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Myths endure because they create an outstanding surface upon which a range of ideas can be projected. The idea of a European army is no different. It has long been a repository for a wide array of concepts and goals for a flamboyant vision. Yet anyone who tries to grasp this pretty soap bubble ends up disappointed: It slips away or bursts.

It was a pleasure to keep counting the Green vote and realising that we have a lot to celebrate: Caroline Lucas’ well-deserved win, Darren Hall’s massive increase in the Green vote, and the fact that the #GreenSurge held fast and delivered over 1 million votes for the Greens across the UK in spite of an electoral system stacked against us.

The European Union can find a democratic revival by supporting social innovation and by extension contribute significantly to the ecological transition. That is the primary conclusion of the framing paper that was just published by Professor Olivier De Schutter in preparation for the Francqui International Conference that will take place on May 8-9th, 2014 in Brussels.

It is deeply concerning that the Croatian government wants to return to the fossil era. And not only because oil drilling in the Adriatic threatens tourism, one of the most lucrative branches of the Croatian economy, which regularly contributes around 15% or more to the annual GDP.

It was just the four of us: all women, Mediterranean, and “differently green.” The purpose of our trip was to better understand the inner workings of the newly elected Greek government, and to see how the Greek Greens were faring as junior partner in the Syriza government.

The European Union has to revive its alleged climate leadership, build up trust and confidence, and form coalitions in order to make the 2015 Climate Summit (COP21) in Paris a success. Together, the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries make up almost one third of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. An alliance between Europe and Latin America could revive and lead the negotiations towards a fair and ambitious global climate deal in Paris.

In Serbia, there is an increasing sense among many citizens that prior to democracy citizens life was better and people felt more secure. Apart from certain minimum standards such as holding elections, democracy in Serbia still has a long way to go. Now the question is, should we so easily give up on our hard-won freedom?

The numbers of deaths in Syria and Iraq are deeply disturbing. But the numbers create the false impression that civilians are merely victims of violent conflict, passively waiting to be overwhelmed by violence or exhaustion.

“War,” said the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, is the “father of all things.” In view of the bloody – indeed barbaric – events in the Middle East (and in Iraq and Syria in particular), one might be tempted to agree, even though such ideas no longer seem to have a place in the postmodern worldview of today’s Europe.

Major global conflicts are not resolved in the Dutch Parliament. Nor is The Hague the centre of the world. The Netherlands’ influence is determined by the extent to which it collaborates with other countries. GroenLinks therefore needs to look across the border when defining its position on military intervention. The opinions of our allies should be taken into account.