Common activities with the Green 10

BirdLife International is a member of the Green 10 group of environmental organisations, an informal grouping of the ten leading non-governmental organisations working at EU level:

• BirdLife International
• CEE Bankwatch
• Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-Europe)
• European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
• EPHA Environment Network (EEN)
• European Federation for Transport and the Environment (T&E)
• Friends of the Earth Europe (FOE Europe)
• Greenpeace
• International Friends of Nature (IFN)
• WWF - EPO

Note: the coalition was known as the Green 9 until CEE Bankwatch recently joined.

We work with the EU law-making institutions (the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers) to ensure that the environment is placed at the heart of policy-making. This includes working with our member organisations in the Member States to facilitate their input into the EU decision-making process.

We come together to work on strategic issues of Europe-wide importance where a unified and strong environmental voice is necessary.

Such issues include:

• The Constitutional Treaty: NGOs successfully lobbied the European Convention to retain existing Treaty commitments to sustainable development, environmental protection and the integration of environmental concerns into each EU policy area. We also supported an increase in the power of the European Parliament in several areas of work.
• The EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy: The Green 10 works to ensure the attainment of the objectives of the Sustainable Development Strategy agreed by the Gothenburg European Council in 2001. We closely monitor progress on the individual commitments, and have prepared joint input to the EU Institutions for the review of the Strategy.
• The European elections: NGOs produced a joint ‘manifesto’ outlining key recommendations for action by MEPs in the new European Parliament. We worked with member organisations to promote these recommendations with MEP candidates and political parties at national level.
• Greening the EU Budget: The EU’s annual budget procedure presents an opportunity for Green 10 NGOs to lobby for a shift in funds away from environmentally damaging measures to those budget lines that deliver public goods and environmental benefits. Green 10 NGOs have been active in seeking to reform the Structural Funds, the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy.

Contact

Konstantin Kreiser, EU Policy Manager at the BirdLife European Division (Konstantin.Kreiser@birdlife.org )

Publications and Links

• !!NEW!! Green 10 report - OFF TARGET - European Commission 2004-2009 Environmental Progress Report & Lessons for the next Commission (PDF, 405 KB)
• Green 9 brochure - English (PDF, 335 KB)
• Green 9 brochure - French (PDF, 376 KB)
• Green 9 brochure - German (PDF, 376 KB)
• G9 Position of the EU Constitution - November 2004 (Word doc, 640 KB)
• Financing a Better Future - Perspectives 2007-2013 (PDF, 91 KB)

European Elections Documents - 2009

• Green 10 ENVIRONMENT AT THE HEART OF EUROPE- An environmental roadmap for 2009-2014 - THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (PDF, 543 KB)
• German version of the Green 10 manifesto produced by DNR (Deutscher Naturschutzring) (PDF, 321 KB)