Four days of compromise-making behind the scenes: At the longest party conference in their history, the Greens decided on a European election program. Emotions only run high when it comes to a single topic.
The Greens are heading into the European election campaign with a program that promises security in uncertain times. The paper entitled “What protects us” was approved by around 800 delegates at the end of the four-day party conference in Karlsruhe. The Greens had previously elected a 40-member European list and argued heatedly about their line on asylum policy.
The chapters of the election program have headings such as “What Protects Justice,” “What Protects Freedom,” and “What Protects Prosperity.” The federal political director of the Green Party, Emily Büning, described the program with its abstract formulations as an “invitation to read”.
STAFF:
The European Green Party leader Terry Reintke is number one on the 40-strong Green candidate list for the EU Parliament election in June 2024. The German Greens also want to propose her as the top candidate of all European Green parties. In view of the polls, the German Greens must expect a shrinking number of representatives in the European Parliament. Candidates from the left wing of the party dominate the promising top places on the list.
MIGRATION:
The Greens already sorted out most of the differences on the issue of migration and asylum on Saturday, one day before the relevant chapter in the European election program was discussed and voted on. Passages that dealt with the regulation of migration were highly controversial, even if in the end the Green Youth failed in their attempt to prohibit Green ministers and parliamentary groups in the federal and state governments from agreeing to further tightening of asylum laws.
“Control, order and repatriation are part of the reality of an immigration country like Germany,” says the approved motion. “We want to expand capacities, strengthen the social infrastructure and create sustainable structures.” The Greens are in favor of federal funding for civil sea rescue.
SOCIAL:
The Greens also want to advance European integration in the area of social policy. They advocate a Europe that sets binding standards for “fair wages and strong unions.” Their program states: “Clear minimum standards effectively prevent a race to the bottom in social security.” A fair Europe is a community “that is financed in solidarity, without loopholes for the super-rich.”
CLIMATE CHANGE:
For the Greens, the capture and underground storage of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is a legitimate instrument for dealing with increasing global warming. In the cement industry, for example, there will continue to be emissions in the future that can hardly be avoided, according to the decision. The Greens are in favor of capturing, storing and, if necessary, using CO2 directly during production. To this end, a uniform regulatory framework should be created across Europe and an infrastructure with shared CO2 storage should be created.
TRADE:
The party congress called for renegotiations on the EU’s planned trade agreement with the South American economic community Mercosur in order to put an end to the “intensive mining of raw materials in the global south for the consumption of the global north”.
BUSINESS:
The attempt to remove the term “prosperity” from the European program failed. Critics wanted to replace it with “quality of life” and argued that prosperity was “understood in terms of a consumerist supply of goods and services.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
