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The Seattle to Brussels network performed a mock wedding ceremony between the European Commission's DG Trade and business lobby group BusinessEurope outside the Charlemagne Building, the official home of DG Trade and the venue for BusinessEurope's "Going Global" conference on the Global Europe Strategy of international trade. Campaigners were calling on Trade Commissioner Baroness Ashton to end the unholy alliance between DG Trade and business lobby group BusinessEurope.

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FoEE campaigners did a joint anti-biofuels action with FIAN (Foodfirst Information and Action Network) outside the Brazilian embassy in Brussels. Amongst the campaigners was a leader from the Guarani, an indigenous group in Brazil whose livelihood is at threat with the rapid expansion of biofuels. Representatives met with Mr. Sobreira Lopes, Deputy Chief of Brazilian Mission to the EU, to talk to him about the detrimental environmental and social impacts that biofuel production in Brazil is having.

In the run-up to a vote by the environmental (ENVI) committee of the European Parliament, Friends of the Earth Europe displayed a 4 metre high banner inside the Parliament calling for MEPs to vote for more fuel efficient cars. The banner highlighted the lack of progress in fuel efficiency by including a Volkswagen Beetle from 1948 and a contemporary model, showing how the fuel consumption has remained the same after 60 years!

Before the industry committee of the European Parliament (ITRE) cast their vote on the EU biofuels target (as part of the renewables directive), Friends of the Earth Europe campaigners, dressed as waiting staff in a restaurant, served them mock lunchboxes with the words "Feed People, Not Cars" on them. Friends of the Earth Europe was urging the targets to be dropped, arguing that the widespread use of biofuels will do more harm than good and must not distract from the successful development of clean energy.

As discussions on the EU energy package enter the crucial final stage, a new campaign entitled 'Time to Lead' challenged Members of the European Parliament to take action to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, an objective already agreed by the European Union. The pledge took the form of "answering the call" from European citizens on a red telephone hotline in Place du Luxembourg. The sound of a phone ringing and answerphone messages from citizens were broadcast. 'Time to Lead' is a joint campaign by Friends of the Earth Europe, CAN-Europe, Greenpeace and WWF.

To highlight the lack of progress on fuel efficiency, Friends of the Earth Europe displayed a vintage car and a contemporary version in front of the European Parliament to urge MEPs to vote for measures to reduce the fuel consumption of new cars by 25 per cent without delay. Despite there being sixty years difference between the two models, the fuel consumption is still the same. Friends of the Earth Europe displayed a banner next to the cars saying '60 years of progress?'

Friends of the Earth was represented at the European Parliatment in Strasbourg by FoE Netherlands, FoE EWNI, FoE Germany to lobby MEPs to vote against EU's 10% target on biofuels. After a day of hard lobbying in the Parliament, Members of the European Parliament voted for significantly reduced targets for promoting biofuels in the light of mounting evidence of their impacts on food prices, people and biodiversity, and their failure to combat climate change. The Environment Committee of the European Parliament voting in Strasbourg agreed to reduce the proposed 10 per cent target for the use of biofuels in transport by 2020 to 4 per cent by 2015 followed by a major review. The MEPs also supported the incorporation of electric or hydrogen cars into the target to potentially reduce the use of biofuels even further. Friends of the Earth Europe welcomes the acknowledgement by MEPs that biofuels are doing more harm than good but has renewed its call for all targets to be dropped and for tougher emission standards for new cars to be adopted, which MEPs will vote on after the summer.

Green campaigners attempt to 'divert' EU to fuel  efficiency

On Thursday 3rd July 2008, coinciding with the informal Environment and Energy Council in Paris, Friends of the Earth Europe and other environmental activists, were seen pushing vehicles around Brussels, Berlin, Madrid and Paris, urging environment ministers to 'push' for fuel efficiency by enforcing stricter regulations regarding the fuel consumption of cars.

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Largest-ever gathering of campaigners on European Free Trade Agreements

In April, FoEE hosted the largest-ever international gathering of campaigners on Free Trade Agreements in Brussels. The events, organised jointly by trade campaign networks from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America were attended by more than 100 campaigners from 38 countries across the world. Campaigners had the unique opportunity to share experiences, exchange information and develop joint strategies to counter the increased number of European Free Trade Agreements. Campaigners also had the opportunity to present their views to MEPs and build up support for their demands during a well-attended public hearing in the European Parliament.

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Exhibition displays the reality of Shell's 'Energy Scenarios to 2050'

Friends of the Earth Europe displayed an exhibition on the extractives industry with images of Shell's operations around the world, showing the negative social and environmental effects of some of their activities. Campaigners also distributed an alternative publication of what Shell's future energy scenarios are likely to be, and spoke to Shell CEO, Jeroen Van Der Veer, and EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

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Friends of the Earth calls for legislation against illegal timber trade

Friends of the Earth is calling on the European Commission to adopt environmental legislation to prevent illegal timber from being sold on the European market, following an investigation which discovered illegal or destructively logged timber in four EU construction projects. The timber originated from the Amazon, Central Africa, Russia and Indonesia, where large-scale illegal and destructive logging takes place and timber is purchased from suppliers that engage in illegal logging. Friends of the Earth presented its new report 'Building on forest destruction: Timber use in EU financed building projects' to the European Commissioner for Environment, Stavros Dimas. A conductor led a fanfare played on chainsaws, axes and saw blades to accompany the presentation.

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Friends of the Earth launches 'Big Ask' climate campaign across Europe

A Europe-wide climate campaign launched by Friends of the Earth Europe and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke aims to get governments and the European Union to commit to annual cuts in emissions to fight climate change. The Big Ask brings together Friends of the Earth groups from 17 European countries, each of which is asking its government to introduce legally binding annual emission cuts. Together they are asking the European Union to force all member states to cut their emissions year-on-year. Thom Yorke launched the European campaign in Brussels where he presented a symbol of the Big Ask to the European Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas. Thom Yorke has supported the Big Ask campaign in the UK where thanks to two years of campaigning from Friends of the Earth, a ground-breaking climate change bill is currently being made law. Now he is bringing the campaign to the rest of Europe.

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EU funds for fifty harmful projects

A new map with details of 50 environmentally damaging and economically dubious infrastructure projects in Central and Eastern Europe was launched by CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe in Brussels. Based on the most extensive investigation to date, the map entitled 'Cohesion or Collision?' shows controversial projects with a total cost of EUR 22 billion. The projects are either already financed, or planned to be financed, by EU structural and cohesion funds and/or the European Investment Bank (EIB). On the day that European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Huebner, awarded 'RegioStars' for the most innovative projects but also appeared before the European Parliament to explain discrepancies in EU funding, CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe also revealed their selection of 'RegioScars' - the three most ill-conceived projects planned for EU funding in the new member states in the 2007-2013 period.

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European business: Stop greenwashing the economy

At the opening of the 6th European Business Summit in Brussels, environment campaigners accused companies involved in the event, titled 'Greening the economy', of being anything but green themselves. With an action and exhibition, Friends of the Earth Europe, Corporate Europe Observatory and Transnational Institute exposed the greenwashing practices of the businesses taking part. The campaigners 'greenwashed' the corporate social responsibility reports of high-profile companies taking part in the summit. The action was designed to expose companies' efforts to attain environmental credentials when in reality their operations have detrimental effects on the environment and local communities worldwide and contribute significantly to global warming.

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