58-734: The European Green Party ( EGP ), also referred to as European Greens , is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) parliamentary group in the European Parliament which is formed by elected Green party members along with the European Free Alliance , European Pirate Party and Volt Europa . The European Greens' partners include its youth wing
116-631: A European party" primarily if they are members of a European party's national member parties. As a result, many European parties have more MEPs than they have individual members. Member parties are national political parties with some form of membership described in the statutes of the European political party. In its November 2020 ACRE v Parliament ruling, the General Court of the European Union clarified that political parties outside of
174-476: A European party's reimbursable expenditure (referred to as the "co-financing rate"); this means that European parties were required to raise 25% of their budget from specific private sources ("own resources"), such as donations or member contributions. Regulation 2004/2003 also introduced transparency obligations, limitations on donations, and prohibitions on spending, including a ban on the direct or indirect funding of national parties and candidates. The Regulation
232-633: A collective vote, others do not provide them with voting rights at all. Below is the number of individual members per European party, as reported by the European Parliament: Final amounts of public funding to European parties for 2021 European parties use public and private funding to finance their activities; public funding refers exclusively to funding from the general budget of the European Union , and cannot directly come from Member States or third countries, or entities under their control. With regards to public funding, each year,
290-511: A limited role. The APPF monitors donations and contributions to European political parties, and publishes a yearly list of political donors. Article 6 of Regulation 1141/2014 empowers the APPF to impose sanctions on European parties, as detailed in Article 27. The APPF can deregister a European political party if: The APPF can apply financial sanctions to a European party if: Additionally,
348-517: A member "requires a genuine membership link with the European political party", which includes "a full range of rights and obligations [...] in particular voting/participation/access to documents" and "an appropriate membership fee". There is no legal definition of what constitutes individual membership, leading European parties to define them differently. A common trait is their absence of, or limited, input in party decision-making; some parties comprise internal bodies representing individual members with
406-508: A new category of "own resources", allowing European parties to raise private funding from specific economic activities, such as seminar fees or publication sales; funding from this new category would be capped at 5% of European parties' budget. Finally, it proposed allowing European parties to receive contributions from national member parties located in non-EU members of the Council of Europe . The European Parliament's AFCO Committee criticised
464-846: A number of changes, including the following: In March 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 2019/493, which further amended Regulation 1141/2014. Changes focused mostly on the use of personal data by European political parties and foundations. The modalities of the implementation of the Regulation were later updated by the Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 1 July 2019. In June 2021, in line with Article 38 of Regulation 1141/2014, MEPs Charles Goerens ( ALDE ) and Rainer Wieland ( EPP ) of
522-539: A proportional system with subdivision of the territory into constituencies. Denmark , France , West Germany , Greece , Luxembourg and the Netherlands used a single national proportional system, although in the case of Denmark Greenland had its own constituency with the allocation of one seat and in the case of West Germany the three seats for the West Berlin area were not directly elected but were chosen by
580-530: The 2019 European Parliament election were Ska Keller and Bas Eickhout , who campaigned for climate protection, a social Europe, more democracy and stronger rule of law. That year, the Greens made the strongest ever showing across Europe, in part due to rising public awareness about climate change and the impact of youth movements for climate. The strongest surge was in Germany as Alliance 90/The Greens replaced
638-587: The Berlin House of Representatives , given the particular status of the city . The number of seats was the same as before for each member state that took part in the 1979 election. Greece, which had joined in 1981, was allocated 24 new seats. This raised the number of seats to 434 from 410. The Socialists increased their share by six seats to 130 seats, up from 124 before the elections. The Democratic Alliance (formerly Progressive Democrats) also made gains, up by seven to 29 seats. The People's Party's,
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#1732775876985696-536: The European Union (EU). They are regulated and funded by EU Regulation 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, and their operations are supervised by the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations (APPF). European political parties – mostly consisting of national member parties, and few individual members – have
754-836: The Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG), the Green European Foundation (GEF) and the Global Greens family. Green parties are in government in seven countries in Europe: Austria ( The Greens ), Belgium ( Groen and Ecolo ), Bulgaria ( Green Movement ), Germany ( Alliance 90/The Greens ), the Republic of Ireland ( Green Party ), Latvia ( The Progressives ) and Poland , ( Zieloni / Civic Coalition ) Spain ( Catalunya en Comú / Sumar ). The European Greens have committed themselves to
812-539: The recast procedure. The Commission's document proposes a definition of political advertising, strengthens provisions on gender balance, clarifies the requirements for the display of the logo of the European political party by its member parties, and extends the obligation to comply with EU values to member parties. With regards to funding, this proposal retained the European Parliament's suggestion to lower European parties' co-financing rate (decreasing it from 10% down to 5%, and down to 0% in election years). It also included
870-737: The 1970s. Environmental groups became especially political after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which strengthened groups such as the Italian Green Party . In the Netherlands, feminists dominated GroenLinks party. Elements of all these national parties would go on to form the European Green Party. Representatives from these and other parties sat in the European Parliament after the 1984 European Parliament election . The following 11 members of this grouping, which
928-612: The EGP are the Council and the Committee. [REDACTED] Mar Garcia (from January 2015) The EGP hosts a collection of networks that have specific special interest focus, including: The table below shows the results of the Greens in each election to the European Parliament, in terms of seats and votes. It also shows how many European Commissioners the European Greens have, and who led the parliamentary group. It also lists how
986-522: The EPP, opened the door to collaboration with the far right. The European Green Party is a European political party , constituted out of political parties from European countries. Parties can also become associate members. Members of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament not belonging to a member party can be admitted as a special member with speaking rights but no vote. The governing bodies of
1044-527: The EU could not be regarded as political parties within the meaning of Regulation 1141/2014, because they were not composed of Union citizens. In its guidance, the APPF that European parties "are free to cooperate with parties or organisations by means of ancillary forms of association (e.g., observers, partners, associates, affiliates)", but only a member can be claimed to meet the registration criteria, and only they can provide member contributions. Being considered
1102-562: The European Commission. In May they presented a common programme including the Green New Deal at the launch of the European Greens' campaign which called for "a new direction of economic policy aimed at reducing our carbon footprint and improving our quality of life". The slogan of the campaign was 'Change Europe, vote Green'. The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament obtained 50 seats in total. The candidates for
1160-624: The European Parliament allocates a total amount of money to fund European political parties qualifying for European public funding: 10% of this amount is distributed via a lump sum, allocated equally to all qualifying European parties, while 90% is distributed in proportion to each party's share MEPs. For the financial year 2025, European political parties were allocated a total of €46 million. Depending on their own application for European public funding and on their amount of "reimbursable expenses", European parties may in fine receive less than their maximum allocation. European public funding accounts for
1218-539: The European Parliament may exclude a European party from future public funding for up to 10 years if it has engaged in illegal activities detrimental to the financial interests of the Union, or has omitted information or provided false or misleading information. For "non-quantifiable infringements", the financial sanction ranges from 5 to 20% of the annual budget of the European political party, and 50% of its annual budget when it has engaged in illegal activities detrimental to
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#17327758769851276-458: The European Parliament secured 55 seats in total. In the 2014 European Parliament election , the Green candidates were José Bové and Ska Keller . These elections marked the first time there were primaries including Spitzenkandidaten at the European elections, which allows Europeans to not only vote for who should represent them in the European Parliament, but also help to decide who should lead
1334-478: The European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) presented a draft report on the implementation of the Regulation. With regards to funding, the draft report called on the Commission and co-legislators to clarify the definition of indirect funding from European political parties and foundations to national member parties, remove the ban on financing referendum campaigns on European issues, allow
1392-626: The European level without meeting the criteria for registration or wishing to register. They differ by their level of integration, their purpose, and their membership. Some are strongly centralised and resemble national parties but operating across Europe, such as Volt Europa or DieM25 ; they are often referred to or refer to themselves as "transnational parties" or "movements", and sometimes erroneously as "European parties". 1984 European Parliament election Piet Dankert SOC Pierre Pflimlin EPP The 1984 European Parliament election
1450-561: The Functioning of the European Union (at the time, the "Treaty establishing the European Economic Community") to explicitly allow the funding of European political parties from the budget of the European Union. The new paragraph stated that "the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251, shall lay down the regulations governing political parties at European level and in particular
1508-458: The Green parliamentary group and supra-national organisations was named and what European parliamentary group they joined. European political party A European political party , known formally as a political party at European level and informally as a Europarty , is a type of political party organisation operating transnationally in Europe and within the institutions of
1566-591: The Netherlands met in Luxembourg and founded the European People's Party . In 1992, Section 41 of the Treaty of Maastricht added Article 138a to the Treaty of Rome . Article 138a (the so called party article ) stated that "Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of
1624-544: The activities of European parties and foundations starting with the financial year 2018. Since then, applications for public funding are placed with the APPF, but decisions on funding remain with the European Parliament. In May 2018, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 2018/673, which amended Regulation 1141/2014 by detailing provisions relating to the registration of political parties and foundations, and transparency regarding political programmes and party logos. Among others, Regulation 2018/673 introduced
1682-514: The audience that a collaboration with the ECR "depends very much on how the composition of the Parliament is, and who is in what group." Numerous analyses in European quality media consider this as a win for the Greens and the turning point of the 2024 election campaign. The European Greens criticised heavily that von der Leyen, as incumbent president of the European Commission and lead candidate for
1740-449: The basic tenets of Green politics as seen across Western Europe, namely environmental responsibility , climate action, individual freedom , inclusive democracy , diversity , social justice , gender equality , global sustainable development and non-violence . The European Greens was the first party to form out of various national movements to become a European entity, committed to the integration of Europe. The party aims to amplify
1798-514: The centre of today's political agenda". Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout were elected by the European Greens to be lead candidates for the 2024 European Parliament election. The campaign ran under the slogan "Choose Courage". They were elected by more than 300 delegates at an Extended Congress in Lyon, France in February 2024. The campaign is focused on a Green and Social Deal, and the fight against
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1856-513: The centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany as the second-strongest party. The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament obtained 74 seats in total. The Greens' results signified a new balance of power as the European People's Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) lost their majority. By 2023, The Economist analysed that "the policies espoused by environmentalists sit squarely at
1914-420: The citizens of the Union", thus officially recognising the existence of European political parties. In 1997, the Treaty of Amsterdam established who should pay for expenditure authorised by the party article (renumbered Article 191). This provided a mechanism whereby European parties could be paid out of the budget of the European Union, and European parties started to spend the money. Such expenditure included
1972-417: The debate on European issues, organising conferences, and carrying out research, and linking like-minded national political foundations. Finally, the revised regulation explicitly allows European parties to finance campaigns conducted for elections to the European Parliament. In October 2014, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 1141/2014, which replaced Regulation 2004/2003 and overhauled
2030-436: The decision of the European Commission to opt for the recast method, which effectively limits discussions to the provisions of the Regulation which the Commission has decided to modify and prevents a wider review of the Regulation. In March 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted a political agreement (its own negotiating position). In July 2022, the European Parliament's AFCO Committee adopted its own position, which
2088-1006: The enlargement of the European Community to Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, the enlarged Socialist congress met in Bonn and inaugurated the Confederation of the Socialist Parties of the European Community . In March 1976, the Federation of Liberal and Democrat Parties in Europe was founded in Stuttgart by parties from Denmark, France, Germany Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. A few months later, in July, party representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, and
2146-494: The financial interests of the Union. For "quantifiable infringements", the financial sanction ranges from 100 to 300% of the irregular sums received or not reported, up to a maximum of 10% of the party's annual budget. In October 2023, the APPF sanctioned the Identity and Democracy Party for "intentionally providing incorrect information about its board composition to the public". The financial sanction applied amounted to 5% of
2204-417: The first official definition of European political parties and created a framework for their public funding. This framework provided that, out of a total envelope for European parties, 15% would be distributed equally (the lump sum), and 85% would be distributed in proportion to each party's number of members of the European Parliament (MEP-based funding). Additionally, public funding could not exceed 75% of
2262-441: The following conditions regarding European parties' governance: European political parties are mostly made up of national member parties. Additionally, European citizens can become individual members of some European parties, depending on the provisions of those parties' statutes. The count of MEPs for the purpose of European public funding is separate from the question of individual membership, as MEPs are considered "members of
2320-472: The framework for European political parties and foundations, including by giving them a European legal status. It also established the Authority for the European political parties and European political foundations (APPF), a standalone entity for the purpose of registering, controlling, and imposing sanctions on European parties and foundations. Regulation 1141/2014 applied as of 1 January 2017, and covered
2378-542: The funding of European parties from non-EU national parties (which, following Brexit, meant that political parties in the UK could no longer finance European parties), broaden the categories of private funding, decrease European parties' co-financing rate, and simplify accounting procedures. In November 2021, the European Commission proposed a text for a new regulation aimed at replacing Regulation 1141/2021, using
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2436-472: The funding of national parties, an outcome not originally intended. In June 2000, the European Court of Auditors considered that the funding of European political parties should not be carried out using appropriations made for political groups in the European Parliament , as had long been the case. This decision led the 2001 Treaty of Nice to add a second paragraph to Article 191 of the Treaty on
2494-492: The party's annual budget, or €47,021. As of October 2024 , there are twelve European political parties registered with the APPF: The entities below were formerly registered with the APPF. The entities below qualified at some point for European public funding; however, they were never registered with the APPF. In addition to the registered European political parties, many other entities are politically active at
2552-729: The peace movements, the ecology movement and movements for women's rights. The anti-nuclear movement in Germany first had political expression as Vereinigung Die Grünen , which formed in March 1979, and established itself as a party for the European Parliament in January 1980. Similarly, activists in Britain's Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament would eventually form the Ecology Party . However, it also brought in ecological movements, which had become active across Western European nations in
2610-483: The public debate on policy issues and European integration. European parties' counterparts in the European Parliament are the Parliament's political groups . European parties influence the decision-making process of the European Council through coordination meetings with their affiliated heads of state and government. They also work closely with their members in the European Commission. In addition to
2668-423: The registered European political parties, many other entities are politically active at the European level without meeting the criteria for registration or wishing to register. The first European political parties formed during the 1970s, in the run-up to the first elections of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (adopted in 1976, and taking place for the first time in 1979 ). In 1973, following
2726-549: The right to campaign during the European elections , for which they often adopt manifestos outlining their positions and ambitions. Ahead of the elections, some of them designate their preferred candidate (known as Spitzenkandidat or lead candidate) to be the next President of the European Commission . The work of European parties can be supplemented by that of an officially affiliated European political foundation ; foundations are independent from European parties and contribute to
2784-477: The rise of the far right in Europe. At the 2024 Maastricht Debate , organised by Politico and the University of Maastricht , European Green top candidate Bas Eickhout asked directly to Ursula von der Leyen , top candidate of the European People's Party , what her position was towards the far right in Europe, European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy . Von der Leyen told
2842-435: The rules regarding their funding." The reference to "Article 251" refers to the co-decision procedure , which involves both the European Parliament and the Council as co-legislators. In November 2003, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation 2004/2003 "on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding". Regulation 2004/2003 provided
2900-666: The smaller groups, with far-right MEPs forming a group and the coalescence of the Green and Regionalist group known as "Rainbow". Overall turnout dropped to 61%. No majority was achieved. There was no single voting system for all member states; each of them adopted its own method, established by national law. The United Kingdom used a one-round ( first-past-the-post ) system of 78 constituencies in England , Wales and Scotland , while in Northern Ireland 3 proportional seats were allocated. Belgium , Ireland and Italy used
2958-572: The values of environmental responsibility, freedom, justice, diversity and non-violence". The charter's guiding principles provide a framework for the political actions taken by member parties. The priorities outlined in the charter include protecting human health and wellbeing, maintaining biological diversity, combatting global warming, transitioning to a just and sustainable economy, strengthening inclusive democracies, safeguarding diversity, and ensuring social justice. Green politics in Europe emerged from several grassroots political movements, including
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#17327758769853016-445: The vast majority of European parties' income. For instance, the comparison of maximum allocations and final amounts of public funding for the year 2021 was as follows: With regards to private funding, European parties mostly receive financial contributions from their national member parties, which, in turn, almost always receive public funding from Member States. Donations from legal persons and, especially, from individuals only play
3074-536: The very first European political party. In the 2004 European Parliament election , member parties won 35 Seats and the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament secured 43 in total. In the 2009 European Parliament election , even though the European Parliament was reduced in size, the European Greens' member parties won 46 seats, the best result of the Green Parties in 30 years. The Greens/EFA group in
3132-491: The views of member parties by having common policy positions, mutual election manifestos, and cohesive European election campaigns. The European Greens also has networks which brings Green politicians together, such as the Local Councillors Network. According to its charter, the European Greens is working towards a just and sustainable transition towards societies "respectful of human rights and built upon
3190-700: Was briefly known as the Rainbow Group , came from parties which went on to be part of the European Greens: The European Green Party itself was officially founded at the 4th Congress of the European Federation of Green Parties on 20–22 February 2004 in Rome. At the convention, 32 Green parties from across Europe joined this new pan-European party. As such, the European Greens became a trans-national party, and
3248-603: Was endorsed by the Plenary in September 2022. Trilogues between the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and European Commission took place in September, October and November 2022, and in March 2023, but did not reach an agreement. Article 3 of Regulation 1141/2014 lists the following criteria for an entity to register as a European political party with the APPF: Additionally, Article 4 imposes
3306-608: Was later detailed by the Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 and amended by Regulation 1524/2007. In particular, Regulation 1524/2007 clarified the funding framework and changed the co-financing rate, allowing public funding from the general budget of the European Union to reach 85% of European parties' reimbursable expenditure. This change meant that European parties were only requested to provide 15% in private co-financing. Regulation 1524/2007 also allowed European parties to set up affiliated European political foundations , separate entities contributing to
3364-425: Was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece . It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1986. Results showed centre-left and right-wing MEPs profiting at the expense of the far-left and centre-right. The Socialists consolidated their position as the biggest group in the Parliament, and there were notable changes for
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