The Spring Alliance: for a European Union that puts people and planet first.

The overarching strategy of the European Union for the past four years can be summed up in two words: “growth and jobs”. As a result, EU policy has often prioritised economic expansion over the welfare of the people of Europe and the sustainability of our planet.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 2009 will see a new European Commission, a newly-elected Parliament and possibly the adoption of a new vision for the EU. The time to influence the strategic direction of EU, to ensure that it pursues simultaneously economic, environmental and social goals, is now. The Spring Alliance has been formed to do exactly that.

Background

The next decade will be critical to deciding whether the EU wants to take the lead on sustainable development: Will it limit climate change and manage its negative impact on people and prosperity? Will it provide all human beings a decent life on the basis of resources that are not being depleted but maintained and renewed? Will it guarantee social and ‘green’ progress in times of financial and economic crisis, increased poverty and resource conflicts? Addressing these challenges requires a change in the current paradigm of competitiveness and growth and a coherent EU agenda with the ambition of satisfying human needs and bringing quality of life while ensuring social equity and respecting the earth’s carrying capacity.

The European Environmental Bureau, the European Trade Union Confederation, Social Platform and Concord  have joined forces and initiated the Spring Alliance, with a single purpose: to tackle these issues by promoting an overarching EU strategy that pursues simultaneously economic, environmental and social goals. In this vision, the environment and social goals are not an addendum to the ‘growth and jobs’ strategy (the so-called ‘Lisbon strategy’) but are the cornerstone of a long term development strategy.

To find out more about the main positions of the founding fathers of the Spring Alliance for a sustainble, social and green agenda for the next decade click on the following links:

Position paper European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

Position Paper Social Platform

Position Paper European Trade Union Confederation   (ETUC)

To learn more about our joint strategy we invite you to read all about our campaign 

Why now?

2009 is a crucial year to set such an agenda.  A new European Commission will start its work by setting out its five year strategic objectives and budget. These will certainly include tackling climate and energy concerns, responding to changing global economic relations and addressing social and demographic changes.

How will we measure success?

We will know whether our campaign has been successful by measuring how many of the proposals in our manifesto are taken on board in the conclusions of the European Council’s Spring Summit in March 2010.

You too can be part of it!

We invite you to join us and make change happen! We would welcome your signature to support our Manifesto, so do not hesitate to sign up for the Manifesto  through our web-site.