| Draft: | More than Ever: Let’s Make Our Future Green |
|---|---|
| Party: | Groen |
| Status: | Published |
| Tabled: | 26/11/2024, 18:05 |
In 2024, the European Greens ran on a message of courage. Because courage is
exactly what our politics 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. More than ever, we need ambitious answers that can 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 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. Breakthroughs in
many countries were tempered by major losses in others and rising far-right
forces. But, looking beyond the numbers, the foundations for future green
victories have been built. These advances are the starting points for the next
five years:
After the elections, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen achieved a
majority with our support based on a clear promise to defend the EU European
Green Deal and ensure a pro-European, democratic future for the EU. This promise
must be upheld.
But the dangers of Conservative and far-right cooperation are growing. Part of
the European People’s Party is already working hand in hand with the far right
to roll back green and social legislation, gambling with human rights and
endangering self-determination. They will enable impunity for authoritarians
like Viktor Orbán, normalize Giorgia Meloni’s post-fascist government, and
harden inhuman and failed migration policies. 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. By
taking responsibility in the election of the Commission president, we have shown
ourselves ready to build bridges and compromise to realise our positive agenda.
Against the threat of far-right influence, we are prepared to support an
alliance of the democratic centre but if and only if it can also advance our
political priorities and deliver for people and planet. Throughout the mandate,
we will fight for every opening to make progress on environmental protection,
social justice and fundamental rights and democracy. Outside of the
institutions, we will be building our movement at every level of power and in
every European country.
Over the next five years, the key fights for the European Greens at all levels
will be:
Looking at the challenges ahead of us, we will need to fight more than ever 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.
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.
As Greens, we support continued economic and military aid to Ukraine and future
EU membership. Our assistance to Ukraine must enable a climate-resilient
reconstruction, built on renewable energy, modern infrastructure, and a
sustainable and inclusive economy. Our support to Ukraine must ensure its future
prosperity and should take the form of grants not loans.
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 the re-election of Donald Trump, we
stand in solidarity with everyone in the United States and globally threatened
by his authoritarian agenda. In a world of fear, the European Union must become
a beacon of hope and move forward towards more unity, ambition and alliances
with other parts of the world.
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 who are 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 it 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 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.
Over the next five years, we will not stop fighting for it. The future is green.
in view of recent events and the nomination of the new EU commission, we can hardly say that we managed to keep the far-right out of the majority.