For a cleaner and safer planet

The Socialists and Democrats have a vision for a fairer and more sustainable Europe, a society that puts the people's well-being first and thinks of the environmental legacy for future generations. We can achieve this through greater energy efficiency, a circular economy and by tackling climate change. This goes hand in hand with renewing European industries, moving towards a sustainable-growth model and creating new jobs. We are fighting for a Europe where everyone has access to wholesome food and good quality, affordable healthcare.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the importance of our work has been highlighted more than ever. We reacted early with a full action plan to tackle the pandemic and we have been working hard to ensure every measure possible is considered and given the democratic scrutiny citizens expect.

Our work on the environment, public health and food safety

Our MEPs promote our progressive vision in this committee in a wide range of policy areas including waste and resource management, air and water quality and the protection of biodiversity, among many other areas of importance to us all.

Our achievements
Our achievements

Our Group has long recognised the urgency of the climate crisis. We pushed for ambitious climate targets and EU leadership at the Paris COP21 in 2015 to achieve the first legally binding global climate deal. This was a historic first step to try and limit global average temperature rises to 1.5°C, but tougher action was needed to make it a reality.

In June 2021, our efforts paid off and the European Climate Law was adopted, committing Europe to a climate-neutral economy by 2050. Shortly after, the Commission launched the Fit for 55 package, to focus the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and tax policies on reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. We are very proud of these achievements, and our work to include measures like the new Social Climate Fund to ensure policies are applied in a socially just way, but we will continue the fight for a better future for our planet.

Woman shopping at market

Every European citizen has the right to high quality, safe food. They also have the right to know how, where, and under what conditions their food is produced, processed, packaged, labelled and sold. Food producers should also be protected from dishonest practices along the supply chain. We also have consistently objected to authorisations of GMOs and are calling for the legislative framework to be overhauled.

The Socialists and Democrats have also successfully led campaigns to introduce laws for the mandatory labelling of the 'country of origin' on beef, pork, lamb, goat and poultry.

Our group is also at the forefront of the fight against endocrine disruptors - chemical substances affecting human hormones - to which we are all exposed on a daily basis through products such as food packaging, crops grown with certain pesticides and possibly even tap water.

Our priorities
Tackling climate change
Global action to tackle the climate crisis

There is no time to lose. World leaders must use COP26 to speed up action to reduce emissions and help those already facing the worst effects of a changing climate.

Europe can lead the way. We have built a progressive majority in the European Parliament to demand ambitious and binding targets for greenhouse-gas reductions and increasing renewables and energy efficiency. Together we can work to avoid further global heating and leave a less polluted world for our children - and at the same time build a stronger, greener economy with sustainable new jobs. Find out more about our campaign for a European Green Deal.

A circular economy
A circular economy

Every year, around 600 million tonnes of waste are thrown away in Europe, which could be reused and put back into the economy. The S&Ds are calling for ambitious EU targets and goals, and for new tools to help each country move towards a more sustainable, resource-efficient, circular economy.

A circular development model means that the value of products and resources is kept in the economy for as long as possible and the generation of waste is minimized. To achieve this transition, the S&D Group is pushing through ambitious policies to change the way we use, re-use, recycle and recover our resources. We are also leading the fight to put an end to plastic litter.

Safer food for all
Safer food for all

We, the S&Ds continue to fight for better consumer protection and for more transparency around what we eat. We want to see country-of-origin labelling for meat in processed foods and dairy products, and we want to ensure that food agreements with international partners prioritise consumer health.

Nurse giving a vaccine
Beating Covid-19 and building a more resilient Europe

The pandemic has exposed the inequalities in our societies and the weaknesses in our healthcare systems. We have been at the forefront of efforts to coordinate the European response, push for more solidarity and ensure fair and equal access to vaccines – in the EU and globally. We will not stop our efforts now and we must focus on improving healthcare across Europe, addressing the inequalities that have caused so much hardship and ensuring we have the resilience and planning in place for any future pandemic. We want to see a true European Health Union, which leaves no one behind and makes high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for all, no matter which country or region they live in.

MEPs involved
Coordinator
Germany
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Netherlands
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Portugal
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Bulgaria
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Belgium
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Germany
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Romania
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Malta
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Spain
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Greece
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Hungary
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Austria
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Croatia
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Romania
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Romania
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Spain
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Denmark
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Portugal
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Italy
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Slovenia
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France
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Italy
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Germany
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Slovakia
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Croatia
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Czech Republic
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Cyprus