The European Green Party (EGP) has announced a progressive and ambitious common campaign for the 2014 European elections that will re-engage with European voters, and demonstrates that they can have a direct impact on EU-decision making.
At the heart of this campaign will be a common manifesto, a common message and a common visual identity for member parties of the EGP. Topical Ambassadors will engage with our voters in transnational events on regionally shared and European-level issues. Greens and Green sympathisers will be able to select our two Green Leading candidates who will then campaign across Europe. This open online Europe-wide #GreenPrimary will be a major cornerstone of our common campaign, and the first online primary of its kind.
According to EGP Co-Chair Monica Frassoni:
“Our campaign will present our vision for Europe. We want to show Europe that there is another way forward – the Green New Deal and Green ways out of the crisis. It will have European issues at its centre, where in the past European elections had all to often been dominated by national or regional issues. We want to use this campaign to fight against populism, and the drift back towards national politics.
"This is an opportunity to enable citizens to truly take ownership of the European Union. The pan-European element of our campaign will help create a European political sphere, where Europeans can examine, discuss and in the end vote based on issues that affect their lives.“
According to EGP Co-Chair Reinhard Bütikofer:
“Our common campaign will send a positive signal – a signal of hope. Greens are standing for solidarity and inclusiveness. When we speak of broader participation and about giving people a voice and a choice we truly mean that. With our campaign we are inviting everyone who shares our values and principles to have a say on who should be the two leading candidates, the faces and voices of our campaign. All citizens above the age of 16 will be eligible to participate.
"It will not be the only emphasis on young people. Our campaign and policies will also focus more broadly on young people. They are a generation that has been abandoned in many member states, with education systems that are becoming less accessible and job markets that are drying up, and we want to change that. We Greens are fighting to give real opportunities to young people, to support them in reclaiming their future.
"Last but not least, we will put all our effort in putting Europe back to on a path towards a sustainable economy and Green growth that will combine the creation of jobs and unite the well-being of our society with the protection of our environment."
The Green common campaign will be underpinned by a distinctive European vision that shows a European way out of the crisis. Green policies such as the Green New Deal will be decisive in providing answers to the current economic recession and social crisis in Europe. The campaign will show our clear vision for Europe’s future, that directly addresses issues of social cohesion and builds on economic growth and environmental protection.
