Spain

The 18th Council of the European Green Party (EGP) has ended with the EQUO, the Spanish Green party, entering into the Green family.  In the final session of the Council, delegates unanimously voted to ratify EQUO’s full membership of the EGP.

Europe must develop meaningful policies that ensure Europe’s young people play an active part in ending the crisis. This was the primary conclusion of the #YouthDebate yesterday (May 9), where young people from across Madrid and Catalunya, together with policy makers from the EU discussed the catastrophic social impact of austerity measures. The debate took place as part of the European Green Party Spring Council, and was organised in conjunction with the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) and Red Equo Joven.

On Thursday May 9, as a precursor to the Council, young people from Madrid and Catalunya have been invited to take part in a major Youth Debate.  The event aims to create a dialogue between young people and policy makers on how to reclaim the future by emancipatory action by, for and of European youth. The debate is being organised by Red Equo Joven (the youth wing of the Spanish Green party EQUO), in cooperation with the EGP, Joves d’Esquerra Verda and FYEG.

EQUO, the Spanish Green Party, have welcomed the decision by the regional government of Andalucía to call a halt to fracking in the Doñana Natural Park. The Andalucían government made the decision due to doubts about the environmental impact of the fracking process. This is the second time that a regional government has banned fracking, despite the Spanish federal government’s support for the process. Cantabria, a shale-gas rich region in northern Spain, banned fracking in April. This followed a decision by the federal government, to open up Spain to  fracking. According to them, it is a cheap source of fuel that creates jobs.

EQUO, the Spanish Green Party, are continuing to push the Spanish government for a real solution to the country’s eviction crisis. Europe’s economic downturn has hit Spain especially hard. Over 27% of the population is unemployed. Among young people, the figure has surged to over 50%. 

Red EQUO Joven, the young Spanish Greens, travelled to the Black Forest in Germany on April 12-14 to meet with the Stuttgart branch of Grüne Jugend, the young German Greens.  The meeting was to help strengthen networks between the two young green organizations, and to learn from each other’s experiences.

"While unemployment grows above any acceptable level in Spain, the government is actively dismantling important green industrial sectors, such as renewable energy, and destroying more jobs," said Juan López de Uralde, leader of Spain's Green party, Equo. "In the country of sun and wind, our government is implementing an energy policy based on nuclear and fossil fuels, marginalizing clean energy through the moratorium on all financial support."