🎆Happy new year!🎆
12.01.2024: This week, we look ahead to 2024, a year shaping up to be gripping—if not historic. Elections taking place in the EU and around the globe are set to define our common future. In Brussels, we promise to keep an eye on the incoming EU representatives, and before that, on those super important and urgent green laws that the Belgian presidency must push through while it still can. We are also celebrating a very special anniversary of our own, and would like to thank you all for sticking around!
2024: HISTORY IN THE MAKING
YEAR OF ELECTIONS: A quarter of the world will head to the ballot box in 2024—a record breaking number. In India, 900 million people will choose their next government. In the United States, Americans will vote for their next President in a race likely reminiscent of 2020. All seats in the US House of Representatives are up for grabs, plus a third of the seats in the Senate. The stakes have never been higher for the world. Our future is on the line, so we all must do what we can to let the people know why they need to be voting for a future where people and nature thrive together.
OFF TO THE EU RACES: The EU elections are taking place too, building on the 2019 elections that saw the highest voter turnout in two decades.Five years later, we hope to see an even higher turnout as voters across the 27 EU member states will choose the next 720 Members of the EU Parliament—for the only directly elected transnational assembly in the world.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Make sure you cast your vote between 6 and 9 June depending on where you are. We need YOU to turn up and turn out (#BringYourGranny). The incoming EU decision makers will shape the future green policies and choose the next president of the EU Commission. From Portugal to Lithuania, voters in several EU countries will also be called to vote for new governments.
THE GOOD FIGHT: In the lead-up to election day, Europe is understadably worried. Not only are people struggling with environmental anxiety and lack of gender intersectionality in EU policy. Troublingly, projections suggests that anti-EU authoritarians 🙅 are currently looking to gain seats in the EU Parliament. In the upcoming months, we and other organisations across Europe will be fighting the good fight to bring votes for a strong EU, a healthy environment and protection for people. You should join us!
INSIDE THE BRUSSELS BUBBLE
FINAL SPRINT: The clock is ticking on the final sprint for Europe’s green pact. Because final decisions must be made before the EU elections, Brussels has now only weeks to finalise key files on biodiversity, forever chemicals, and emissions. As Belgium takes over the presidency of the EU Council, the home of waffles and EU institutions has the crucial responsibility of making good on the Green Deal before Europe transitions into elections mode.
NEXT MARATHON: The need for speed is intensified by the post-election unknowns. The new EU Parliament and new EU Commission president will define the political priorities for the next five years. Will there be a reinforcement of the Green Deal—a visionary European pact for our common future, where citizens are right to trust in government and co-create the future? This is the choice facing Europe’s political leaders and the citizens voting for them. Their decisions in 2024 will define the decade—and decide our future.
HAPPY EEBirthday!
REASONS TO CELEBRATE: In 2024, the EEB will celebrate 50 years of working for a better future where people and the planet can thrive together. This half-century celebration is only made sweeter by the recognition of our community—last week we counted 40,000 followers on our LinkedIn page—a true milestone. In addition, our very own Dolores Romano💫 was selected as one of the most influential people in sustainability in Spain. Yay!
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