Reinhard Bütikofer

Reinhard Bütikofer is the Co-Chair of the European Green Party, since 2012. He is a Member of the European Parliament and former leader of Alliance 90/The Greens in Germany. He is Vice-Chair of the delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China as well as member of the Delegation to the United States. In the Parliament he is also a substitute member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and delegated Chair of the AFET Working Group on External Financing Instruments (WG EFI). He is also a board member of the Green European Foundation.

Articles

01.07.2021
Europe’s Foreign Policy: A Catalogue of Errors

In a volatile world, the EU needs to restore its damaged credibility on foreign relations and find ways to assert its power.

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09.11.2020
Biden’s Victory Is a Glimmer of Hope

Biden’s victory is a vindicating one for many, not least for grassroots movements. Despite the rhetoric of reconciliation, Trumpism is here to stay.

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28.06.2018
“Security cannot simply be delegated to the military”

An interview with Co-chair of the European Green Party Reinhard Bütikofer on the new European Defence Fund and the state of security in the EU.

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11.01.2018
‘What we have achieved has to become the benchmark’ – Interview with Reinhard Bütikofer

Why the Jamaica coalitions talks with Merkel failed and where things will go from here.

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09.01.2018
‘Now we have to see where viable bridges can be built’ – Interview with Reinhard Bütikofer

Last November, we spoke with German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer on the Jamaica coalition talks.

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01.07.2016
We Owe the European Dream to Citizens

The European Union is far from perfect – from a Green perspective – yet at times when it is threatened, we must rally to its defence as an idea and as a project.

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04.04.2016
Hope and ‘Heimat’: Do Greens Have a Vision That Can Work?

Green Parties in Europe have undergone astonishing growth and development over the past decades, but has the time now come to ask ‘Quo vadis’? An interview with Reinhard Bütikofer and Catherine Larrère by Michel Genet.

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18.05.2015
The Myth of the European Army

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.

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01.03.2015
The EU and South East Asia – Why Europe Needs to Become an Active Player

Beset by the crises occurring internally and in its immediate neighbourhood, the EU has neglected its relations with South East Asia. This is a major shortcoming, since that region is becoming the epicentre of global relations and will play an increasingly important role for international security.

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01.01.2014
Financing a Green Industrial Transformation

If we want to put finance on a leash with smart regulation, Greens must take the wind out of their opponent’s sails by having policies that simultaneously unleash finance and restore lending into the real economy and, above all, into a green industrial transformation.

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01.10.2013
Towards a Green renaissance of European industry

A debate between Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and Reinhard Bütikofer, MEP and co-chair of the European Green Party.

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01.10.2013
European Industry Needs to RISE!

Can Europe’s economy remain competitive without a low-carbon transformation? The answer is a clear ‘no’. How then can we achieve such a reality? Only through a clear change in Europe’s budget priorities and a range of innovative measures.

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19.04.2013
Step up to the Plate

Following President Obama’s State of the Union, negotiations will shortly commence on the will be known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US. Some claim such a deal will create 2 million jobs, but reaching agreement will be difficult and to succeed the EU needs to identify what its priorities are.

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01.12.2012
Next challenges for the European Greens

In the 2009 European Parliament elections, the Green Group of MEPs won 13 more seats to become the 4th largest group. However when the European Parliament faces elections again in 2014, the political environmental will be vastly different. How to the Greens repeat their success of 2009 in such a situation? The Green European Journal talks to European Green Party Co-Chair Reinhard Bütikofer about his plans.

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