The brutal attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo will overshadow the start of what was already set to be a challenging year for the European Union. It underlines the need for the European parliament to unite in defence of our common values now, more than ever. We have to better explain what we do in Brussels and regain the trust of our citizens for the European project.
This will all depend on how we manage the challenges of 2015. We are now less than a year from the crucial UN climate summit in Paris. If the world is to have any chance of halting dangerous climate change, we need to conclude an ambitious, binding global agreement at COP21. To positively influence the outcome in Paris, the EU must up the ambition of its climate commitments to ensure we play our part in keeping global warming below two degrees centigrade. This means focusing on energy saving and efficiency as well as seriously boosting renewable energy development. Therefore, the EU needs to adopt ambitious and binding targets for 2030. This is not only a matter of climate protection, but also of fostering a better and sustainable economy.
Directly linked to this is the EU's new 'energy union' which will be developed in 2015. The Greens have long pushed for a true energy union and believe it is in the interest of Europe and its citizens to ensure this union moves us towards an economy powered by home-grown, safe and sustainable energy. This would help revitalise our economy and create jobs, reduce our harmful dependence on unreliable fossil fuel exporting countries, and support us in achieving our climate change goals.
"The EU needs to promote European values not only inside, but also outside its borders. This means supporting democracy, state of law and freedom of speech"
The 'LuxLeaks' revelations have shone a welcome spotlight on tax avoidance and dumping in the EU and beyond. At a time when social and economic inequality is rising in Europe, we should be redoubling our efforts to ensure the wealthiest individuals and corporations contribute their fair share, rather than abetting them in avoiding their tax responsibilities.
Existing legislation should be enforced and tax rebates illegally obtained by companies must be reimbursed. The Amazon decision is a breakthrough to this end and must be the first of many cases. New legislation to increase transparency on all tax matters must be prioritised. And finally, we need a level playing field on taxation across Europe to stop the race to the bottom of tax dumping. We hope the inquiry committee proposed by our group will be swiftly implemented now that it has the required support from across the political spectrum.
The EU needs to promote European values not only inside, but also outside its borders. This means supporting democracy, state of law and freedom of speech, especially in neighbourhood countries such as Turkey or Ukraine. The EU must continue to present a strong and united front towards Russia. The top priority will be ensuring a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian conflict is reached - one which respects the democratic and pro-European aspirations of Ukrainians, while protecting Ukraine's integrity.