Europeans have some of the highest rates of anxiety, depression and other non-infectious diseases in the world. At the same time, the European project itself is facing its own epidemic of angst and self-doubt. Today, on World Health Day, one overlooked remedy could help improve both people's health and the condition of the European Union: nature.
The second mega-merger in two weeks of giant agriculture corporations has been given the green light today, sparking warnings about the future of food and farming.
Friends of the Earth Europe staged a 'marriage made in hell' outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels today to symbolise the threat to food and farming posed by the planned merger of the agriculture and chemical companies Bayer and Monsanto.
Friends of the Earth Europe has today sharply criticised the decision by European regulators to approve the merger of Dow Chemicals and DuPont. The approval paves the way for the creation of the world's biggest agri-chemical and seed company.
More than 200 organisations have today raised their objections to the planned mergers of six giant agriculture corporations.
The majority of European governments re-affirmed their opposition to genetically-modified (GM) crops today, although the final decision now rests with the European Commission [1]. Friends of the Earth Europe is calling on Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, to reject the new GM crops destined for Europe's countryside.
Friends of the Earth U.S. criticised Trump's decision today authorising the Keystone XL pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline is designed to bring climate-killing Canadian tar sands to refineries on the US Gulf Coast and onwards to Europe.
Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth US said: "For almost a decade, Americans have fought to stop the dirty Keystone XL pipeline from polluting their air and water."
Today, Friends of the Earth Europe and Friends of the Earth Netherlands condemned the latest revelation of failures by Shell to protect the people of Nigeria from oil pollution and called for full implementation of the UNEP report.
Rallies are expected in Rome this weekend as heads of European governments meet, and hundreds of organisations call for vision and courage to set Europe on the path to a just, sustainable, democratic and inclusive future.
This episode is a story that touches on giant bags of fake money, the actual mafia, and plans to clean up the capital of Croatia. While cities in Denmark and Cyprus enjoy the status of European Capitals of Culture in 2017, Zagreb has been blessed with a rather less sought-after title by Zelena Akcija/Friends of the Earth Croatia: the EU capital of trash.