The 19th European Greens Council meeting, held in Brussels from November 8-10, was a showcase for the philosophy of political participation. This theme was highlighted by the Council meeting's slogan, which is also the slogan of the Green Primary that was launched on the final day of the Council: You decide Europe!
Friday evening saw the start of the Council, with opening speeches from Bruno De Lille (Groen), Secretary of State of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Mobility, the Civil Service, Equal Opportunities and Administrative Simplification and Christos Doulkeridis (Ecolo), Secretary of State of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Housing, Firefighting and Emergency Medical Assistance. They were introduced by the EGP's Belgian Committee Member Saraswati Matthieu, who went on to introduce EGP Co-Chair Reinhard Bütikofer who gave the keynote speech.
Afterwards, Rogier Elshout presented the four Contenders for the Green Primary – José Bové, Monica Frassoni, Rebecca Harms and Ska Keller. They introduced themselves, and spoke about their ambitions towards becoming one of our Leading Candidates. Afterwards, they debated their vision for the political agenda for Europe.
You can watch a video of the opening of the council below.
Friday evening ended with two crucial votes, where delegates voted on final amendments to the Green Primary resolution, originally voted for at the Madrid Council. Delegates also voted on the Common Campaign plan, with the vote again passing with by a large margin. The message was clear: Green parties across Europe are united in their vision for the future: a more participatory, inclusive EU.
On Saturday, the Brussels Council was focused on plenary sessions where Greens discussed their manifesto with members of civil society, activists, entrepreneurs and business people, as well as local, national and European Green politicians. Groups discussed the topics of Green New Deal, Food, Migration, Finance, Climate Change and Youth. This was followed by a joint session with reporting back from these Plenary Debates.
Sunday saw the Plenary sessions, where the Budget and Activities plan was presented, and presentations from our partners in the Green European Foundation, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, and the Federation of Young European Greens. Next, delegates discussed the 2014 Budget and Activities Plan, before electing our new Financial Advisory Board. Ute Mitchel and Dan Michels were re-elected, while the third position remains unfilled because the EGP adheres to the 50+ gender rule. The Committee will try to find female candidates so the third position can be filled at the next meeting in February.
The crescendo of the Council meeting was Sunday afternoon, where we launched the Green Primary. The spectacular event, which drew fantastic attention across traditional media and social from across Europe, can be viewed on the video below.
Thanks to all our delegates, volunteers and participants for helping make this such a successful event.
