AM-197-1 to S 5.2: Draft 2024 Manifesto - CHAPTER I: The Courage to Put Planet and People First – Our Green and Social Deal for Europe

Maria’s electricity bill had never been as high as the previous winter’s. Try
paying that on one income with two children to feed. She worked hard – too hard
if anything – but it was never enough at the end of the month.

She couldn’t have got out of that situation alone, but she wasn’t alone. The
council finally opened the community childcare centre that they had been
promising for years. A Green and Social Deal grant then came through and she
renovated her draughty house. The new bus route meant she wasn’t using half as
much petrol each week.

It turned out that once society treated all our daily struggles as shared
problems, together we could solve them. With our Green and Social Deal, together
we can turn lives like Marias – like ours – into more secure, happier, and
healthier ones, with cheaper energy bills, healthy food at affordable prices,
and clean air in our towns and cities.

Climate justice and social justice are two sides of the same coin.

Last year was the hottest year on record. The state of the planet is an
emergency. The damage to lives and livelihoods – the homes flooded and farms
bankrupted – caused by the climate crisis gets bigger each year.

We hear the urgent calls of scientists and activists. The animals and ecosystems
dying off in record numbers cannot wait.

Climate action now will bring benefits across society, making our lives more
affordable and pleasant in the years ahead. It will protect the nature that
surrounds us.

Doing nothing will only serve the wealthiest profiting from fossil fuels, while
leaving the poorest in our societies to bear the costs.

The living standards of people in Europe have been hit hard over the past few
years. The cost of living is rising, forcing millions into insecurity with the
most vulnerable paying the highest price.

Growing inequalities and burning economic injustice are not new. For decades,
the ultra-rich have got away with paying next to no tax, while public services
have been cut.

Jobs have become more precarious and too many people have had to leave the place
they call home to find decent work.

None of this has to be normal. None of this is inevitable.

We have the courage to do what it takes.

They are our problems and we need to solve them now. We won’t put it off for the
next generation.

Fighting the cost of living crisis and economic inequality while protecting the
climate and restoring nature will take investment. That is why we are proposing
a major investment plan for Europe: the Green and Social Deal.

We will build new green infrastructure and fund quality public services. This
economic opportunity will create new jobs and industries.

Everything we put forward combines improving lives with protecting the climate
and environment.

We want toxic air pollution and wasteful fossil fuel subsidies to be things of
the past. Tax havens for the few have no place in Europe or anywhere.

Affordable housing, renewable energy, and healthy food for all are what we will
fight for. A stable climate and restored nature are what we will protect.

The Green and Social Deal is our plan for a greener, healthier Europe where
lives are secure, prosperous, and full of opportunity.

Protecting the Climate and the Environment

Our Green and Social Deal leads the way on climate and environmental justice.
The EU’s climate and environmental policies set the pace and ambition of action
across Europe and beyond. Much has been put in motion, we are on a path towards
the green transition. Now the question is how to accelerate the much-needed
action at the same time as protecting living standards, especially for the most
vulnerable.

Our societies are only as healthy and secure as the natural world on which they
depend. We are facing the consequences of climate change today: more extreme
weather events such as storms, droughts, and floods, rising sea levels,
desertification, and the melting of arctic ice and glaciers. One million animal
and plant species are perilously close to extinction. The future of our planet
and our relatively peaceful and prosperous societies depends on us acting now.
Protecting the climate and environment is about protecting people.

Tackling the climate emergency

Europe needs to face the climate crisis in its full urgency, reducing its
emissions as rapidly as possible in line with scientific recommendations to
secure the most liveable future possible for the years and decades ahead. At the
same time, investing in a clean European economy and rapidly reducing our
dependence on fossil fuels strengthens competitiveness and security.

The EU has committed to the European Green Deal and introduced key policies for
climate protection in the past five years. We welcome the progress but continue
to push for more ambition and the full implementation of the plans already set
in motion. To recognize the climate and environmental crisis, we will push to
include the right to a healthy and clean environment in the Charter of
Fundamental Rights, which must be directly applicable to all EU citizens.

Europe can and must take steps to go beyond a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030
and achieve full climate neutrality by 2040. These objectives should be set out
in a revised EU climate law.

Building a community of renewable energy

We will push the EU to build a community of renewables that connects and powers
the continent. Renewables are the economic keys to the future. Cheaper and safer
than any other energy source, renewables helped the EU economy save 100 billion
euros between 2021 and 2023 and bring down energy bills for households.

We want to transform our energy system to rely 100% on solar, water, wind and
geothermal, making it fossil-free by 2040. Only renewables can ensure a
habitable planet, geopolitical independence from autocrats, and a resilient and
democratically managed energy system.

We want solar panels on every roof possible to put citizens at the heart of the
energy transition giving them cheaper energy and control.

Solving the climate crisis will create millions of jobs in sectors from
renewable energy and construction to industry and transport. The “shovel ready”
projects that we would kick start tomorrow represent 2 million jobs in the short
and medium term and our long-term transition up to 10 million.

Ending fossil fuels in Europe

The EU needs a clear plan for the total phaseout of fossil fuels: coal by 2030,
fossil gas by 2035, and oil by 2040. The energy crisis of 2022 cost Europe over
1 trillion euros between energy subsidies and inflated prices. We cannot afford
this, and neither can the planet.

The acceleration of the transition to renewables will bring economic, health and
security benefits, while further delay will only lead to higher costs down the
line.

Europe needs a plan to phase out all fossil fuels subsidies by 2025 at the
latest, and all other environmentally harmful subsidies by 2027 at the latest.
The billions of euros from fossil fuel subsidies must be channelled into
renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy savings. No European or member
state public money should go towards fossil infrastructure.

Energy-saving measures to reduce demand are essential. Focusing on demand
reduction and efficiency means using less and needing less energy – making it
easier to green our energy system. The energy efficiency measures set out in
recent EU legislation, such as introduction of the “energy efficiency
principle”, are major achievements. Now they must be fully implemented.

Adapting Europe to an overheating planet

Decades of climate denial and delay have left us vulnerable to extreme weather
and the rising anti-climate backlash will make the situation even worse. Floods
and fires have destroyed homes and businesses, while heat waves put lives at
risk in homes and workplaces.

To make people and places less vulnerable to climate impacts, we will introduce
a climate adaptation law grounded on ecosystem-based solutions.

Nature restoration and climate adaptation efforts will restore water retention
in the countryside and urban areas through the revitalisation of rivers and
floodplains. To recognize the key role of water, an integrated approach must
mainstream water into all relevant EU policies.

The green transformation must go hand in hand with a strong cohesion policy to
make sure that all regions of Europe benefit. Our expanded EU Solidarity Fund
will focus on climate adaptation and preparedness for natural disasters.
Dedicated and direct funding from the EU for climate action can relieve
budgetary and political pressure on cities and municipalities and allow the
transition to be shaped and led locally, no matter who is in office at the
national level.

Based on the principle of European solidarity, we will create a European Natural
Disaster Fund. We will also expand and co-fund the European firefighting fleet,
including pooled qualified professional and voluntary personnel, firefighting
equipment, assets, and firefighting planes, as well as near-real-time monitoring
and an emergency coordination centre. Strengthening civil protection will make
Europe more resilient to climate disasters.

Zero-pollution is about health

A zero-pollution European Union will be a much healthier place to live. Air
pollution is responsible for 300,000 premature deaths each year in the EU with
children most vulnerable to the effects of fine particulate matter. We will push
the EU to increase air quality standards for everyone, everywhere in the EU with
no exceptions.

By 2030, air quality in the EU must meet World Health Organization guidelines.
We will fight for a toxic-free Europe by 2030 by phasing out the use of the most
harmful chemicals through a stronger chemicals law.

The climate crisis is also a severe threat to human health, seen in the effects
that heat waves, droughts and other extreme weather events have on the general
population. Reducing emissions now will help avoid a worsening situation in the
years ahead.

Bringing nature back

From the birds to the bees to the moors and wetlands, we need to protect nature
that is the basis for life on this planet. One million species are threatened
with extinction linked to damaged ecosystems, pesticide use and climate change.
This mass extinction must stop.

From 2026, 10% of the EU budget must be spent on biodiversity objectives. Taking
action against climate change and restoring healthy, biodiversity-rich
ecosystems are two sides of the same coin.

As Greens, we will restore degraded ecosystems across the EU. We want to protect
one third of the EU’s territory and marine areas, so we can live in harmony with
nature, including wetlands, forests, marine, agro-ecosystems, rivers, and lakes.
As set out in the Nature Restoration Law that we fought for, we want to restore
degraded natural areas. Working with farmers and local communities is key to
protecting biodiversity and fighting climate change.

Forests as Europe’s green lung

Forests are threatened by deforestation and the consequences of climate change.
They are our lungs and life-support system, home to most land-based biodiversity
and major carbon sinks. Forests also play a crucial role in providing clean air,
regulating the water cycle, and preventing soil erosion. Forest protection and
restoration are key for reaching our climate goals.

As Greens, we see old-growth forests, closer-to-nature management, and
biodiversity-friendly afforestation and restoration as key for healthy forests
in Europe. We need a common forest fire strategy through near-natural mixed
forests. We are determined to avoid clear cutting and establish protection
corridors. Emergency measures are needed to protect forests from poor
management, pollution, and climate change.

Caring for our soils with sustainable food and agriculture

Europe needs a Common Food Policy to support changes in what we eat, how we
produce food and where we get it from. We need a fundamental shift away from
subsidies for industrial agriculture based on pesticides and monocultures and
towards massive investment into organic farming and agroecological production.
Years of misguided subsidies have concentrated landholdings and driven small and
medium-sized farmers into the ground.

This green and social transition for agriculture, supported by retargeted EU
funds, is an opportunity for secure and sustainable business models that will
benefit millions of European farmers.

The Common Food Policy will condition EU agricultural funding on social and
environmental criteria to provide quality jobs and increase food security. This
means that one third of the EU budget will be dedicated to sustainable food
systems that improve soil quality, cut emissions, and reduce food waste, while
addressing the economic situation of farmers. The EU needs to take action to
strengthen the plant-based protein sector.

Healthy food also means pesticide-free food. We must reduce the use of chemical
pesticides to save ecosystems, keep soil healthy and protect human health. We
will fight for a 50% reduction in pesticide use by 2030. Glyphosate is not
necessary for productive farming, nor for weed control. Glyphosate can and must
be banned, with economic support for farmers to make this shift.

GMO-free Europe

We will keep genetically modified crops out of our fields and off our plates. We
want animal feed to be free from genetically modified crops in the EU. As
Greens, we are committed to the precautionary principle and will maintain the
existing regulatory regime for all new genetically modified and new genomic
techniques. New techniques must not be excluded from the protections already set
out in EU law.We will minimise the risks of having genetically modified organisms on our fields and our plates. We want consumers to have the choice of having animal feed be free from genetically modified crops in the EU. As Greens, we are committed to the precautionary principle and will require the most stringent scientific criteria possible for the introduction of new genetic technologies. EU law must follow the precautionary principle for all food-related risks, including those associated with genetic technologies and the results of selective breeding.

Farmers must be protected from agroindustry’s use of intellectual property law
to enforce economic dependency. All products that contain genetically modified
products must be traceable and labelled. National governments must retain the
right to ban the cultivation of genetically modified crops.

Making animal welfare a priority

We will make animal welfare a priority at the EU level, with strict rules on
farming conditions, use of antibiotics and animal transportation. Zoonotic
spillover and anti-microbial resistance risk another devastating pandemic.

We want to ban animal mega-farms and animal cruelty in industrial farming. While
the European Commission did nothing with the historic European Citizens’
Initiative on ending the cage age, we will take up the citizens’ fight so that
cage farming is finally banned. We will continue to fight for a maximum of 8-
hour (with 4 hours for certain species) or 300-kilometre transport time and
distance. We fully support the European Citizens’ Initiative on a fur-free
Europe.

Our Common Food Policy will take the funds currently used to support
unsustainable industrial animal farming and redirect them to improving housing
systems and management practices in the interest of animal welfare.

Clean seas and oceans

From the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, Europe’s marine regions need
protection. To safeguard our shared oceans and seas, we will introduce a Seas
and Oceans Law to establish the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable seas
and oceans in a fair and equitable way. We demand a strategy that leads to a
clean and pollution-free ocean by 2030.

To protect access for local communities and protect marine ecosystems,
overfishing practices need to be stopped and alternative sustainable economic
models for coastal communities developed. It is not just about the amount of
fish we are catching but how we catch it, we will put an end to bottom trawling
practices that damage everything in their wake.

We will fight against deep-sea mining and call for a global moratorium. It is
high time to protect deep sea marine ecosystems. We will oppose any and all
expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration.

Securing Livelihoods for All

Our Green and Social Deal protects everyone’s, including and especially the most
vulnerable, right to life’s essentials: renewable energy and green transport,
decent housing and nutritious food, and quality education and care.

Renewable energy for all

Everyone should have access to sufficient, affordable, and renewable energy as a
basic right. 125 million people in the EU struggle to heat their homes with
women and older people disproportionately affected. Eliminating energy poverty
is an essential priority for the EU.

We support an Energy Guarantee to provide all households with a sufficient
amount of energy at an affordable price. Vulnerable groups will benefit from
targeted support, including for energy-saving investments, and no vulnerable
household will be cut off from their energy needs because of their inability to
pay. Consuming one’s own energy, sharing it with neighbours, and joining an
energy community must become an opportunity that all can benefit from.

Affordable housing for all

Housing is a right, not a commodity. Decent, comfortable housing that is warm in
winter and cool in summer should be accessible for all. On any given night,
there are 900,000 homeless people in the EU, while millions struggle with rising
rents in big cities and energy poverty linked to poor-quality housing – all
symptoms of chronic underinvestment in quality, well-insulated affordable and
social housing.

We must encourage and increase public and private investment in affordable
housing, including social housing. We support the introduction of rent control
in cities and regions where rents have exploded to become out of reach. As
achieved by several Green cities across the EU, we advocate limits on short-term
tourist rentals to keep rents down. We will keep fighting for the right of young
people to live in full independence.

We must take a European approach towards public housing policy, defining housing
as a basic right and protecting those who rent properties from exploitation. EU
funding for public housing must continue after the current Resilient and
Recovery Fund expires.

Warm in winter, cool in summer

We need an EU programme to renovate the homes of people facing the highest
energy bills on low incomes. A large-scale social energy renovation programme
can make sure everyone lives in a healthy and fossil-free home by 2040. 75% of
buildings are energy inefficient in Europe, responsible for 36% of carbon
emissions – a huge opportunity for improvement through renovation and
retrofitting.

Support needs to be available for all, with the bulk of financing targeting the
most vulnerable, and renovation must be cost-neutral for tenants. EU, member
state and private investment in rapid renovation will provide nicer, greener
places to live and create quality jobs. Our fiscal proposals will incentivize
public investment in green housing at the level of member states as well as
unlock private money to renovate Europe’s housing stock.

Healthy food for all

A shift to a sustainable, climate-friendly food system is imperative for people
in Europe to enjoy affordable, nutritious food for which producers are properly
remunerated. Many key risk factors of non-communicable diseases like cancer are
dietary. Our vision is that of connecting consumers and producers, empowering
people to make informed choices, and ensuring farmers get a fair price.

We will establish the right to food as a legal principle in EU legislation,
leading to dedicated social security mechanisms at national level that guarantee
access to healthy food while supporting local supply chains.

We will support small and ecological farming with massive investment. Millions
of Europeans have struggled with soaring food prices in recent years. No one
should go without healthy and sustainably produced food because it is too
expensive.

It is time to stop the speculation on food driving hunger globally. Our
financial transactions and windfall tax proposals will curb the speculation
driving up food prices for households.

Water is a right

Access to clean water should be guaranteed as a basic right. Water scarcity is
already costing billions each year, with farmers and low-income households among
the worst affected and the Mediterranean region particularly vulnerable. Urgent
action is needed to protect the right to water. We will take action using
existing EU legislation to protect vulnerable reserves and prioritize drinking
water over other uses.

Mobility justice for all

We want people to be able to get around easily and cheaply on sustainable public
transport. Mobility is crucial to everyone, every day. It connects people,
communities, and businesses, while traveling to see friends and family or for
leisure should be one of life’s pleasures.

Today, transport systems are stacked in favour of the wealthy and against people
and the planet. Working-class neighbourhoods suffer most from air and noise
pollution and poorly connected rural and suburban communities often have no
choice other than the car. High-emission transport is perversely subsidized, and
private jets are pushing emissions ever higher.

We will introduce a European Climate Ticket framework, so that every part of
Europe offers an affordable public transport pass easily used across different
modes of public transport. Young people, single-parent families and the elderly
should benefit from reduced fares.

Europe must invest in better public transport, safe and sustainable cycling
networks, and people-centric urban planning, for cities as well as rural
communities. As Europe phases out internal combustion engines, electric cars
will be part of reducing transport emissions, but a real response makes much
more room for public transport. To make electric cars affordable and create a
second-hand market, the EU should mandate their uptake in corporate fleets.

Connecting Europe with an Infrastructure Union

We need to massively increase investment in rail transport to literally connect
Europe as part of our Infrastructure Union. Rail infrastructure in many European
regions is in a state of disrepair and there is no high-speed rail coverage
whatsoever in much of Central and Eastern Europe. The EU must therefore
prioritize investment in the modernization and convergence of under-served
regions.

To promote sustainable long-distance travel, we will invest in night train
infrastructure and create a European Ticketing Platform to make booking cross-
border journeys on sustainable transport straightforward. Rural areas and poorly
connected regions will be prioritized in transport investments, including car-
sharing initiatives and ferries.

We will make sure that fairer prices show the real cost of polluting transport,
taxing air travel and fuel properly where efficient climate-friendly
alternatives cannot be put in place. We will reduce demand for flights,
introducing a frequent flyer levy, with exceptions for island regions, and
banning short-haul where alternatives are available. We will fight to introduce
a ban on private jets. We defend a just transition for all transport workers and
will protect workers and passengers through road safety measures and an EU-wide
speed limit.

Quality education for all

Accessible quality public education, training and lifelong learning should be
available to everyone in Europe, regardless of where they live or their wealth.
Education can equip our societies so they can overcome inequality, make progress
on the green transition, and stay at the forefront of science and culture. Jobs
in new green industries can only be filled if we have the people trained to do
them.

We have been ardent supporters of Erasmus+ since its inception and will
introduce an Erasmus Equality principle to make sure that learners who could not
otherwise afford Erasmus receive enough money to fully fund their time abroad.
Erasmus+ must be equally accessible for all, regardless of one’s country or
economic background.

Our Green and Social Deal will introduce a shared green education and training
project that helps connect schools, universities, and training centres to
connect learning institutions across Europe. Citizenship education about the EU,
including anti-extremism, anti-hate and anti-racism education, should be part of
curricula and non-formal education learning recognized at the EU level.
Education investments are a critical part of our proposals to finance the
transition, and need to give everybody the chance to learn and provide the
skills we need for the future.

Access to healthcare for all

Health is a public good to which everyone has a right. The pandemic was tragic
evidence that underinvestment, privatization, and the neglect of preventative
approaches put patients and health workers at risk, physically and mentally.

A European Health Union should make sure member states provide everyone in
Europe with universal health coverage. We will push to eliminate health
inequities and guarantee access to affordable medicines and treatment, including
for cancer and rare diseases, in ways that are inclusive to all parts of
society, especially the most vulnerable and racialized communities. No one in
Europe should feel forced to move to a different country because of unmet
healthcare needs. European legislation on universal health coverage will require
all member states to provide this essential social right.

The European Union should create an EU Health Force for cooperation on health
emergencies and disaster response. All policies should be looked at from a
health perspective.

A green society is a caring society

Society runs on care. It is our overlooked, undervalued and often unpaid
foundation. As Greens, we want to build a caring society and understand care as
an overarching priority and concept. As European societies get older, the
importance of care will grow, especially in those European countries that have
recently experienced major emigration.

Our Green and Social Deal is also a Care Deal. We will push to improve working
conditions for care workers, while protecting everyone’s right to proper care.
We will invest in comprehensive, life-long approaches, such as universal access
to early childhood education and care and deinstitutionalized care for disabled
people and the elderly. Early childhood education and care must be counted as
social investment in the EU fiscal framework.

Mental health is political

Our Universal Health Coverage will go beyond physical health and make sure that
public healthcare systems include mental health care with no additional costs
for individuals. Mental and physical health must have parity of esteem. To
tackle the mental health crisis, we recognize the need for inclusive,
comprehensive, preventive, and healing strategies that include culture and sport
as well as social and creative activities.

Legalize it – Time to rethink Europe's drug policy

Drug policy must be based on evidence, not prejudice. We advocate for drug
policies based on harm reduction, health, and help for people who suffer from
drug abuse, not punishment. As Greens, we work towards decriminalizing cannabis
for adult use with the goal of legalization and regulation whilst protecting
minors.

Building a Europe of Social Rights

Our Green and Social Deal will put people and their wellbeing at the centre of
Europe’s green transformation and economy. The social welfare state was one of
Europe’s biggest successes. Rebuilding that welfare state for the 21st century
is the only way to protect and extend social rights for everyone in Europe. A
Europe of Social Rights must empower and protect workers and communities in
transition and be inclusive to all. It must protect the people who face multiple
and intersectional forms of discrimination in their daily lives.

Decent jobs for all

European workers deserve a fair wage, especially after years of price rises. We
fight to end in-work poverty. In the last EU mandate, we won an EU-wide living
minimum wage framework that sets minimum wages at a decent level and indexes
them to the cost of living. We won measures on pay transparency that will help
end the huge pay discrepancies that exist within companies and institutions.

We are fighting for legislation that will recognize platform workers as workers,
with all the rights to minimum wages, collective bargaining, and employment
conditions and protection that workers are legally entitled to.

The jobs in the key sectors for the future from construction to care and from
energy to education must be well-paid jobs. We support the role of trade unions
in ensuring that workers get their fair share of profits. Our tax proposals will
increase take-home pay by shifting the tax burden to polluters and the ultra-
rich.

Fighting poverty comprehensively

Everyone has the right to a decent income. A strong social safety net should
protect people in employment transitions and those who cannot work. We call for
an EU framework directive on minimum income to establish an adequate level of
support (60% of the median income) in each EU country for people between jobs or
who cannot work and guarantee its coverage and take-up.

The short-term SURE unemployment insurance programme should be made permanent to
protect the livelihoods of workers affected by transition. We continue to demand
an integrated anti-poverty strategy for the EU to end homelessness and halve
child poverty by 2030.

Nothing about workers without workers

Our Green and Social Deal protects workers and their rights. We want to build a
Union where people are properly treated and paid for their work, especially the
essential workers who keep society running and everyone building the
infrastructure necessary for a green tomorrow.

There should be nothing about workers without workers. We will fight for the
rights of trade unions to organize, collective bargaining and strike. Workers
affected by the twin green and digital transitions should have guaranteed rights
to information, involvement through collective bargaining and social dialogue,
and training. Unionizing for new or non-standard forms of work should be
supported to guarantee the rights of all workers. These rights and standards
should be protected by a Just Transition Law. A Lifelong Learning Directive
should protect the right to paid training leave.

Fair labour mobility for all

Europe must enable and protect fair mobility of workers across borders, so no
one falls through the cracks of nationally fragmented social systems. To avoid
social dumping, social rights and access to the labour market must be ensured.
Administrative tasks should be possible in different languages, social services
should be open to mobile workers, and social coordination on EU level should be
fostered. The recognition of professional qualifications should be made easier.

Many EU countries are suffering from the consequences of massive emigration. The
economic and social convergence of EU countries must be a priority for EU
policymaking and investments to improve the quality of life and opportunity for
people across Europe.

New rights for the future of work

Work should take place on decent terms and in safe conditions. We will dismantle
the current system that exploits interns and trainees. We will end the practice
of unpaid internships so that young people are guaranteed proper pay and safe
working conditions. Mobile and migrant work should be properly regulated with
all such workers receiving decent and affordable accommodation.

Occupational health and safety measures must be updated for the reality of
climate change and enforced, such as rules on heatwaves and working in extreme
temperatures. Too much work causes stress and ill health. We will introduce
measures that reduce working time and improve work-life balance, including an EU
Right to Disconnect, Right to Remote Work, and flexibility in working hours. We
support the efforts across the EU to introduce a four-day working week. We will
not let workers be monitored by artificial intelligence-based surveillance
tools.

Equal pay for equal work

We will fight for equal pay for equal work and equal opportunities for all at
work. It is long overdue to fully eliminate the gender pay gap through binding
measures for all employers. The gender pay gap depends on factors such as
ethnicity, disability, access to education, and age. Different groups of women
experience very different gaps in pay. The fair mobility of workers should be
ensured to protect social rights, access to the labour market, and avoid social
dumping. Universal and equal access to childcare and long-term care facilities
and the revision of the Work-Life Balance Directive and the Maternity Leave
Directive can move Europe towards fully paid parental leave of equal and
sufficient duration.

Equal opportunities from the start

As the start of life is decisive, we demand adequate funding for the European
Child Guarantee giving time to care and resources to parents. At the same time,
we want to support parents’ participation in the labour market. All children
have the right to participate in play, recreation, sport and culture.

All children in the EU should have guaranteed access to high-quality care and
education – no matter their passport. We want to work with member states to
ensure that the direly needed investment in education and care infrastructure is
finally taken up.

An Economy that Works for All

The European Union is the key level for climate and environmental policy where
we make those crucial, shared decisions that steer European societies on a
greener path.

Thanks to the mobilisation of the climate movement, we Greens managed to push
for a European Green Deal in 2019 and put the climate crisis at the top of the
agenda. But progress is too little and too slow. The quicker Europe moves
forward with its green transition, the sooner our investments and efforts will
pay off. The climate will not wait for other crises to pass.

Our Green and Social Deal envisions a major investment plan to build a
prosperous and dynamic society based on climate neutrality, green industries and
technologies, and sustainable digitalisation.

Investing in a green and better future

Europe’s economic and fiscal policies need to focus on improving people’s
wellbeing and quality of life and maintaining a stable climate and a healthy
environment. In a break with the austerity of the past, Europe must enable
investment to fix the problems of the present and future. We will revise the
arbitrary limits of the Maastricht Criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact.
They have left Europe exposed to crises and cut public services and public
investments to the bone.

Instead, we will introduce a new wellbeing-based macroeconomic governance that
prioritizes quality investment in public goods and the green transition to avoid
further crises and their social consequences.

We call for the introduction of a Green Golden Rule and a reformed European
Semester to create space for future-oriented green and social investment.

We will revise the European Central Bank’s mandate to include employment,
climate, and environmental protection, alongside price stability. As fossil
fuels are vulnerable to price hikes and drive inflation, interest rates should
be lower for green investments.

Greening industry for our future competitiveness

The green transition is the challenge of our generation, and it will not be
achieved without active industrial policy. Greening industries through
investment in Europe is a huge opportunity in terms of both competitiveness and
climate neutrality.

We will push for a Green Transition Fund equivalent to 1% of EU GDP per year.
The backbone of our Infrastructure Union, it will fund green infrastructure
projects such as public transport and energy grid connections as well as
emerging green industries.

A key lever to fight deindustrialisation across the EU, this fund will support
member states with fewer economic resources and sectors affected by the
transition. EU-level investment is needed to protect the single market and win
political backing for the green transition in all EU countries.

EU industrial policy must be designed with the participation of citizens, trade
unions and businesses and not become a way of socializing the costs while
privatizing the profits. We will make sure that the public purse benefits from
the proceeds of investments in industries, for example through equity stakes.
Industrial policy should not be introduced at the expense of emissions
reductions and regulation. European support for research and development can
also contribute towards scientific and technological development, as well as
other societal goals, and should be increased.

Financing the Green and Social Deal

The money to finance this much-needed investment is there. We are convinced that
the EU can help channel it towards green and social investment. A mix of fiscal
policy, public investment, and private initiative will drive this change. A
fairer economic system requires a greater redistribution, a better use of public
funds, and that all actors in society play their part.

Creating a fair tax system

Europe needs a just tax system that takes the burden off workers and small
businesses and makes polluters, multinationals, and the ultra-rich pay their
fair share.

We will establish a minimum level for capital gains tax in the EU to rebalance
the tax burden away from employees. We will close the loopholes in the OECD
corporate minimum tax agreement and push EU member states to implement the
agreement at a higher level. Loopholes that leave room for tax avoidance and
evasion inside and outside the EU as well as fraud and money laundering will be
closed. We will fight against tax havens, be them in the EU or anywhere else in
the world.

The European Union requires greater budgetary resources to face our common
challenges. Europe must extend the carbon border tax to new polluting sectors,
apply the polluter pays principle across all sectors, and abolish free quotas
ahead of the current 2034 date. We will increase the scope of existing taxes on
plastics.

We will push to increase the size of the EU Social Climate Fund to ensure a just
transition for low-income households.

We call for an EU-wide wealth tax to fight inequality and finance the green
transition. In addition, we will push for a European Financial Transactions Tax
to generate revenue while curbing speculation. We will make the EU windfall tax
on energy companies permanent to prevent profiteering in future energy crises
and apply it to commodity traders and banks too.

Greening finance for real

We will regulate financial services to promote long-term investment in a green
and social future over short-term speculation. We will fight to revise the Green
Taxonomy to make sure that gas and nuclear are not greenwashed as “sustainable”.

Financial services for coal, oil and gas extraction, coal-fired energy projects,
and the companies that develop them must be prohibited with a Brown Taxonomy.
The continued development of high-emission activities jeopardizes the EU’s
climate and environmental commitments and increases financial risks.

We will oblige financial actors to adopt robust climate transition plans to
support their economic transition and enable a gradual transformation. Their
content and implementation must be regulated, with sectoral policies for the
highest-emitting activities and methods for setting decarbonization targets.

Stable and inclusive banking for Europe

Households should no longer end up lining the pockets of financial players
speculating on food, energy and housing or bear the fallout of financial
crashes. The EU needs to complete its much overdue banking union and introduce a
common deposit insurance system.

The European Central Bank should offer a public digital euro to offer an
alternative to private payment systems, crypto-currency markets should be
properly regulated, including their environmental impacts, and the right of
people to access and use cash should be protected as a matter of inclusion.

Closing the loop with a circular economy

Produce, consume, and throw away – the economy of our society leads to the
exploitation of resources beyond the limits of our planet. If we do nothing to
change this, we will need three Earths by 2050 to satisfy our need for raw
materials. This linear model fuels the climate crisis, environmental
destruction, and human rights violations in resource extraction. It leaves our
supply chains vulnerable to crises and our economies and businesses dependent on
imports.

Waste must become a design flaw. We want to build a fully renewable, fully
circular, and non-toxic economy by 2040 with clear and binding targets and
transition pathways to reduce consumption and resource use by 2030.

As the green transition requires growing amounts of metals, we must adopt a
sufficiency approach and prioritize the development of processing and recycling
capacities for strategic materials.

If extraction in the EU proves to be unavoidable despite demand curbs, we must
impose the highest environmental and social standards. There should be no ground
for exemption of any EU legislation or human and environmental rights
conditions, strict and irreversible “no-mining” areas, and continuous effort to
improve mining techniques and corresponding working conditions (including safety
and health coverage) and ban of most harmful ones. Affected communities –
particularly Europe’s last indigenous community, the Sami people – must receive
early information, participation, consent, and fair compensation.

Zero waste is the business model of the future

Our vision is a fully circular economy where we reuse, upcycle, share, and
recycle our products to keep the materials in a closed loop. This approach
protects resources and the climate and saves money for consumers as products
last longer. Environmental and consumer protection go hand in hand. As Greens,
we will push for the fast implementation of the mandatory sustainability
requirements for our products and for EU action to ensure industry compliance.

We will fight the planned obsolescence that is devastating to the planet as well
as the budget of households. We will make sure that an effective and affordable
right to repair, including an EU-wide repair score and an open repair market for
independent repairers and consumers, is properly introduced so it makes a real
difference. We will support the creation of an internal market for second hand
goods and refurbishment. We want new technical standards such as the common
charger incentivizing our product’s durability, paving the way to our vision of
a zero-waste society, and ending waste exports to third countries.

Building a social and collaborative economy

This vision of our economy is dynamic and circular where the small and medium-
sized businesses (SMEs) that form the backbone of Europe’s economy thrive
alongside new models of community, social and collaborative economies.

SMEs should operate on a level playing field with large companies. We will
facilitate their access to EU funding and investment programmes through
simplified application procedures. With fixed quotas, we ensure that SMEs also
benefit from these programmes.

The power of sustainable public procurement should be unlocked to foster high
ecological and social standards. European regulation should enable alternative
economic models such as cooperatives, crowdfunding, social entrepreneurship, and
the commons.

Sustainable digitization for the people and the planet

Digital technologies are an ever-more important part of our lives; they should
protect the rights of individuals and serve the common good, not private
corporations. Caught between US surveillance capitalism and China-style state
control, Europe needs a rights-based, decentralized approach to digitalization
to reap its benefits.

We will introduce a European Data Space that opens anonymized social data for
non-commercial uses that serve the common good, including the fight against
climate change.

Interoperability is key to successful digital policy. The European
Interoperability Framework is a good starting point, but it does not yet create
a level-playing field. We will push to open standardization to developers, civil
society and small and medium-sized enterprises. Their involvement must be paid
so that everyone can equally participate in this process on an equal footing.

If truly open and with rights protected by legislation, digitalization will be
an opportunity for people in Europe. Recent EU legislation will provide greater
choice and transparency online, protecting against violations of rights and
freedoms. However, the EU needs to introduce a Digital Fairness Act to protect
people from intrusive online advertising practices.

As well as reuse and recycling of digital devices, we will cut the energy
consumption linked to data processing and cryptocurrency by regulation to
massively reduce the internet’s material footprint.

Continuing a success story: protecting European consumers

Strong consumer protections such as roaming rights and passengers’ rights and
product safety measures are major successes of the single market. But with the
economy changing fast, the EU’s high standards need an urgent update to protect
people, especially online.

Consumers should enjoy the same rights online and offline. With an increasing
share of e-commerce involving potentially unsafe purchases directly from third-
party sellers, we are calling for greater responsibility on online marketplaces
and extended and coordinated approval and testing procedures by customs and
market surveillance authorities.

As Greens, we will make sure that people receive clear and comprehensive
information about the environmental impact of products and services sold in the
EU, including information on expected product lifespan and its environmental
footprint. In the single market, there must be no first- or second-class
consumers. Products marketed in the same way in different European countries
must be of the same quality and composition. Consumer rights should be upheld
fully everywhere in the EU.