The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) welcomes President Jean Claude Juncker’s expressed wish to ‘leave a healthier planet behind for those that follow’ but regrets that this has played little part in guiding his policies and priorities over the past four years.

The EEB appreciates that President Juncker used part of his State of the Union speech to emphasise Europe’s commitment to climate action and to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution.

His parting words in particular set out a vision for leaving a healthier planet behind saying: “The trees we plant today must provide shade for our great grand-children whether they hail from East or West, from South or North. To give them all they need to grow and breathe easily.”

For this message to be more than empty rhetoric, it needs to be followed by concrete action during the remaining months of the Commission’s mandate – and eventually to become a rallying cry for the next administration.

Read the press release here.