The Class of 2009 Green Visions for Europe
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THE CLASS OF 2009 GREEN VISIONS FOR EUROPE GREEN VISIONS FOR EUROPE To the surprise of many opinion pollsters and political com- master the many difficult challenges ahead: the tackling of mentators it became clear late in the evening of 7 June 2009 climate change; the response to the financial and economic that the real winners in the European elections were the crisis; the expansion of the EU’s enlargement process; the Greens. They were the only political group in the European further democratisation of the European institutions; the THE CLASS OF 2009 Parliament that had managed to increase their number of development of a humane migration policy; the protection seats. Few would have forecast this even a few days before. of civil rights and the strengthening of the role of the EU Indeed many would have seen maintaining the same number as an actor in foreign and security policy, to name just a of seats as a victory. As it was, the new European Parliament few. The European Union office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung saw not 35 Green members but 46. The new Green Group is has invited eleven new Green Members of the European driven by a strong French-German motor and by the enthu- Parliament from five different countries to write about their siasm of many new, many young parliamentarians. They will ambitions for Europe. What are the goals of the new Greens need perseverance, imagination and a sense of reality to and how do they want to achieve them? Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, Brussels 15 Rue d’Arlon – B-1050 Brussels – Belgium P +32 2 743 41 00 F (+32) 2 743 41 09 E [email protected] W www.boell.eu THE CLASS OF 2009 GREEN VISIONS FOR EUROPE Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Published by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, European Union, Brussels Printed in Belgium, December 2009 © The authors and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, European Union,Brussels All rights reserved German-English translation and English language editing: Margaret Cameron Proof-reading, sub-editing and general assistance: Yazgülü Zeybek Text editing, coordination and final editing: Marianne Ebertowski Production: Micheline Gutman Cover photographs: Group: © European Parliament; Eva Joly: © Xavier Cantat; Jan Philipp Albrecht: © Jan Philipp Albrecht D/2009/11.850/4 Other photographs: © with the authors, unless stated otherwise The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, European Union, Brussels. This publication can be ordered at: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, European Union,Brussels 15 Rue d’Arlon B-1050 Brussels Belgium P (+32) 2 743 41 00 F (+32) 2 743 41 09 E [email protected] W www.boell.eu CONTENTS FOREWORD 4 INTRODUCTION 7 Helmut Weixler: Election success is our mandate – what the Greens will need to achieve by 2014 1. Jan Philipp Albrecht: For a Europe of citizens’ rights 13 2. Marije Cornelissen: Toward a flexible social society 20 3. Heidi Hautala: Mainstreaming human rights in EU institutions and policies 26 4. Judith Sargentini: Making the most of labour migration 32 5. Sven Giegold: Financial markets and the Green New Deal: a shift to the long term 38 6. Martin Häusling: Green agricultural policy: the wider perspective 45 7. Isabelle Durant: Transport must cease to live on environmental credit 49 8. Bas Eikhout: Climate change: the need for resource efficiency 53 9. Franziska Brantner: The EU as a global force for peace, development and 59 the promotion of human rights 10. Ska Keller: Enlargement fatigue? – No thank you! 65 11. Eva Joly: Toward a more efficient development policy 71 4 THE CLASS OF 2009 GREEN VISIONS FOR EUROPE FOREWORD There are many different ways of getting involved achieve them often passionately contested. What in Green politics and mine was certainly very kept them together was a common feeling of eco- different. In 1987 I was director of a Belgian cater- logical responsibility, environmental preservation ing company in Brussels and, in that capacity, and the search for an alternative economy and responsible for the menus in the restaurant of the society. The established parties and the institu- European Parliament. Every day we had to sup- tional bureaucracy watched the newcomers with ply 700 meals in 90 minutes taking into account suspicion. The somewhat motley crew, bizarrely the varying tastes of twelve nationalities. We were dressed and coiffed, ‘desecrated’ the sacred halls also boycotting South-African products. As if this of the European Parliament by organising con- was not already difficult enough, a staff mem- ferences on racial equality, gay rights, AIDS and ber of the Greens one day entered our kitchen the rights of prostitutes and did not even shrink requesting that a vegetarian dish be added to from inviting the target groups into the shrine of the daily menu. This was outrageous! I was not European democracy. The establishment was amused and neither was the chef. The Green appalled; some – to their credit – were amused would not give in. In the end, I did but it took and even curious. These were tough and exciting me seven long months to persuade the chef. I times for Green politics. It was also a period of dragged him to all the vegetarian restaurants then learning, not only from each other but also from in Brussels, each one even more esoteric than the the initially despised establishment. Sometimes last, and it cost me innumerable bottles of wine everything seemed to sink into chaos (the ‘rota- to whip up his enthusiasm for meatless cooking. tion system’ only contributed to the general In the end, the chef surrendered. Since then the hullabaloo) but, in the end, reason almost always European Parliament restaurant has always fea- prevailed. After five years, the first Green Group tured a vegetarian course on the menu and I have bowed out with dignity. They had come of age and been hooked on Green politics. they had made a difference – not only regarding the menu! The scepticism of the establishment In those days the Greens were a rather chaotic lot: towards the ‘intruders’ had declined. After all, the seven Germans, two Dutch and two Belgians, if I sacred walls of the parliament were still standing remember correctly. In fact, their exact number – even though they had become more permeable was hard to tell, because every Green Member of – and some of the Greens had proved to be hard Parliament had to share his or her term of office workers and had earned the respect of their col- with a designated successor (Nachrücker), a rota- leagues. The next Green Group in the European tion system nobody in their right mind could Parliament were able to enter a period of consoli- actually understand. They called themselves the dation, even though their political ambitions and Green Alternative European Link (GRAEL) and, attitude towards the European Community were being too few in number to be recognised as a par- still far from clearly defined. liamentary group, they had to join the Rainbow Group, another exotic ensemble encompassing In the 1989 elections the Green parties won 26 various regionalists as well as the Danish People's seats, an astonishing breakthrough. The del- Movement against the European Community. The egations from Germany (7) and France (8) were German presence in the Green Group was pre- almost equally strong and the South was repre- eminent and at times even suffocating for the sented by four Italians (from two different Green representatives of the smaller countries; Green parties) and members from Spain and Portugal. attitudes towards the European Community, its The Greens were now big enough to separate institutions and policies were unclear; common from the Rainbow Group and form their own par- goals were hard to define, strategies on how to liamentary group under the name Green Group. Foreword 5 The activism of the first five years diminished as integration and Green members took an active the Greens became more involved in the nuts and part in the Convention that drafted the ill-fated bolts of parliamentary work. When the Wall and European constitution. the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, the Green Group actively promoted the swift deepening of relations In the 2009 elections, the Greens emerged, unex- with the countries of central and eastern Europe. pectedly, as winners. Even though there are still In November 1993, when the Maastricht treaty no Green members from central and eastern entered into force and the European Community Europe and southern Europe is clearly under-rep- turned into the European Union, the Greens resented, the EGP member parties won 46 seats, seemed ready to embrace the European project. their best ever result. The new Green Group is They had understood that social, environmen- driven by a strong French-German motor and by tal and other issues could be best addressed at the enthusiasm of many new, young parliamen- European level. tarians. They will need perseverance, wisdom, imagination and a sense of reality to master the When my professional life brought me back to many difficult challenges ahead: climate change; Brussels on that memorable day in September the financial and economic crises; the expan- 2001 that has gone down in history as 9/11, sion of the EU’s enlargement process; the further Europe was well on the way to reunification. democratisation of the European institutions; a East and West Germany had become one and humane migration policy; the protection of civil the ex-communist countries of central and east- rights and the role of the EU as an actor in foreign ern Europe were knocking at the door of the and security policy.