- The Green New Deal is the macro-economic and financial program of the European Greens.
- The Green New Deal is being developed as an alternative for the current economic situation.
- The Green New Deal includes a sustainable economic policy that improves the quality of life, a redefinition of the European budgetary and monetary policy and a new global monetary system.
The bankruptcy of the current economic system
The current economic and financial system is characterised by its instability and imbalances, where repeated crises seem to be the only form of regulation. The current economic crisis is a perfect example of this instability and imbalances, therefore it reveals the failure of policies driven by what can be defined as neoliberal thinking.
The solutions of the Green New Deal
First, the implementation of the Green New Deal calls for a new direction of economic policy aimed at reducing our carbon footprint and improving our quality of life. Redefining objectives of economic policy will bring forward new economic indicators to steer and evaluate policies.
Second, the implementation of the Green New Deal will force a redefinition of budgetary and monetary policy at European level.
Ultimately, the Green New Deal will hold even more promise in the context of a globally organised monetary system that helps guarantee of stability for northern and southern economies.
Macro-economic and financial regulation of markets
The Green New Deal study conducted by the Wuppertal Institute was the first step to a comprehensive view on how we want to develop our society towards a sustainable social, financial and economic society.
A first step that was quickly followed by the more in depth policy paper on macro-economic and financial regulation in view of the financial crisis that showed its devastating effects in the last two years. At the last European Green Party Council meeting in Tallinn, 8th-10th October, 2010, the European Green Party has adopted the policy paper "Macroeconomic and financial framework of the Green New Deal".
Next step: Social dimension
Now it is time to develop a more in depth view on the social dimension of the Green New Deal. The European Green Party Council in Montreuil (2008) adopted the paper "A green vision for a social Europe" . Most of the topics dealt within that paper are still valid and the paper itself will remain the reference document. The paper we prepare for the Budapest Spring Council 2011 will tackle those elements that relate to new developments in consequence of the financial crisis.
At our next council meeting in Budapest on the 1st-3rd April, 2011 the social dimension of the Green New Deal will be the main topic of discussion.
