More than Ever: Let’s Make Our Future Green and Fair
In the 2024 European Parliament elections, the European Greens ran on a message of courage. Because courage is exactly what our policies is about right now.
The world in 2024 is very different from 2019. The pandemic, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and deep democratic and social crises changed the world we live in. The green transition has accelerated significantly, both in Europe and globally. But the need for a continued and strengthened fight for nature and climate is evident from the backdrop of alarming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, record temperatures, and accelerating natural disasters. More than ever, we need ambitious answers that meet the challenges of our times.
We fought the European election with our most far-reaching campaign ever, and we have not stopped since. Building up to the elections, we have put more energy than ever before into expanding the Green family, seizing the green transition as a chance to build a more just society, and strengthening our alliances with movements and civil society.
The European election results were mixed for the Green family. Overall, we experienced a loss of seats in the European Parliament compared to the previous legislature, largely due to significant setbacks in several countries. Far-right parties gained ground in many EU countries. However, green parties made notable advances in countries where they had previously been either under-represented or largely absent. The past five years, along with the 2024 campaign and election, offer valuable lessons and opportunities for progress for the European Green Party and the future of our political project.
Looking beyond the numbers, the foundations for future green victories have been built. These advances are the starting points for the next five years:
While there are still inequalities in representation, the Green family elected MEPs from more EU countries than ever before. The Greens are now far better represented in southern and eastern Europe, in particular in the Baltics, a development that strengthens and enriches us.
Campaigning on a Green and Social Deal, we put forward our offer of a green transition based on social justice. Green parties across the EU have strengthened their narratives and raised awareness about how green and social policies cannot be separated.
The far right is beatable. At the EU level, we exposed the far-right’s agenda and fought to keep them out of the majority. In the Nordics, the Netherlands, and Italy, we bounced back and showed that Greens and progressives can win.
We have strong allies across society. We built and maintained close ties with civil society, from green and social NGOs to trade unions and businesses supporting the green transition. During the campaign, they recognized our platform’s strength and strongly supported our priorities.
In the 2024 election campaign, we faced several important challenges that should serve as key areas to focus on in the years to come:
Unlike in 2019, setting the agenda on climate and environmental issues was less prominent. Despite climate disruption’s urgency, there is no more mass mobilisation in the streets around environmental issues. Electoral debates were framed around economic issues of immediate and individual concern, with the cost of living dominating discussions all over the EU.
At the same time, Green parties are no longer the sole advocates for environmental issues. In many European countries, we face competition from parties that have integrated climate policies into their platforms. Greens must work to ensure that our message remains distinct, relevant, and credible.
After the elections, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen achieved a majority with our support based on a clear promise to defend the European Green Deal and ensure a pro-European, democratic future for the EU. We urgently demand that the European Commission upholds this decision. We strongly deplore that Ursula Von der Leyen offered the position of Vice-President to a member of a post-fascist party.
Unfortunately, we have already seen how many Conservatives in the European Parliament do not share their own Commission President’s line. They are playing a dangerous game flirting and voting with the far right to form an alternative, illiberal majority. Their cooperation risks rolling back green and social legislation, gambling with human rights and endangering self-determination. It is the same dangerous path that has brought the far right to power in several member states.
As Greens, our role in this mandate is to hold the political forces leading the European institutions to account and fight back against the right-wing drift embodied in the far right and parts of the European People’s Party. By taking responsibility in the election of the Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, we have shown ourselves ready to build bridges and compromise to prevent far-right ideology and discourses from influencing EU politics as well as to realize our positive agenda.
The fight to reinforce the green transition will not be easy, but we are ready to assume leadership and further advance the transition towards climate neutrality and healthy natural environment.
Throughout the mandate, we will fight for every opening to make progress on environmental protection, social justice, and fundamental rights and democracy, guided by postgrowth thinking, while combating any backlash on the Green Deal and the rule of law achievements. Outside of the institutions, we will be building our movement at every level of power and in every European country.
Recent international fora and treaties such as the G20, COP29, and the Plastic Pollution Treaty have shown that, while international diplomacy is still alive, the agreements it delivers show a tremendous of lack ambition.
Over the next five years, the key fights for the European Greens at all levels will be:
Defending and developing the European Green Deal and backing it with common European and national regulation and public investment that strengthens prosperity and protects all societies from the increasingly severe effects of the climate and biodiversity crises. We will support businesses to implement the Green Deal and secure future investment and jobs
Fighting for ambitious international treaties that step up action on the climate, biodiversity loss, pollution, and resources crises
Making sure the green transition is realized in all aspects – including responsible and circular resource use, eliminating chemical pollution, healthy and sustainable agriculture and food production, and nature restoration and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Improving daily lives by strengthening public services such as social housing and public transport and ensuring affordable green energy and European protections for social rights
Standing up for fundamental rights and the rule of law wherever they are under threat: in the European Union, at our borders, and anywhere in the world
Building long-term peace and security by welcoming new members and reforming the EU so it can take decisions effectively and become a credible international actor
Looking at the challenges ahead, we will need more courage than ever to fight for our green future. There is no ignoring the many crises European societies face. Many people are struggling to get by after hard years of the pandemic, energy crisis, and economic downturn. The severity of the climate and environmental crisis is unrelenting. 2024 has been the hottest year on record and this autumn has seen catastrophic flooding right across Europe, with an especially tragic loss of life in the Valencia region. The agenda of the European Green Deal needs to be strengthened to invest massively in renewable energy and energy infrastructure, the circular economy, biodiversity, and zero-pollution solutions.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, war returned to Europe, threatening freedom and security across the continent. There can be no turning our backs on Ukraine. It is fighting for freedom and its future lies in the European Union. Russia is using ecocide as a weapon of war and must bear full responsibility. To address this, we must urgently develop scientifically grounded methods for calculating the damage caused by ecocide, ensuring accountability and enabling effective restoration efforts.
As Greens, we support continued economic and military aid to Ukraine and future EU membership and long-term support for Ukraine’s resilience, economic development, sustainable reconstruction, and the rule of law. We must also support democratic forces targeted by Russian propaganda outside of the EU, such as Georgia, Moldova, and Serbia and make sure that we do as much as we can for EU candidate countries.
The explosion of violence in the Middle East is a further reminder of the horror of war, the fragility of the international system, and the need for the European Union to step up in world politics. After Donald Trump’s re-election, we stand in solidarity with everyone in the United States and globally threatened by his authoritarian agenda, plutocratic government, and climate denial.
For everybody who wants an ambitious European Union that answers these challenges and keeps the far right out of power, the European Greens are there to represent them. As a European political party, we will build on our achievements and set out a new vision for the future of our societies and the European project.
This effort will be built together with the many actors fighting to make a fair and just green transition a reality and defeat the rise of the far right. We will also strengthen our cooperation with youth movements and continue to invest in our networks connecting Greens at the local level.
As Greens, we believe that the just and fair green transition is our future. A greener society will be a more just society, with expanded public services, affordable energy bills, and healthier surroundings. We represent the conviction that this future is not only possible but achievable and desirable. Step by step, a greener, fairer society that protects the rights of all can be built. As Greens, we are calling for a just transition.
As the constructive pro-climate, pro-European democratic force, we are there to advance this green project, for the European Union as at every level of political power.
If we stand united with our partners, a majority for the green transition, social justice, and a united European future is achievable. It is achievable in society, in every member state, and in the European Union as a whole.
We ran elections on courage, because we need courage to face the challenges of our times. Over the next five years, we will not stop fighting for it. The future is green and fair.
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