Heerlen 6 – call for proposals!

Reducing CO2-emissions by cutting out meat; Belgium as a test tube for Europe; Un-growth or Sustainable Development; legaling soft drugs; bridging the legal gaps and showing European flims: those are the proposals foor Heerlen 6 in Brussels we received so far. Other proposals are most welcome till 12 May!

mostBridging the legal gaps

Double solicitor costs, misunderstandings, failure of understanding about what’s going on on both sides, wrongful chance judgement, you name it: all these because of very different systems and ways of having al legal dispute brought to court. And despite the European union, the national systems and cultures are very different indeed. It is time to get them at least a bit alike. If ever you have an international dispute (and the chances of for instance a traffic accident with a German car or buying a wrongly delivered object are huge) it will be a lot easier and cheaper to settle things legally. There are indirect advantages too: if the costs of international business disputes diminish, consumer prices may be lowered too. Therefore, let’s see what the possibilities are.

Tom van der Wal

Legalise soft drugs

‘I saw in the paper this morning an article concerning the Maastricht coffee shops that will be moved out of the city and closer to the Belgian and German borders: seems it causes some upheaval in the neighboring countries. Maybe an idea for a short debate? Could be extended of course to the soft drugs issue as a whole.’

Marianne Saenen

How about showing a few European films??

or ‘Brussels in your living room – how to connect the ordinary citizen with europe!?’

Markus Petz

‘Un’growth or sustainable development?

Is ‘sustainable development a myth’?  Or could we really do ‘more with less’, so much more that, exporting the technologies from the rich to the developing parts of the world and importing less wasteful life-styles the other way round, a comfortable future for all is ensured? Tightening the waist belt seems so little appetising that only a handful of persuaded environmentalists manage to live up to it, whereas economists put the sustainability of the system it in doubt.On the other hand, theoretical examples of sustainable development abound, but practical applications still are rare. Debate – or a practical workshop in which both sides are invited to give convincing, practical, nd ready-to-use examples?

Lin Tabak

Belgium, a test tube for Europe?

Having started as a buffer area between fiendly powers, Belgium never really has developed into a proper nation. The French- and the Dutch speaking communities even seem to drift further and further apart and even separates the Greens on both sides. Some propose a separation of Flanders and Wallony each would go its separate way and supra-regional functions would be taken over by a ‘Europe of the regions’, a one time Green dream. Others suggest to change the electoral system which courrently encourages ‘regional’ behaviour and punishes propositions that want the best for all – by introducing all-Belgian lists. Which could be a test case for another European dream: the pan-European list. As both sides are represented in the Belgian Green Parties, this could be an ideal debate between the two.

Georg Schedereit/Lin Tabak

Want to reduce CO2 emissions by 18%?

How Greens can contribute to changing EU eating habits and the EU Food policy

• 18% Of CO2 emissions is related to meat. That’s more than the total of emissions by planes and motor vehicles, including lorries.What constitutes these 18%?
  In the first place a lot of wood is still cut or burnt for farming land.
• A second factor is the digestive system and dung that produce methane and laughing gas which retain heat more, respectively much more,  than CO2.
• But most of it goes into energy, and 80% of this energy goes into the production of feed. (5 kg of feed is needed for 1 kg of meat.)
  These three factors totalling 18% exclude the transport connected with meat.

So a reduction of the meat consumption is highly desirable. Moreover we should strive for sustainable meat-production on normal-size farms. (‘less meat more farmers’ is a FOE slogan).

How to tackle this as EU greens?
Discuss:

1. How to link Greens and CSOs in all EU countries on this point; exchange information (do an inventory on this point? Use this as a way to link up with greens in other countries?)
2. Link up with CSOs (e.g. FOE) to change EU eating habits (EU-wide citizens’initiative demanding changes in policy?) (Input form a Dutch FOE campaigner?) (They have a campaign this year on ‘Stop Wrong Meat’).
3. discuss the Common agricultural Policy (input from the Green Group and others) which is still focussed on producing as much as possible (while giving their farmers income support) and thus dominates the world market and the developing countries through its surplus production.

Greet Goverde