Jean Lambert MEP

Jean Lambert is the Green Party Euro-MP for London, and Vice President of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament.

www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk

European Parliament & the Green Party

Among other committee work, Jean is a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. For this committee Jean works on issues including social inclusion, workers' rights, immigration and social security. She is a member of the Committee on Petitions and deputy member on Civil Liberties Committee, where Jean is the spokesperson on asylum policy for the Green Group. She is a member of the European Parliament contact group with the Commission and Council on Social Inclusion. She is also Co-President of the Parliamentary Inter-group on Aging, vice-President of the Social Economy Inter-group, and a member of the Anti-racism, Trade Unions, Lesbian and Gay rights, Disability and Initiatives for Peace intergroups.

Jean was Principal Speaker for the Green Party of England and Wales from 1992-93 and 1998-1999, Chair of the Green Party Executive in 1994 and has been an active member of the Green Party since 1977. She is currently the Green Party spokesperson on Employment, Social Affairs and Pensions. Her special interests are Democracy and Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Anti-discrimination and Social Inclusion. She is a Member of Charter 88 Council and an Executive Supporter and signatory for Charter 99, an initiative for global democracy.

A word from Jean

What do you do?

As London's Green Member of the European Parliament, I aim to bring a progressive Green approach to decision-making and policy development within the European Union. I represent the views of those who want a fairer society which doesn't destroy our environment.

Aren't you always in Brussels?

I am in committees and political meetings in Brussels, with occasional meetings in other countries. I spend half my time in my constituency: answering concerns from individuals, visiting local groups and businesses, developing links with non-governmental organisations and other bodies, and speaking at conferences.

How has having a green MEP improved my environment?

Over 80 per cent of environmental legislation in the UK is initiated at the EU level. I work with other elected Greens to toughen that agenda. Every day we influence the products that you buy and their labelling; the quality of your air, water and food; the level of pollutants in your earth; how much your energy use contributes to global warming; the safety of your transport; and your rights to access information. We have introduced the "polluter pays" principle and succeeded in improving laws on issues such as animal welfare and GMOs.

Do you only deal with environmental issues?

The Green agenda goes far beyond the obvious environmental issues. True sustainability has three pillars: economic stability, environmental protection and social justice. Combined this means Quality of Life. I work on improving employment conditions and for a better balance between work and other aspects of our lives. I campaign against corporate power and for the rights of the individual and of communities. Inner London is the richest region of the EU, yet it has areas of extreme poverty: I want to see poverty and social exclusion tackled both here and elsewhere in the world. My key priority is to fight intolerance, discrimination and inequality wherever they exist. Sustainability cannot be built on injustice.

Why Green?

More and more people are coming to recognise that old ideas won't solve new problems. Free trade does not solve poverty. Securing oil supplies does not bring security to people or planet. A changing world demands a change of politics. As a Green, I believe that our future depends on co-operation across borders in our common interests: a healthy environment, a more equal standard of living, a peaceful and secure future. I am proud Londoners have elected me to represent that Green vision in the European Parliament.

Highlights of achievements as an MEP

• Jean addressed the million-plus march in London and rallies across the country in support of the anti-war movement for Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Jean Lambert has spearheaded legal and direct action against the Government's draconian Asylum and Immigration Bill. She joined the Muslim Council of Britain and community leaders in speaking out against racism at the launch of Unite Against Fascism. She won European Parliament support for a proposed EU-wide definition of refugee which extends rather than undermines protection. She has opposed moves for the compulsory return of refugees.
• Jean has brought international police forces and government departments together to combat illegal trafficking of women and children. She has also been at the forefront of pushing for equal entitlement to social security for non-EU workers.
• Jean has consistently challenged the UK Government's opt-out of the Working Time Directive calling for an end to age-poverty and for improved labour standards. As lead Green on the issue in the Employment Committee, she is pushing for legislation to increase employment rights for temporary agency staff.
• As Intergroup on Ageing Co-President, Jean is calling for a higher state pension and action to counter pensioners' poverty. Jean also secured Parliament's support for a clause making it illegal for employers to decide redundancies on grounds of age (member states were not brave enough to agree).
• Jean published a report on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) outlining the potential negative impacts on public service provision, emphasising how women will be particularly affected, mobilising local action and organising Green Party meetings with external organisations including nursing organisations and the TUC.
• Jean has been working with organisations such as Royal Mail, the Communications Workers Union and community action groups against the liberalisation of postal services. In her response to Postcomm's Consultation on opening Royal Mail's delivery to private competition, Jean Lambert highlighted the risks to labour standards and universal service.
• Jean has worked with community groups in her constituency and supported moves for a peaceful political solution for the Kurdish, Saharawi and Kashmiri people.
• As a member of the cross-party anti-racism group, Jean prompted Parliamentary scrutiny of the high levels of deaths of black and ethnic minority detainees in UK police custody, leading the EU to criticise the UK's human rights record in 2003.
• Jean has campaigned against taxpayers' cash being used to fund human rights abuses through Export Credit Guarantees and has called for public loans to be withdrawn from the Ilisu Dam and Baku-Ceyhan oil projects.
• Green MEPs have worked towards a ban on GM food and crops in Europe. They were instrumental in ensuring that all GM products be labelled and that the UK could take measures to prevent the unintended presence of GMOs in conventional and organic products.
• Parliament backed Jean Lambert's recommendation that the EU Sustainability Strategy incorporate the environment into all EU funded training schemes. She hosted a series of seminars in London to discuss crucial policy areas such as energy, waste, planning and transport and how London can become The Sustainable City.
• As a member of the environmental steering group for the Thames Gateway London Partnership, Jean Lambert has called for cutting edge zero-carbon housing in East London. Jean has fought alongside community groups to preserve London's green habitat, for example, Maylands Field in Havering and Erith Marshes in Bexley, where developments threaten migratory wild birds and protected marshland species.
• Jean has worked to give the public a bigger voice in decision making and for the Government to oversee environmental impact assessments. She has successfully challenged development in Crystal Palace and is campaigning against development on London's Greenbelt.
• Jean has joined Caroline Lucas in challenging the UK Government's aviation expansion programme, condemning it for recklessly and deliberately increasing the contribution airplane fuel will make to climate change. Aviation is the fastest growing source of Green House gases.
• Jean's conference on energy in London resulted in improvements to the London regional energy strategy. Her publication on how EU energy policy will affect her constituency calls for stronger action by the Government and clarity for local authorities. Speaking at climate change rallies in London, Jean Lambert has called for a one-stop shop in London to help businesses combat climate change.
• Jean Lambert has called on the UK government, regional education authorities and the European Commission to tackle the workforce gap in the energy and construction industries skilled in renewable energy and sustainable construction.
• Jean Lambert has joined London Greens in challenging the proposed Thames Road Crossing Bridge, which will mean more noise, pollution and traffic for East Londoners and not the transport solutions local residents need.