Thanks to Labour action inEurope, you can havegreater confidence in thefood you buy.

EU laws have ensured foodpackaging clearly displaysnutrition and allergeninformation. Fresh meatmust display its country oforigin, and reformedmeator fish must be labelled assuch.

Restaurants and takeawaysnow have to provideallergen information tocustomers, giving peoplewith allergies freedom todine out with confidence.

Labour MEPs back plans toensure the origin ofprocessed meat is clearlylabelled too. This step wouldcover ready meals and helpto avoid another major foodscandal in Europe.

BETTER FOODLABELLING1

EULAWSHAVEENSURED FOOD

PACKAGINGCLEARLYDISPLAYSNUTRITION

ANDALLERGENINFORMATION

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

Tough new tobacco laws,backed by Labour in Europe,will soon be in place to helpdiscourage youth smoking,boost public health, andreduce the burden ofsmoking-related diseaseson the NHS.

Frommid-2016 healthwarnings will cover two-thirds of cigarette packetsand products specificallyaimed at children, such aschocolate flavouredcigarettes, will be banned.

E-cigarettes will also beregulated for the very firsttime to ensure that theseproducts are safe for use.

PROTECTINGCHILDRENFROMTOBACCO2

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

TOUGHNEWTOBACCOLAWS

WILLHELPDISCOURAGE

YOUTHSMOKINGANDREDUCETHEBURDENONOUR

NHS

Following the financial crisis,EU action has addressedflaws in Europe’s bankingsystem to ensure that infuture, ordinary peoplewon’t suffer because ofbankers’mistakes.

Labour MEPs have backedmeasures to reduce bankers’bonuses, end the casinoculture of the banking sectorand ensure a more long-term approach.

New ‘stress tests’ will helpbanks becomemore resilientto financial shocks, whilstdeposit guarantee schemeswill protect customers in theevent of a bank going bust.

REFORMINGTHEFINANCIALSECTOR3

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

EUACTIONHASMADEBANKS

SAFERANDMOREACCOUNTABLE,PUTTINGTHE

NEEDSOFORDINARY

PEOPLE FIRST

As part of the EU, Britainbenefits from being part ofthe biggest single market inthe world. Almost half ofthe UK’s trade and foreigninvestment comes from theEU, accounting for around3.5 million UK jobs.

European regional fundinghas also helped transformsome of our poorest regions,while EU framework fundsare helping to drive UKresearch and innovation,creating the high-tech jobsof the future.

It isn’t only big business thatbenefits from Britain’s EUmembership. Small andmedium-sized firms alsoenjoy access to a biggermarket, EU funding andbetter supply chains.

BOOSTINGJOBSANDGROWTH4

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

BRITAIN’S EUMEMBERSHIP ISVITAL FORTRADEAND INVESTMENT,

ASWELLASPROVIDING

3.5MUKJOBS

British workers havebenefited hugely from EUlaws that ensure at least fourweeks paid holiday andextendedmaternity andpaternity leave.

Under EU law, part-timeworkers enjoy the samerights as full-time staff, andthe wellbeing of workers isprotected by high healthand safety standards in theworkplace.

Labour MEPs will continueworking for EU action toaddress zero-hours contractsand to reform the PostedWorkers and AgencyWorkers Directives to stopthe undercutting of wagesand exploitation of migrantworkers.

DECENTEMPLOYMENTRIGHTS5

LOTSOFTHERIGHTSWE

ENJOYATWORKCOMEDIRECTLYFROMTHEEU,KEEPINGUSSAFEAND

MAINTAININGWORK-LIFEBALANCE

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

Since the EU opened up theEuropean airline market, Britishholidaymakers have benefitedfrom reduced air fares andmore routes. The EU has alsointroduced compensation forflight delays and free orreduced cost healthcare with aEuropean Health InsuranceCard.

Labour MEPs have helped tosecure important rights forbus, train and boat passengers,and are calling forimprovements to ticketingsystems so travelling withinthe EU becomes even simpler.

From June 2017 so-called‘roaming charges’ will bebanned when you use yourmobile phone in other EUcountries. This means you willbe able to use your mobile forthe same price as at home.

CUTTINGTHECOSTOFEUTRAVEL6

OUREUMEMBERSHIP

MAKES ITQUICKER,EASIER,

SAFERANDCHEAPERTO

TRAVEL

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

Labour in Europe has fought toput the interests of consumersat the very centre of the EU’swork.

Products manufactured for salein the EU have to meet some ofthe highest safety standards inthe world. EU law entitles youto a 14-day cooling-off periodfor any goods or servicespurchased online.

EU consumer rights laws havealso ended hidden chargeswhen shopping online, loweredfees for using credit or debitcards, and banned the use ofpremium-rate phone numbersfor customer helplines.

Labour MEPs will continueworking to empower consumersso they can benefit even morefrom being part of the world’slargest single market.

MORECONSUMERPROTECTION7

INEUROPEWEBENEFIT FROMBEINGPARTOFTHEWORLD’S

BIGGESTSINGLEMARKETWHERE

CONSUMERRIGHTSAREPARAMOUNT

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

The EU’s ERASMUS schemeallows young people toundertake work, study, andtraining abroad. This letsyoung people immersethemselves in differentcultures and gain vital skillsand experience which willhelp themwhen seekingfull-time employment.

Young people can also applyfor paid traineeships withthe EU’s institutions, usean EU-wide online jobsearch facility, and create aCV that is recognised by allmember states.

Following the financial crisis,Labour MEPs have alsochampioned an EU schemethat works with nationalgovernments to tackle long-term youth unemployment.

OPPORTUNITIESFORYOUNGPEOPLE8

YOUNGPEOPLECANWORK,STUDYAND

TRAINACROSSTHEENTIRE EUTHROUGHTHEEU’S ERASMUSPROGRAMME

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

Millions of Brits benefit fromfree movement every singleyear - there are almost asmany UK nationals livingelsewhere in the EU as thereare EU migrants living inBritain. Up to 1million Britsreside in Spain alone!

UK citizens are entitledto take up a job, study orretire in any of the 27other EUmember states -something thatwouldn’tbe possible outside ofthe EU.

The Schengen zone (of whichthe UK is not a part) alsoallows borderless travel acrossmuch of mainland Europe,helping British tourists toget from A to B withoutqueuing at borders.

FREEMOVEMENTTO27OTHEREUMEMBERSTATES9

ASPARTOFTHEEUWE

HAVETHEOPPORTUNITY

TOWORK,STUDYOR

RETIRE IN ANYOFTHE27OTHEREUMEMBERSTATES

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

The principle of equal payfor men and women wasenshrined in the original EUtreaty in 1957, and therights of women to challengegender discrimination in theworkplacewere strengthenedduring the 1970s.

EU laws have also bannedwork-based discriminationon the grounds of race,sexual orientation, disabilityand age.

Labour MEPs are working tosecure further progress bycalling for new EU action tofurther reduce the genderpay gap and increase femalerepresentation inboardrooms.

EQUALPAYANDNON-DISCRIMINATION10

THEEU ISATTHEHEARTOF

EFFORTSTOTACKLE

DISCRIMINATIONONTHE

GROUNDSOFGENDER, RACE,

SEXUALORIENTATION

ANDAGE

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?

Efforts to improve Europe’snatural environment have hada huge benefit to Britain. Thanksto EU law, the UK nowhassubstantially cleaner air, riversand bathingwaters, less acid rainand lower sulphur emissions.

A number of important speciesof wildlife have had theirhabitats protected as a result ofEU rules, helping to preserve thenatural environment for futuregenerations.

EU laws have also increased thesustainability of nationaleconomies. Research intorenewable technologies and theintroduction of strict standardsfor electrical appliances havehelped to improve Europe’senvironmental record.

Cooperation between EU stateshas also helped to secureimportant agreements at globalclimate summits.

IMPROVINGOURENVIRONMENTANDTACKLINGCLIMATECHANGE

BRITAINHAS

CLEANERAIR,

BETTERBEACHES

ANDCLEANERBATHINGWATERS

THANKSTOEU LAW

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS? 11

MOREEFFECTIVE ECONOMICPOLICYLabour will continue to pushfor the completion of thesingle market which willprovide huge gains forBritain. Ensuring a focus onresearch and development,infrastructure spending andindustrial policy is key torestoring growth to Europe.

ENERGYMARKETREFORMWe are at the forefront ofEU efforts to tackle risingenergy bills and climatechange by reforming theEuropean single marketin energy.

Europe must continueworking to increase energyfrom renewable sourcesand decrease our relianceon imports.

STRENGTHENINGWORKERS’RIGHTSLabour in Europe willcontinue to fight for reformof the PostedWorkers andAgency Workers Directives inorder to close loopholes thatallow firms to undercutlocally-employed staff andexploit migrant workers.Weare also urging EU action onthe scourge of zero-hourscontracts.

We strongly believe thatBritain’s future lies atthe heart of the EU.The benefits of beingin the EU are strategic,economic and are aboutthe character of ourcountry – an outward-looking, confidentBritain.

But if Britain’s future is to besecured, we also know thatEurope needs to work betterfor British people. That’swhy LabourMEPs are leadingthe campaign for a positivereform agenda in Europe.

We are fighting to deliver:

ASMARTEREUBUDGETWewant jobs and prosperityto be front and centre of allEU action.We are workingto reform the EU budgetto ensure more funds areallocated to job creation,research and innovation,and less into agricultureand wasteful bureaucracy.

BUTWECANDOEVENMORE...

WHATHASEUROPEEVERDONEFORUS?