| European Green Party Europäische Grüne Partei Parti Vert européen Partito Verde Europeo Partido Verde europeo Europese Groene Partij Il-Partit tal-Ħodor Ewropew Ευρωπαϊκό Πράσινο Κόμμα (Evropaïkó Prásino Kómma) Europejska Partia Zielonych Európai Zöld Párt Partido Verde Europeu De Europæiske Grønne Европейската зелена партия (Evropeyskata zelena partiya) Páirtí Glas na hEorpa Evropská strana zelených Partidul Verde European |
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| Secretary-General | Jacqueline Cremers |
| Spokesperson | Monica Frassoni and Philippe Lamberts |
| Founded | February 21, 2004 |
| Headquarters | Rue Wiertzstraat 31, 1050 Brussels, Belgium |
| Ideology | Green politics Ecologism Green economy |
| International affiliation | Global Greens |
| European Parliament Group | European Greens–European Free Alliance |
| Official colours | Green and yellow |
| Political foundation | Green European Foundation |
| Website | |
| www.europeangreens.eu | |
| Politics of the European Union Political parties Elections |
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Core topics
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Organizations
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The European Green Party (or European Greens or EGP) is the Green political party at European level. As such it is a federation of green parties in Europe.
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Before the foundation of the European Green Party in 2004 the Green Parties of Europe were organized differently, in a loose coordination between 1979 and 1993 and in a federation between 1993 and 2004.[1]
In 1979 the Coordination of European Green and Radical Parties (CEGRP) was set up to coordinate the participation of Green and Radical parties in the 1979 European Parliament election. There were considerable differences between the Green and Radical groups and the parties were unable to form a common pan-European electoral platform. Although some parties polled well, no Green entered the European Parliament.
In the 1984 election the Greens participated again. They held a congress in the spring of 1984 in Liège and set up a restructured European Green Coordination (EGC), with a secretariat provided by the Dutch Political Party of Radicals. They also issued a Joint Declaration of the European Green Parties. Furthermore, overall the member parties had grown stronger. Eleven MEPs of member parties were elected to the European Parliament.[2] They formed the Green Alternative European Link (GRAEL) in the European Parliament. The group was too small to be recognized by the Parliament for funds and committees and therefore it joined the Rainbow Group, which also encompassed regionalists, the Danish People's Movement against the European Community and some radicals and socialists. The European Greens formed a loose confederal triangular structure with the autonomous GRAEL in parliament, the weak EGC as a supra-national coordinating body and the member parties. The position of the European Greens was also weakened by the principle of rotation which some member parties (Germany and the Netherlands) used, with their MEPs being replaced by another after serving half their term. This rotation technique originated with the German Greens to prevent their members being co-opted by the informal negotiation system within the Bundestag,[3] but it served them badly within the European Parliament. For the Dutch parties the choice for rotation was a compromise between three parties which had only two seats in parliament: one seat was kept by the top candidate while the second seat rotated between the second and the third candidate. This way each party would have a representative in the EP. Finally there still was considerable diversity in the opinions of the Greens, especially between pro-European and Eurosceptic tendencies. These factors weakened the position of the Greens in Parliament.
In the 1989 election the Green parties won 26 seats.[4] Because of political conflicts with the continuing Rainbow Group, the European Greens formed a separate parliamentary group, The Green Group in the European Parliament. During this period the Greens became more entrenched in parliament.
In June 1993 the European Federation of Green Parties was formed by the members of the EGC in Kirkkonummi, Finland. The organization became more structured, it now had a triennial Congress, a Council and a Federation Committee (executive). It strengthened its ties with the Green Group in the European parliament.
In the 1994 election Green parties won a total of 20 seats.[5] They were joined by a member of the Danish Socialist People's Party and one member of both the Italian South Tyrolean People's Party and La Rete. Again the Greens formed a separate group from Rainbow Group, now renamed the European Radical Alliance.
In the 1999 election the Greens performed particularly well winning 38 seats.[6] They formed a combined group with the European Free Alliance, which represented regionalist parties and independence movements, which previously participated in the European Radical Alliance. The relationship between the Greens and these parties was different from before, as the Greens were stronger both numerically and politically.
The European Green Party was founded at the Fourth Congress of the European Federation of Green Parties on February 20–22, 2004 in Rome, a party convention with over 1,000 delegates. Thirty-two Green parties from all over Europe joined this new pan-European party. The foundation of the new party was finalised with the signing of the treaty constituting the party in the Capitol of Rome. As such the Greens were the first to form a political party at European level, the other European federations followed suit between 2004 and 2006.
In the 2004 European Parliament election the member parties won 35 Seats. In the 2009 European Parliament election, even though the European Parliament was reduced in size, the EGP member parties won 46 seats, the best result of the Green Parties in 30 years.
The European Greens have always been committed to basic tenets of Green politics, such as environmental responsibility, individual freedom, inclusive democracy, diversity, social justice, gender equality, global sustainable development and non-violence.[7]
However, its relationship to the European Union and its institutions has changed dramatically and is still the subject of a lively debate. In the 1970s and 1980s the European Greens were generally skeptical of European political and economic integration, which was seen as contrary to environmental and social interests. In its 1984 program, the European Greens advocated the formation of an alternative Europe, which would be neutral and decentralized. In 1989, some member parties adopted a more parliamentary course and became more supportive of European integration. The program advocates the democratization of Europe's institutions. In their 1994 program, the Greens abandoned their principled opposition of European integration and began to propose pragmatic alternatives for the European Union's policies and institutions. The 1999 and 2004 programs also reflect this.
There is also a considerable range of opinions across member parties: they range from pro-European, such as the Luxembourgish Dei Greng to Eurosceptic, such as the Swedish Miljöpartiet de Gröna.
In the area of Internet politics, the European Greens–European Free Alliance parliamentary group became famous for the strong support of a proposed free information infrastructure, especially in their work on the directive against software patents in 2003.
In this table one can see the results of the Greens for the six direct elections to the European Parliament, in terms of seats and votes. It also shows how many European Commissioners the European Greens have, who led the parliamentary group. It also lists how the Green parliamentary group and supra-national organizations was named and what European parliamentary group they joined.
| Year | MEPs | MEPs % | Votes % | EC | Leaders | EP Subgroup | EP group | Organization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0 | 0 | 2.4% | 0 | none | none | none | Coordination of European Green and Radical Parties |
| 1984 | 11 | 2.5% | 4.2% | 0 | Alexander Langer and Maria Amelia Santos | Green Alternative European Link | Rainbow Group | European Green Coordination |
| 1989 | 25 | 4.8% | 7.4% | 0 | Alexander Langer and Maria Amelia Santos | Green Group in the European Parliament | European Green Coordination | |
| 1994 | 21 | 3.7% | 7.4% | 0 | Alexander Langer and Claudia Roth | Green Group in the European Parliament | European Federation of Green Parties | |
| 1999 | 38 | 6.1% | 7.7% | 1[8] | Heidi Hautala and Paul Lannoye | European Greens | European Greens–European Free Alliance | European Federation of Green Parties |
| 2004 | 35 | 4.8% | 7.3% | 0 | Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni | European Greens | European Greens–European Free Alliance | European Green Party |
| 2009 | 47[9] | 6.2% | 7.3% | 0 | Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Rebecca Harms | European Greens | European Greens–European Free Alliance | European Green Party |
The European Green Party is constituted out of political parties from European countries (although not necessarily from European Union member states). Parties can also become observer. Since 2004 individual membership of the European Green Party is also possible, these do not enjoin special rights however.
The most important bodies of the EGP are the Congress, the Council and the Committee.[10]
All of these bodies decide with a two-thirds majority.
The European Greens are organized in several regional networks. These are organized around seas, creating somewhat of a bioregional structure: such as the Green Islands Network ("a network for Green Parties in Britain, Ireland and associated islands"), the Baltic Sea Greens, the Green Mediterranean Network, Green Adriatic Network and the North Sea Greens
| Country or Region | Name (original language) | Name (in English) | Status | MEPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Partia e Gjelber | Green Party | member | n/a |
| Austria | Die Grünen | The Greens | member | 2 |
| Flemish Community of Belgium | Groen! | Green! | member | 1 |
| French Community of Belgium | Ecolo | Ecolo | member | 2 |
| Bulgaria | Зелена партия | Green Party[11] | member(suspended) | 0 |
| Cyprus | Κίνημα Οικολόγων Περιβαλλοντιστών | Ecological and Environmental Movement | member | 0 |
| Czech Republic | Strana zelených | Green Party | member | 0 |
| Estonia | Eestimaa Rohelised | Estonian Greens | member | 0 |
| Finland | Vihreät | Green League | member | 2 |
| England and Wales | Green Party of England and Wales | Green Party of England and Wales | member | 2 |
| France | Europe Écologie–Les Verts | The Greens | member | 14 |
| Georgia | საქართველოს მწვანეთა პარტია | Georgia Greens | member | n/a |
| Germany | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | Alliance '90/The Greens | member | 14 |
| Greece | Οικολόγοι Πράσινοι | Ecologists Greens | member | 1 |
| Hungary | Zöld Demokraták | Green Democrats | member | 0 |
| Ireland | Green Party/Comhaontas Glas | Green Alliance | member | 0 |
| Italy | Federazione dei Verdi | Federation of Greens | member | 0 |
| Latvia | Latvijas Zaļā Partija | Latvian Green Party | member | 0 |
| Luxembourg | Déi Gréng | The Greens | member | 1 |
| Malta | Alternattiva Demokratika | Democratic Alternative | member | 0 |
| Moldova | Partidul Ecologist din Moldova "Aliante Verde" | Ecologist Party of Moldova Green Alliance | member | 0 |
| Netherlands | De Groenen | The Greens | member | 0 |
| Netherlands | GroenLinks | GreenLeft | member | 3 |
| Northern Ireland | Green Party in Northern Ireland | Green Party in Northern Ireland | member | 0 |
| Norway | Miljøpartiet De Grønne | Environmental Party The Greens | member | n/a |
| Poland | Zieloni 2004 | Greens 2004 | member | 0 |
| Portugal | Os Verdes | The Greens | member | 0 |
| Romania | Partidul Verde | Green Party | member | 0 |
| Russia | Зелёная Альтернатива | Green Alternative | member | n/a |
| Scotland | Scottish Green Party | Scottish Green Party | member | 0 |
| Slovakia | Strana zelených | Green Party | member | 0 |
| Slovenia | Stranka mladih Slovenije | Youth Party of Slovenia | member | 0 |
| Spain | Los Verdes | The Greens | member | 0 |
| Spain | Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds | Initiative for Catalonia Greens | member | 1 |
| Sweden | Miljöpartiet de Gröna | Environmental Party The Greens | member | 2 |
| Switzerland | Grüne / Les Verts / La Verda / Verdi | The Greens | member | n/a |
| Ukraine | Партія Зелених України (Partija Zelenych Ukrajiny) | Green Party of Ukraine | member | n/a |
| Andorra | Els Verds d'Andorra | Greens of Andorra | observer | n/a |
| Azerbaijan | Azərbaycan Yaşıllar Partiyası | Green Party of Azerbaijan | observer | n/a |
| Belarus | Biełaruskaja Partyja "Zialonyja" | Belarusian Party "The Greens" | observer | n/a |
| Bulgaria | Зелените | Bulgarian Greens | observer | 0 |
| Croatia | Zelena lista | Green List of Croatia | observer | n/a |
| Denmark | Socialistisk Folkeparti | Socialist People's Party | observer | 2 |
| Hungary | Lehet Más a Politika | Politics Can Be Different | observer | 0 |
| Serbia | Zeleni | Greens | observer | n/a |
| Turkey | Yeşiller | Greens | observer | n/a |
| Europe | Federation of Young European Greens | Federation of Young European Greens | observer | n/a |
| Europe | European Network of Green Seniors | European Network of Green Seniors | observer | n/a |
| sources[12][13] | ||||
De Grønne from Denmark were expelled from the EGP in 2008.[14] The reason was that De Grønne intended to cooperate with the People's Movement against the EU in the upcoming elections which sits in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left parliamentary group instead of the European Greens–European Free Alliance-group.
Beside these parties, it is also remarkable EQUO, in Spain. In this country there have always been many separated green parties, most of them very local and electorally weak. Lacking the existence of a strong green party, some efforts had been made to unite strengths into the Confederación de Los Verdes, receiving however a modest electoral support. With this scenario, EQUO, a newborn Spanish green party created to unify all the people with green ideology, attracted in 2011 most members and parties in the Confederación de Los Verdes, along with people from other parties or people who had never been politically active. For this reason, the EGP publicly supported EQUO on 13 November 2011, during the Spanish general election campaign, announcing a «Motion for Emergency resolution on the support of the European Green Party towards EQUO in view of the Spanish elections».[15] As a newborn party, EQUO still has to fulfil several conditions to become an official candidate party to the EGP, but several documents show the members' desire to become the referent of the EGP in Spain.[16][17]
The most important organization linked to the EGP is the Federation of Young European Greens, which is a similar federation of Green youth organizations.
The EGP fosters a European Network of Green Seniors and a European Green Gender Observatory.
Formally the European Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament is also an independent organization with official ties to the EGP.
| Organisation | Institution | Number of seats |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | European Commission |
0 / 27
|
| European Union | European Council (Heads of Government) |
0 / 27
|
| European Union | Council of Ministers (Participation in Government) |
2 / 27
|
| European Union | European Parliament |
47 / 754
|
| Council of Europe | Parliamentary Assembly |
3 / 318
|
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