Democracy

As the different European Parties unveil their election manifestos, we can see real differences in the direction that each of them want to take Europe over the coming years. The voters will have a real choice in next month’s European Parliament election.

Greens are impatient people. The sentiment of urgency has been fuelling their calls for radical change over the past four decades.

One of the primary conclusions of the past five years is that the days of “easy politics” are gone, we have moved to an era of “hard politics.”

A referendum to pedestrianise a street in Vienna, though successful, forced to Greens to examine their narrative for creating a greener city. How do they build support among those who are still suspicious of what a green transformation can offer?

Greens need to forge a broad alliance against neoliberalism with some unexpected allies, such as the coal miners. Ahead of COP 19 which takes place this year in Warsaw, Poland how can the green movement in Poland move forward?

The mistakes of the campaign should be a chance for the Greens to learn and develop a new story. Ten theses are presented to start the discussion.

When looking at the disappointing result for the Greens in last week’s German elections, can some of the blame be placed on them downplaying their long-standing position as the pro-Europe party?

In 2010 the Flemish nationalists became the largest party in the Belgian Federal Parliament for the first time. Does the rise in electoral support for the N-VA herald the end of the state of Belgium or can the country continue to adapt?

After considerable research and deliberation, the German political foundation Heinrich Boell Stiftung published its report “Strength and Solidarity” which puts forward a series of proposals in areas such as foreign and security; agricultural; energy; economics and monetary and enlargement policy. The report aims to facilitate discussion within the European Green movement. This is an extract of the report.

Using examples from her own home, Corfu, Vera Koronaki describes the reasons why we need solidarity, both in Europe as well as beyond, and the steps that we can take to achieve it.