The EEB Leaders Declaration

We, leaders of national and European environmental civil society organisations, together representing over 30 million people, are deeply concerned about recent geopolitical developments and the risks to cooperation and in and beyond the EU, to democracy and to human security, rights and well-being in Europe and across the globe.

The decisions you take as EU and national leaders are defining Europe’s path and the future of its people. They also influence the world we live in and Europe’s role in the world. We are writing to share our solutions – for building the EU’s resilience, for an EU that is a rule-maker and not a rule-taker, that secures its strategic autonomy and ensures human security – while staying within planetary boundaries, maintaining life-protecting ecosystems, guaranteeing social justice and ensuring long-term sustainability.

We call on you to:

1. Strengthen human security by taking a multi-level, holistic approach, recognising that fossil fuels and the climate-pollution-nature crises threaten security and lives.
2. Protect and invest in European democracy by supporting civic space & the rule of law and respect for human rights and justice globally.
3. Maintain and develop regulations that protect health, wellbeing and the environment – people need EU leaders to resist the agenda of fear and construct an agenda of hope and agency.

This will invest in the EU’s long-term resilience, credibility and leadership in a rapidly changing world. Europe has the opportunity to demonstrate that human security, prosperity, democracy and sustainability reinforce one another. Already over 400 organisations have asked for such an agenda of hope by signing The European Pact for the Future.

Read our full declaration