GLENYS KINNOCK MEP

It is a pleasure to introduce the very first edition of the re-launched EU Parliamentary Yearbook.

As a community of nearly 500 million people across 27 countries, the European Union is remarkable in that it has allowed countries to set aside national differences in order to build a common, prosperous and peaceful future.

Now, as we face up to the common challenges of the 21st century — economic stability, globalisation, energy security, climate change, international terrorism and global poverty — we must be actively engaged with European issues more than ever before.

In today’s integrating continent and globalised world, few problems stop at national borders. Interdependence is the universal reality, whether we like it or not. Challenges can only be properly met and opportunities for progress properly grasped by working together and building alliances.

Yet, despite the importance of Europe to our efforts to meet these challenges, there is still a continued and widespread ignorance of the EU institutions and their respective roles. That is why the EU Parliamentary Yearbook is so valuable. It is an essential guide to the European institutions — and the people working in them — who are central to ensuring that the EU fulfils its undoubted potential.  

Yours sincerely



Glenys Kinnock MEP