European Union

Our EU office works to shape legislation that holds the companies which are fuelling environmental and human rights abuses to account in Europe and beyond.

As part of Global Witness’s campaign to stop climate breakdown, we are calling for an end to public support for fossil gas across the EU, and in its place we want clean, renewable energy to be made available for all. 

We have helped bring about an EU law requiring investors to improve due diligence through our corporate accountability campaign. When finalised, it should ensure companies operating in the EU do not bankroll projects that contribute to climate change, deforestation, or human rights violations. 

We have also worked to make sure the EU passed a strong law to protect forests around the world – the next step is to ensure banks are held accountable for investments linked to deforestation. 

Our previous EU campaigns have also secured big wins for people and planet. We brought in a stronger law to stop conflict timber, our exposé on ‘golden visas’ led to the European Parliament voting for these schemes to be phased out, and we have secured ground-breaking rules to tackle anonymous companies via changes to anti-money laundering legislation.