European Green Party

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
Secretary-General	Jacqueline Cremers
Spokesperson	Monica Frassoni and Philippe Lamberts
Founded	February 21, 2004 (2004-02-21)
Headquarters	Rue Wiertzstraat 31, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Ideology	Green politics
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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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.

History

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]

1979 to 1993

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.

1993 to 2004

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.

Since 2004

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.

Ideology and issues

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.

Representation

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	46[9]	6.3%	7.3%	0	Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Rebecca Harms	European Greens	European Greens–European Free Alliance	European Green Party

Organization

Organizational structure

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]

• The Congress consists out of 400 representatives of member parties and Green MEPs. These are allotted proportionally on basis of their votes in the most recent European or national election. Each party has at least four members. The congress has the last word on general policy of the EGP and its guiding principles.
• The Council consists out of representatives of the MEPs and the member parties, small parties have one representative, larger ones two. The council is responsible for political affairs between congresses and it decides over organizational matters, such as the election of committee, the application of members and observers and the statutes of the EGP.
• The Committee consists out of nine members, including two spokespersons (one man and one woman), a secretary-general and a treasurer. They are responsible for daily political affairs, execution of the council's decisions and the activities of the secretariat-general.

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

Member parties

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	13
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	EQUO	EQUO	membership in process	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.

Linked organisations

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.

Elected representatives of Member Parties

European institutions

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	40 / 736
Council of Europe	Parliamentary Assembly	3 / 318

See also

	Sustainable development portal
	Environment portal
	Ecology portal
	Earth_sciences portal
	Energy portal

• Biodiversity
• Conservation movement
• Conservation ethic
• Environmental movement
• Ecology
• Ecosystem
• Earth Science
• Global warming
• List of environmental organizations
• Natural environment
• Nature
• Progressivism
• Sustainability

Notes and references

1. ^ history of the European Green Party at europeangreens.org
2. ^ 7 for the German Greens, 1 for the Dutch Political Party of Radicals, 1 for the Dutch Pacifist Socialist Party, an ally of the PPR, 1 for Ecolo and 1 for Agalev
3. ^ Hines, Eric (2003). "The European Parliament And The Europeanization Of Green Parties" (PDF). University of Iowa. Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20080528194305/http://myweb.uiowa.edu/ehhines/culturaldyamicshines.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-01. 
4. ^ 7 for the German Greens, 8 for French Greens, 2 for the Dutch GroenLinks, 2 for Ecolo and 1 for Agalev, 1 for the Spanish IP, 2 for the Italian Rainbow Greens and 2 for the Italian Federation of Greens
5. ^ 12 for the German Greens, 1 for the Dutch GreenLeft, 1 for Ecolo and 1 for Agalev, 1 for the Luxembourgish Dei Greng IP, 2 for the Italian Federation of Greens and 2 for the Green Party
6. ^ 7 for the German Greens, 4 for the Dutch GreenLeft, 3 for Ecolo and 2 for Agalev, 1 for the Luxembourgish Dei Greng, 2 for the Italian Federation of Greens, 2 for the Green Party, 9 for Les Verts, 2 for the Austrian Greens, 2 for the Finnish Green League, 2 for the Swedish Green Party and 2 for the Green Party of England and Wales
7. ^ charter of the European Green Party at europeangreens.org
8. ^ Michaele Schreyer for the German Greens
9. ^ includes 6 independent MEPs elected for the Europe Écologie group
10. ^ statutes of the European Green party at europeangreens.org
11. ^ Bulgarian Green Party/Bulgarian Greens - Bulgaria on EuropeanGreens.org
12. ^ Member Parties
13. ^ Observer Parties
14. ^ new item on the site of the Danish Greens

External links

• European Greens website