Get your new MEPs to fight for trade justice

A new European Parliament means a new chance to reverse Europe's corporate-driven trade policies

Thanks to War on Want supporters, our campaign to change Europe's free trade policies is gathering momentum. In response to your emails and letters, 57 candidates for the June  European Parliament elections signed our pledge and 18 of these were elected - a quarter of all UK MEPs. Across Europe, thousands more people took similar actions and 381 candidates pledged to act on trade.

But that still leaves 54 MEPs in the UK who haven't yet signed. It is important that we keep trade on their agendas and continue to press them to support us in the EU parliament - for example by supporting questions, reports and statements that we are putting together with MEPs that have already pledged.

Where next?

The election results were mixed, with the most progressive parties holding their own against a general shift to the right, including new seats for far-right parties such as the BNP in Britain. Although centre-left parties, including Labour, were badly beaten in several countries, we still have many MEPs that support us and it is more important than ever that they use their influence to oppose Europe's corporate-friendly trade agenda.

The new MEPs will be responsible for giving a yes or no to trade deals that will shape the future of hundreds of millions of people across the world. War on Want is calling on them to reject the deals under negotiation and to force a review of the EU's overall trade strategy. The free trade policies currently driving the deals will help European companies to continue exploiting poor people and the environment to maximise their profits.

Resistance to this exploitation continues to grow. Most recently, indigenous groups in Peru used non-violent protest to force their government to review new laws that would lead to the Amazon being opened up to international agribusiness, mining and logging firms. They succeeded in making the government promise to ‘kill off' the laws, even in the face of violent suppression by the Peruvian army. Other deals with India, MERCOSUR (South America) and large parts of Africa have also stalled, partly due to mass protests by ordinary people. War on Want will continue to stand in solidarity with those whose lives and hopes are blighted by free trade.

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Tags: campaigns | trade justice