Greens proud of historic European party

By Martin Banks

Date: 26/02/04

THE newly launched European Green Party wants to break through the 40-seat barrier in June's elections to the European Parliament.

Lack of representation, and therefore influence, is a major problem for the Greens across Europe. Enlargement is unlikely to boost their numbers in poorer countries, where ecological concerns are not topping the political agenda - a setback the Greens will have to confront at the next polls, the first in which citizens from 25 member states will take part.

Only in Germany are they in national government, although the party now has its first government leader following the appointment last Friday of Indulis Emsis as prime minister in the Latvian coalition government.

They hope that by creating a single party and speaking with one voice in Europe they can make their efforts more effective.

The groundbreaking European Green Party (which succeeds the Federation of European Green Parties) was launched at a three-day congress (20-22 February) at Rome's Auditorium Parco della Musica.

The launch was rich in history: the actual charter-signing ceremony took place on Sunday at the Campidoglio, Rome's Town Hall, where the EU-founding Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957.

Observers say this party "baptism ceremony" resembled a Eurovision song contest as it staged delegates from 32 parties across 29 European countries (including Russia and Ukraine).

One of the party's 'godfathers', Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-leader of the Greens in the Parliament, gave a galvanizing speech in four European languages to tell his fellows they were "making history".

The party, which will be fielding around 300 candidates in the European elections, immediately set itself a target of increasing its number of MEPs from the current 35 to a minimum of 40. Meanwhile, the Greens' alliance with the nine-strong European Free Alliance group (EFA) in the Parliament will continue.

Cohn-Bendit, who will head the election campaign with joint Greens/EFA leader Monica Frassoni, said the new party will run a common election campaign on an agenda of traditional Green issues, including environmental protection, social justice, governed globalization and sustainable development.

Cohn-Bendit, who is a committed federalist, hopes that the new party will attract federal-leaning MEPs who may be seeking a new political home.

As the first genuinely pan-European political force, the party wants to show its belief in creating a stronger EU - more independent on the world stage, Cohn-Bendit said.

"There are strong Green parties in Europe and relatively weak parties, but the fact that we have formed a common party and will be running a common election campaign is a sign of our overall strength, not weakness.

"The Greens are the only party to take Europe seriously, but to take part fully in the European project it was no longer feasible for us to function as an ad hoc coalition of national delegations.

"It was necessary for us to become a united party, a step other political parties in Europe are too scared and weak to do."

He explained the party's transformation was not merely cosmetic - for the first time, a European movement would carry a single campaign with the same programme and people, he said.

Cohn-Bendit readily acknowledges the differences in history and current policies of the 32 Green groups that make up the new party.

The Scandinavians and British Greens, for instance, are much more Eurosceptic than the German Greens. And there are also differing views on how to deal with expansion of the EU. But the group's new co-speaker, Grazia Francescato, leader of the Italian Green party, said the important thing was to be united on key issues.

She said: "You cannot imagine how hard it was to put together 32 parties because, of course, the concept of environment is different in Georgia than, say, Finland. "So what we have achieved makes us proud because we've tried to accept each other's diversity and not impose one pan-European idea on everyone."

Delivering a keynote speech before 1,300 members at the congress, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer tried to galvanize Europe's Greens into a united force: "It is fitting the Greens are launching the first real European party, as the Greens were also the first party to take Europe seriously."

Fischer pleaded passionately for a stronger role for the EU on the world scene. "The world will not wait for Europe," he warned, urging a quick adoption of the European constitution.

The first step in the new party's election campaign comes next Thursday (4 March) when it unveils its election slogan - and its "dream team" of 11 senior MEPs and observer members, officially starts campaigning across the 25 states.

Feature looks at the new European Green Party, an attempt to create a genuine pan-European political party. EGP replaces the Federation of European Green Parties.

• Primary Source

http://www.europeangreens.org/info/policy/manifesto04.pdf http://www.europeangreens.org/info/policy/manifesto04.pdf

http://www.europeangreens.org/ http://www.europeangreens.org/

http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/greens-proud-of-historic-european-party/49333.aspx http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/greens-proud-of-historic-european-party/49333.aspx

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