European Green Party

The European Greens have committed themselves to the basic tenets of Green politics as seen across Western Europe, namely environmental responsibility, climate action, individual freedom, inclusive democracy, diversity, social justice, gender equality, global sustainable development and non-violence.^[2][3]

The European Greens was the first party to form out of various national movements to become a European entity, committed to the integration of Europe.^[4][5] The party aims to amplify the views of member parties by having common policy positions, mutual election manifestos, and cohesive European election campaigns. The European Greens also has networks which brings Green politicians together, such as the Local Councillors Network.^[6][7]

According to its charter,^[8] the European Greens is working towards a just and sustainable transition towards societies "respectful of human rights and built upon the values of environmental responsibility, freedom, justice, diversity and non-violence". The charter’s guiding principles provide a framework for the political actions taken by member parties.  

The priorities outlined in the charter include protecting human health and wellbeing, maintaining biological diversity, combatting global warming, transitioning to a just and sustainable economy, strengthening inclusive democracies, safeguarding diversity, and ensuring social justice.

Green politics in Europe emerged from several grassroots political movements, including the peace movements, the ecology movement and movements for women's rights.^[9]

The Anti-nuclear movement in Germany first had political expression as Vereinigung Die Grünen, which formed in March 1979, and established itself as a party for the European Parliament in January 1980.^[10][11][12] Similarly, activists in Britain's Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament would eventually form the Ecology Party.^[13][14][15] However, it also brought in ecological movements, which had become active across Western European nations in the 1970s.^[2][16] Environmental groups became especially political after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which strengthened groups such as the Italian Green Party.^[17] In the Netherlands, feminists dominated GroenLinks party.^[9] Elements of all these national parties would go on to form the European Green Party.

Representatives from these and other parties sat in the European Parliament after the 1984 European Parliament election.^[18] The following 11 members of this grouping, which was briefly known as the Rainbow Group, came from parties which went on to be part of the European Greens:^[18]

• 1 Agalev MEP and 1 Ecolo MEP from Belgium
• 1 Pacifist Socialist MEP and 1 Radicals MEP from the Netherlands
• 7 Grünen MEPs from German

The European Green Party itself was officially founded at the 4th Congress of the European Federation of Green Parties on 20–22 February 2004 in Rome.^[19] At the convention, 32 Green parties from across Europe joined this new pan-European party.^[6][20] As such, the European Greens became a trans-national party, and the very first European political party.^[21][20]

In the 2004 European Parliament election, member parties won 35 Seats and the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament secured 43 in total.

In the 2009 European Parliament election, even though the European Parliament was reduced in size, the European Greens' member parties won 46 seats, the best result of the Green Parties in 30 years. The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament secured 55 seats in total.

In the 2014 European Parliament election the Green candidates were José Bové and Ska Keller. These elections marked the first time there were primaries including Spitzenkandidaten at the European elections, which allows Europeans to not only vote for who should represent them in the European Parliament, but also help to decide who should lead the European Commission. In May they presented a common programme including the Green New Deal Archived 26 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine at the launch of the European Greens' campaign which called for "a new direction of economic policy aimed at reducing our carbon footprint and improving our quality of life". The slogan of the campaign was 'Change Europe, vote Green'. The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament obtained 50 seats in total.

The candidates for the 2019 European Parliament election were Ska Keller and Bas Eickhout, who campaigned for climate protection, a social Europe, more democracy and stronger rule of law. That year, the Greens made the strongest ever showing across Europe, in part due to rising public awareness about climate change and the impact of youth movements for climate. The strongest surge was in Germany as Alliance 90/The Greens replaced the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany as the second-strongest party. The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament obtained 74 seats in total. The Greens' results signified a new balance of power as the European People's Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) lost their majority.

By 2023, The Economist analysed that "the policies espoused by environmentalists sit squarely at the centre of today’s political agenda".^[22]

Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout were elected by the European Greens to be lead candidates for the 2024 European Parliament election. The campaign ran under the slogan "Choose Courage". .^[23] They were elected by more than 300 delegates at an Extended Congress in Lyon, France in February 2024. The campaign is focused on a Green and Social Deal, and the fight against the rise of the Far Right in Europe.

At the 2024 Maastricht Debate, organised by Politico and the University of Maastricht, European Green top candidate Bas Eickhout asked directly to Ursula von der Leyen, top candidate of the European People's Party, what her position was towards the far right in Europe, European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy. Von der Leyen told the audience that a collaboration with the ECR “depends very much on how the composition of the Parliament is, and who is in what group.” ^[24]

Numerous analyses in European quality media consider this as a win for the Greens ^[25] the turning point of the 2024 election campaign.^[26] The European Greens criticised heavily that von der Leyen, as incumbent president of the European Commission and lead candidate for the EPP, opened the door to collaboration with the far-right.

Ulrike Lunacek, ex vice-president of the European Parliament and Michaele Schreyer, the only Green European Commission member so far

The European Green Party is a European political party, constituted out of political parties from European countries. Parties can also become associate members. Members of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament not belonging to a member party can be admitted as a special member with speaking rights but no vote.

The governing bodies of the EGP are the Council and the Committee.^[27]

• The Council takes place twice a year and is the main decision-making body of the European Greens and consists of delegates of member parties. During Councils, delegates from European Greens parties set a common political direction, linked to the development of the European project and its values. They do so by debating and vote on resolutions on key issues in Europe. Delegates are allotted based on their most recent European or national election results. Each party has at least two delegates. consists of delegates of member parties. These are allotted on the basis of their most recent European or national election results. Each party has at least two delegates.^[28]
• The Committee consists of nine members, including two Co-Chairs (one man and one woman), a Secretary General and a Treasurer. They are responsible for daily political affairs, execution of the Council's decisions and the activities of the EGP office and staff. Co-Chairs Thomas Waitz and Mélanie Vogel, Secretary General Benedetta De Marte, Treasurer Ute Michel, and Committee Members Vula Tsetsi, Sibylle Steffan, Małgorzata Tracz, Rasmus Nordqvist and Mina Jack Tolu were elected at the 35th European Green Party in Riga, Latvia. The EGP has had several Co-Chairs.

Mandate	Co-chairs	Member party	Years	Secretary General	Council election
May 2022 –	Mélanie Vogel	EELV	05/2022 – present	Benedetta De Marte	Riga,  Latvia, November 2022
	Thomas Waitz	Die Grünen	05/2022 – present
Nov 2019 – May 2022	Evelyne Huytebroeck	Ecolo	11/2019 – 05/2022	Mar Garcia	Tampere,  Finland, November 2019
	Thomas Waitz	Die Grünen	11/2019 – 05/2022
Nov 2015 – Nov 2019	Monica Frassoni	Federazione dei Verdi	11/2015 – 11/2019	Mar Garcia	Lyon,  France, November 2015
	Reinhard Bütikofer	Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen	11/2015 – 11/2019
Nov 2012 – Nov 2015	Monica Frassoni	Federazione dei Verdi	11/2012 – 11/2015	Jacqueline Cremers (until end 2014) Mar Garcia (from January 2015)	Athens,  Greece, November 2012
	Reinhard Bütikofer	Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen	11/2012 – 11/2015
Oct 2009 – Nov 2012	Monica Frassoni	Federazione dei Verdi	10/2009 – 11/2012	Jacqueline Cremers	Malmö,  Sweden, October 2009
	Philippe Lamberts	Ecolo	10/2009 – 11/2012
May 2006 – Oct 2009	Ulrike Lunacek	Die Grünen	05/2006 – 10/2009	Juan Behrend	Helsinki,  Finland, May 2006
	Philippe Lamberts	Ecolo	05/2006 – 10/2009
May 2003 – May 2006	Grazia Francescato	Federazione dei Verdi	05/2003 – 05/2006	Arnold Cassola	Saint Andrews,  Malta, May 2003
	Pekka Haavisto	Vihreä Liitto	05/2003 – 05/2006

• The Congress is an enlarged meeting of the Council which is convened by the Council at least once every 5 years and hosts more delegates.

The EGP hosts a collection of networks that have specific special interest focus, including:^[29]

• Balkan Network
• Mediterranean Network
• Gender Network
• European Queer Greens
• Local Councillors Networks
• European Green Disability Network
• European Network of Green Seniors

• Federation of Young European Greens
• Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament
• Global Greens
• Green European Foundation

The table below shows the results of the Greens in each election to the European Parliament, in terms of seats and votes. It also shows how many European Commissioners the European Greens have, and who led the parliamentary group. It also lists how the Green parliamentary group and supra-national organisations was named and what European parliamentary group they joined.^[32]

Country		Name	Votes	Total	Last EU election	Votes	Total	Last national election	Government status
Austria		The Greens – The Green Alternative	532,193	3,834,662	14.1%	664,055	4,835,469	13.9%	Government
Belgium	Flemish	Groen	525,908	6,732,157	7.8%	413,836	6,780,538	6.1%	Government
	French  German	Ecolo	492,330		7.2%	416,452		6.1%	Government
Bulgaria		The Greens	EPP	2,015,320	6.1%[34]	EPP	2,658,548	6.3%[34]	Opposition
Cyprus		Movement of Ecologists – Citizens' Cooperation	9,232	280,935	3.3%[35]	15,762	357,712	4.4%	Opposition
Czech Republic		Green Party	0	2,370,765	did not compete	53,343	5,375,090	1.0%	Extra-parliamentary
Denmark		Socialist People's Party	364,895	2.758.855	13.2%	272,304	3,569,521	7.7%	Confidence and supply
Estonia		Estonian Greens	5,824	332,104	1.8%	10,226	561,131	1.8%	Extra-parliamentary
Finland		Green League	292,892	1,830,045	16.0%	354,194	3,081,916	11.5%	Government
France		Europe Ecology – The Greens	3,055,023	22,654,164	13.5%	973,527	22,655,174	4.3%	Opposition
Germany		Alliance 90/The Greens	7,677,071	37,396,889	20.5%	6,852,206	46,442,023	14.8%	Government
Greece		Ecologist Greens	49,099	5,656,122	0.9%	0	5,769,542	did not compete	Extra-parliamentary
Hungary		LMP – Hungary's Green Party	75,498	3,470,257	2.2%	404,429	5,732,283	7.1%	Opposition
Ireland		Green Party[q]	190,755	1,678,003	11.4%	155,695	2,183,489	7.1%	Government
Italy		Green Europe	621,492	26,783,732	2.3%	1.071.663	29,172,085	3.6%	Opposition
	South Tyrol								Extra-parliamentary
Luxembourg		The Greens	39.535	217,086	18.9%	32.177	216,177	15.1%	Government
Malta		AD+PD	7,142	260,212	did not compete	0	310,665	did not compete	Extra-parliamentary
Netherlands		GroenLinks	599,283	5,497,813	10.9%	1.643.073	10,432,726	15.75%[36]	TBD (Election)
Poland		The Greens	EPP	13,647,311	38.5%[37]	EPP	18,470,710	27.4%[38]	Opposition
Portugal		Ecologist Party "The Greens"	LEFT	3,314,414	6.9%[39]	LEFT	5,340,890	6.3%[39]	Opposition
		LIVRE	60,575	3,084,505	1.8%[40]	5,417,715	71,232	1.3%[41]
Romania		Green Party	0	9,069,822	did not compete	23,085	5,908,331	0.4%	Extra-parliamentary
Slovenia		Youth Party – European Greens	0	482,075	did not compete	0	891,097	did not compete	Extra-parliamentary
Spain		Equo	0	22,426,066	did not compete	582,306	24,258,228	2.4%	Confidence and supply
	Catalonia	Esquerra Verda[r]	LEFT		Run with UP[42]	0		did not compete	Government
		Catalunya en Comú	LEFT		Run with UP[42]	LEFT		Run with UP	Government
Sweden		Green Party	478,258	4,151,470	11.5%	285,899	6,535,271	4.4%	Government
European Greens			15,016,430	176,860,279	8.49%	12,047,080	212,120,443	5.67%

Organisation	Institution	Number of seats
European Union	European Parliament	57 / 705
	European Commission	1 / 27
	European Council (Heads of Government)	0 / 27
	Council of the European Union (Participation in Government)	8 / 27
	Committee of the Regions
Council of Europe	Parliamentary Assembly	3 / 306

Wikimedia Commons has media related to European Green Party.

• Official website
• A little group of papers of the European Green Party, is held by the Historical Archives of the European Union.

The European Green Party statutes Archived 19 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine define the party in legal terms.

2024

Choose Courage, February 2024

2019

Time to renew the promise of Europe. Archived 24 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine  

2014

Change Europe, Vote Green. Archived 30 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine  

2009

A Green New Deal for Europe. Archived 23 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine

2004

Europe Can Do Better. You Decide! Archived 20 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine

1999

A Common Green Manifesto for the 1999 European Elections. Archived 20 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine

1994

Election Platform – Green Parties of the EU. Archived 20 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine