Courage to Change - Our message to voters
Dear citizens, dear voters,
In June 2024, you will make a fundamental decision. You will determine the future of our societies and our planet. Your vote will decide which direction the European Union will take in the next five years.
What is at stake is vital. Your choice will decide whether we take shared action to improve our quality of life, protect the rights and freedoms that we hold dear, and make Europe a force for peace and justice around the world. It is a pivotal moment – the crossroads defining our future.
We have been through a lot together in the last few years.
The young people who fought to put the climate crisis on the agenda then lived through the tragic pandemic. They missed crucial years of education and their first professional experiences in solidarity with society as a whole, even as they knew the difficult future ahead.
Pensioners and families struggled to heat their homes, after Putin’s war of aggression plunged Ukraine into war and Europe into energy crisis.
Women, LGBTI communities, and racialized groups bore the brunt of growing attacks on rights led by the many European governments turning not just to the right but the far right.
All the while, the incalculable costs of climate inaction continued to mount.
In such times, many of us feel insecure when we think about today and tomorrow.
The far right is using these fears to try and drag us back in time. They spread hate while scapegoating people who need our support. Their solutions are false solutions. The way to fight the powerlessness many of us feel is not to preach resentment, but to listen and offer courage in its place.
The climate crisis is the challenge of our generation. In building a greener society, we will also answer the injustice and inequality polarizing our societies. Unlike the conservatives and the far right, who want to delay and deny the problems before us, we will act with the full urgency of our times.
The burden of inaction grows heavier by the day. Because just when we know that renewables will bring energy bills down, we continue to pay the price of expensive fossil energy.
Just when we know the effects of toxic pollution on our bodies, they continue to block clean air and a safe environment.
Just when we know that healthy food should be accessible to all, it remains a luxury reserved for the few.
Just when we are living through fires and floods, the climate continues to heat up and ecosystems teeter on the brink of collapse.
With us, the sleepwalking stops. We choose change.
Going from crisis to crisis should not be taken as given.
Solutions exist. We just need the courage to do what it takes.
This is why, amid uncertainty and anxiety, we raise a banner of hope and determination.
To meet the challenges of our time, Europe needs a Green and Social Deal.
We choose ambition. Our Green and Social Deal will tackle the climate and environmental crisis like the emergency it is. We will take the billions going into fossil fuel subsidies and put them into renewables, nature, and biodiversity. We will use public money to create a healthier environment for us and a liveable future for our children.
We choose a more secure life. Our Green and Social Deal will fight the cost-of-living crisis by investing in the essentials we all need and the public services we all deserve. We will invest in affordable housing to bring down rents, home renovations to lower energy bills, and public transport to make commuting more affordable. We are convinced that your life can become much less expensive day-to-day through simple and smart investment in public services.
We choose prosperity. Our Green and Social Deal will build a dynamic and competitive economy, creating millions of green jobs at the cutting edge of industry. We propose a major investment plan to fund green industries and infrastructure across the European Union. The green transition is not abstract, it means new rail lines, new factories, new opportunities for you and your community.
Our Green and Social Deal goes hand in hand with an inclusive and democratic Europe that protects the rights of all.
We choose freedom. We fight for a Europe of democracy, feminism and human rights. Europe is our shield. It must legislate to uphold fundamental rights and protect people from discrimination. We will not rest until everyone in Europe can live their lives in full self-determination.
Europe is not an island. Our project for the EU is inseparable from our commitment to working internationally to build security, peace, and global justice.
We choose openness. We will work tirelessly in cooperation with partners to build a fairer world. We will stand alongside Ukraine in its struggle for freedom. We will tackle the root causes of conflict and injustice, using the EU’s influence and resources to kickstart a Global Green Deal. We are convinced that everyone, everywhere deserves a safe, secure, and prosperous future.
Together, we can achieve this.
The Green family is bigger than ever. It is more diverse and more widespread, represented across Europe. Greens sit in ministries from Latvia to Spain and city halls from Zagreb to Lyon. Every day, we are delivering. We are building solutions. We improve lives and protect our climate and environment.
Now we need to take the next step. The time has come to shape the next majority in the European Parliament. The time has come for progress and action. We can build a fairer society and a liveable future for our planet.
We offer an alternative for Europe. Your choice is not between the failed status quo or far-right backlash. You have the choice of hope.
Choose a Green and Social Deal.
Choose fundamental rights and democracy.
Choose peace, human rights and global justice.
Only a strong European Green voice will get us there. Only the Greens will put climate ambition, social justice, and protection of fundamental rights and democracy at the heart of the European Union.
History shows that when Europe mobilizes, it can achieve anything. Backed by citizens and movements, our approach to politics is simple: offering solutions for today that unlock a brighter tomorrow.
We stand ready, convinced that you are ready too. Together, let us make this Europe a reality.
Vote Green.