Cross-border broadcasting and Europe's linguistic heritage

EFA perspective on EU rules for cross-border online TV

There are an estimated 40 to 50 million speakers of regional and minority languages in the European Union. Each and every one is a vital part of the diverse tapestry that makes Europe what it is today. Yet, despite...

Stronger measures to tackle violence against women

Press release from EFA MEP Jill Evans (Wales)

The European Parliament today voted in favour of ratifying the Istanbul Convention, which is the first legally binding instrument on preventing and combating violence against women and girls at international level. Th...

You don't need to be a Catalan independentist to support the referendum on self-determination

Opinion Article by EFA MEP Jordi Solé, originally published in The Parliament Magazine

It was summer 2010 when many Catalans came to the conclusion that their country no longer belonged in the Spanish state. The Spanish Constitutional Court, after a four year long procedure, was expected to finally issue i...

Estonia's EU Presidency welcomed

EFA President Josep-Maria Terricabras on Estonia's EU Presidency

President of the EFA Group in the European Parliament, and Greens/EFA Vice President Josep-Maria Terricabras has welcomed the start of Estonia's six-month Presidency of the EU Council during a special debate at the E...

From remainers to retainers – Brexit's impact on culture and education

EFA - Culture committee considers Brexit

The implications of Brexit for culture and education were the focus of a hearing of the European Parliament's Culture Committee this week. MEPs heard evidence from a number of expert speakers including Eluned Haf,...

Transparency and accountability vital to avoid misuse of European funds

Debating the future of European Political Parties

Greens/EFA Vice President, and President of the EFA Group in the European Parliament, Josep-Maria Terricabras, has voiced support for greater transparency and accountability in order to counter any possible misuse of Eur...

"Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a Republic?"

EFA MEP Jordi Solé on Catalonia's plans for an independence referendum on 1 October

The Catalan government has announced a referendum on independence which will take place on 1 October 2017. EFA MEP Jordi Solé from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya took the floor at the European Parliament in ...

Europe's Languages Charter – 25 years later

25th anniversary of the adoption of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages

To mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages by the Council of Europe, diverse MEPs intervened in the European Parliament's Strasbourg Plenary session in the...

LGBTi Rights - "Progress is reversible"

EFA MEP Alyn Smith (Scotland) speaks out on LGBTi rights

EFA MEP Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party) has spoken out in the European Parliament, in Strasbourg over the alarming situation of LGBTi rights and the EU guidelines to protect and uphold them, particularly in the afte...

Citizens must be central to Brexit talks

According to MEPs from the European Free Alliance group, the negotiations should be fair and in good faith, with citizens' interests coming first and people not used as bargaining chips

European political parties should respect European values

Plenary debate with Josep-Maria Terricabras

MEPs have been discussing a request to review how the European parliament funds European political parties. The main concern is to avoid a misuse of public money and to ensure that European political parties respect European values.

Scotland's place in Europe's family of nations

Plenary intervention by Alyn Smith

Scotland faces the prospect of being removed from our family of nations against our clearly expressed democratic will. It's not fair, and if the EU is not a community of justice and law and democracy then what are we for?