value added tax, and national contributions.
Palliative care: Medical and related care provided to a seriously ill
patient to manage symptoms, relieve pain and discomfort, improve quality
of life, and meet the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the
patient.
Paperless person: A person who does not have any proof of their legal
identity or status.
Parental leave: Time off from employment granted to parents to care for a
child following its birth or adoption. Employers are required to hold
employees’ jobs for the duration of the leave period. Parental leave is
sometimes unpaid. FYEG supports fully paid parental leave.
Paris Agreement: A legally binding international treaty on climate change
mitigation, adaptation, and finance, signed in 2016. Its primary goal is
to limit the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees
Celsius above pre-industrial levels, in addition to pursuing efforts to
limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.
Parliamentary system: A democratic system of governance in which the
executive has the direct or indirect support of a democratically elected
parliament, and is held accountable to that parliament.
Participatory budgeting: A process of democratic deliberation and
decision- making in which citizens decide how to allocate part of a
municipal or public budget.
Patriarchy: A social system in which men hold primary power.
Pesticide: A chemical substance or biological agent used to deter,
incapacitate, or kill certain insects, mammals, wild plants, and other
unwanted organisms.
Physical communications infrastructure: The network of interconnected
resources (cables, switches, towers, antennae, etc.) upon which
broadcasting, telecommunication, and internet services are operated.
Pink tax: The tendency for products marketed specifically toward women to
be more expensive than those marketed for men.
Platform workers: Workers that are put in contact with customers through
online and are paid for each completed task rather than employed through
regular work contracts with social protections.
Pluralistic society: A society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial,
religious, and social groups are able to maintain and develop their unique
cultural identities, with the acceptance of the dominant culture, provided
these are consistent with the laws and values of wider society.
Poverty line: The minimum level of personal or family income deemed
adequate in a particular country, below which one is classified as poor
according to governmental standards.
Presidential system: A system of government in which the president is
constitutionally independent of the legislature and holds most executive
power.
Privilege: Special status or advantages conferred on certain groups at the
expense of other groups.
Productivism: The theory that increasing productivity is the primary goal
of socio-economic activity.
Profit maximisation: The process by which a firm determines the price,
input, and output level that returns the greatest profit.
Progressive taxation: A tax system based on the taxpayer’s ability to pay.
Low-income earners pay a lower rate of tax than those with higher incomes.
Proportional representation: An electoral system in which the number of
seats held by a political group or party within a legislative body is
proportional to the number of votes received.
Public housing: Low-rent housing owned, sponsored, or administered by the
state.
Qualified majority: One of the voting systems used by the Council of the
European Union to take decisions (the others being simple majority and
unanimous vote). The usual qualified majority is reached when 55% of
Member States representing at least 65% of the total EU population vote in
favour. In special cases, the figure rises to 72% of Member States
representing at least 65% of the EU population.
Queer: An umbrella term for gender, sexual and romantic minorities who are
not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary.
Quota (diversity and inclusion): A policy requiring a certain number or
share of minority group members or women on boards, shortlists, etc., in
order to make institutions and businesses more representative.
Racialised people: Individuals who have been ascribed a racial identity
for the purpose of continued domination, discrimination, and social
exclusion.
Racism: The systemic discrimination and oppression of people on the basis
of their supposed membership of particular racial or ethnic groups, built
through the perpetuation of prejudices and the belief that there are
different races, some of which are superior to others.
Relocalising the economy: Establishing a network of small businesses in
the local area to fulfil basic needs rather than relying on national or
global corporate monopolies.
Repairability: The extent to which an object is able to be repaired.
Representative recall: A process through which voters can remove elected
officials before their official terms have ended.
Right to be forgotten: The right of an individual to have private
information on them deleted so that third persons can no longer trace
them.
Right to challenge: An option offered in some countries allowing citizens
to call for a referendum challenging a decision taken by the parliament or
the government.
Right to disconnect: The right to digitally disconnect from work without
facing negative repercussions.
Right to self-determination: The right for people, based on respect for
the principle of equal rights and fair equality of opportunity, to freely
choose their sovereignty and international political status with no
interference.
Rule of law: The principle that all persons, institutions, and entities
are subject to the law, including lawmakers, law enforcement officials,
and judges.
Rule of law mechanism: Preventive tool to promote the rule of law and
provide options in the event of breaches by Member States, for example the
suspension of EU funding.
Schengen Area: An area in which all member countries have agreed to
abolish controls at internal borders and create a single external border.
Secrecy of correspondence: A fundamental legal principle guaranteeing that
sealed correspondence will not be opened and the content will not be
revealed to anyone but the addressee.
Secular state: A state that is neutral in matters of religion.
Sixth mass extinction: An ongoing mass extinction event of wildlife on
Earth as a result of human activity, in particular over the last century.
Social justice: The objective of social justice is to create a fair and
equal society in which each individual matters, their rights are
recognised and protected and in which wealth is fairly distributed.
Social stratification: The hierarchical structures of class and status in
any society.
Speculation (financial): Investment, in particular on the housing market,
involving high financial risk but also the possibility of significant
gain.
Subsidiarity principle: A principle according to which social and
political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate (or local)
level that is consistent with their resolution.
Targeted advertising: Internet advertising that delivers customised
adverts to consumers based on their behaviour on the internet.
Tax avoidance: The arrangement of one's financial affairs to minimise tax
liability within the law.
Tax haven: A country or place which offers foreign individuals and
companies very low tax rates. People choose to live there or register
companies there to avoid paying higher tax in their own countries.
Taxation of financial transactions: A tax that is applied to all financial
transactions, just as tax is paid on all other transactions, services, and
goods.
Tech giants: The largest and most dominant companies in the information
technology industry.
Too big to fail: Companies and business, particularly banks, that are so
interconnected and so large that their failure would have a serious impact
on the economic system, and that therefore require rescuing by governments
in the event of potential failure.
Trade union: An organisation formed primarily by workers in order to
represent their rights and interests to their employers.
Trans people: People who have a gender identity or gender expression that
differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth. People whose gender
identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth are referred to
as cisgender or cis people.
Transphobia: A range of negative attitudes and feelings towards
transgender people, as well as the systemic discrimination against them.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: An international agreement
to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being
their total elimination.
Trickle-down theory: A theory according to which financial benefits given
to large businesses and the wealthy will in turn trickle down to smaller
businesses and consumers.
Two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels: One of the
objectives of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global temperature rise
well below this level. Global temperature rises are usually calculated
compared to “pre-industrial levels”, meaning before the unusual rise in
global temperature observed since the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
UN 2030 Agenda: A resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly which
focuses on achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to
end poverty and hunger, combat inequalities, and create a peaceful, just,
sustainable, and inclusive society.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural
Areas: Declaration adopted in 2018 by the UN General Assembly which
recognises the rights of farmers and people living in rural areas. These
include the right to nature, seeds, land, water, biodiversity, health,
education, and housing, as well as labour rights and cultural rights.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): An international
treaty signed in 1992 which sets a framework to address climate change at
a global level. Regular international negotiations have been organised
under the aegis of the treaty which led to the adoption, among others, of
the Tokyo Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
UN Security Council: One of the six principal organs of the UN system, the
UN Security Council is responsible for maintaining peace and security. Its
resolutions are legally binding.
Unanimity: The agreement of all.
Unconscious bias: An attitude or stereotype that an individual
unconsciously associates with another person or group of people.
Unemployment benefit: A payment made at regular intervals to an unemployed
person.
Unilateralism: An approach in which a country decides on a policy or
course of action on its own, without regard to the interests of other
states, outside agreement or support, or reciprocity.
Universal basic income (UBI): A periodic payment provided to all on an
individual basis, without means testing or work requirements.
Upload filters: Automated decision-making tools that scan files uploaded
to a particular platform in order to determine if these violate the
platform’s guidelines and rules.
Uranium: A chemical element widely used in nuclear power plants and
nuclear weapons
Vocational colleges: Post-secondary educational establishments that offer
teaching and practical experience in skilled trades.
Waste heat recovery: The use of the surplus heat produced by processes
whose main aim is not heat production.
Wealth tax: A tax based on the value of the assets owned by a taxpayer.
White privilege: The societal privilege that benefits white people over
non-white people in some societies.
World Bank: A multilateral financial institution that lends money to
governments and government agencies for development projects.
Xenophobia: A range of negative attitudes and feelings towards foreigners
or people who are perceived as foreign, as well as systemic discrimination
against them.
Zoonotic diseases: Any infection or disease that is transmitted to humans
from animals.
To be inclusive minority groups that do not consider themselves as a nation, but just ethnic groups within the nation or there is no consensus about that within the group (eg. Kashubians in Poland).
