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| Greens/EFA | |
|---|---|
| Name | Greens/European Free Alliance |
| Abbreviation | Greens/EFA |
| Founded | 1999 (as group), predecessor groups 1989–1994 |
| Ideology | Green politics, Regionalism, Environmentalism, Social liberalism, Pro-Europeanism |
| Seats ep | variable by term |
Greens/EFA The parliamentary group represents a coalition of Green Partys, regionalist parties and environmentalist movements across the European Parliament, drawing on traditions from the Green movement, Social Ecology, and the European federalist movement. It originated from earlier alignments in the European Parliament such as the Green Group in the European Parliament (1989–1994), the Rainbow Group (1984–1989), and later the consolidation that followed the Treaty of Maastricht and enlargement rounds that admitted parties from the Visegrád and Enlargement of the European Union states.
The group's lineage links to early transnational networks including the Green Party (Germany), the Federation of the Greens (Italy), and the Ecologist Party (France), and it evolved through institutional shifts like the Single European Act and the European Monetary System tensions of the 1980s and 1990s. Key milestones include alliances formed during the 1989 elections, the formal composition that followed the 1994 election and the creation of the present configuration in 1999 after debates at venues such as the European Green Party congresses and the European Free Alliance meetings. Expansion and reconfiguration recurred around moments like the Treaty of Lisbon, the 2009 elections, the 2014 elections, and the 2019 elections, responding to shocks such as the 2008 financial crisis, the 2004 enlargement, and the Brexit referendum.
Membership comprises national parties including Alliance 90/The Greens, EELV, The Greens–Green Alternative (Austria), Green Party (Ireland), Groen (Belgium), regionalist members such as Scottish Green Party, South Tyrolean People's Party, and parties from Catalonia, Basque Country, Galicia, and others. Affiliates coordinate with transnational actors like the European Green Party, the European Free Alliance, and civil society groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and World Wide Fund for Nature. Institutional links extend to supranational bodies such as the Council of the European Union, the Committee of the Regions, and the European Commission via nomination and lobbying networks involving figures associated with the Green New Deal for Europe and policy initiatives tied to the Paris Agreement and European Green Deal.
The group advances policies on climate action referencing frameworks like the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports; it advocates renewable energy transitions engaging with institutions such as the European Investment Bank and the International Renewable Energy Agency. On social policy it supports asylum reforms in response to crises like the European migrant crisis and proposals tied to the Schengen Agreement and Dublin Regulation revisions, while promoting labor standards compatible with norms from the International Labour Organization and welfare models debated in contexts such as the Nordic model and European Social Charter. The group positions itself on digital rights and surveillance in relation to rulings by the European Court of Justice and directives like the General Data Protection Regulation, and endorses biodiversity protection under conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Within the European Parliament, the group forms delegation groups to committees including the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Fisheries, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. It coordinates with political families like the Party of European Socialists and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party on shared votes while opposing blocs such as the European Conservatives and Reformists and Identity and Democracy. Organisational organs include a co-chair system, a political bureau, and delegation leaders who interact with presidencies of bodies like the European People's Party during plenary coalitions and legislative bargaining rounds.
Electoral performance varies by cycle: notable results occurred in the 2019 elections when the group increased representation amid heightened focus on climate policy, following momentum from events like the 2018–2019 climate strikes and activism associated with Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion. Performance reflects national successes in contests such as the 2021 German election, gains in the Belgian regional elections, and fluctuating results linked to national campaigns like those of Syriza in Greece or the Social Democratic Party of Finland dynamics. Electoral maps show strengths in urban constituencies including Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Copenhagen and weaker showings in certain Central and Eastern Europe states.
Prominent individuals affiliated with the group include MEPs and national leaders from parties such as Joschka Fischer-era figures, contemporary parliamentarians from Ska Keller, Bas Eickhout, Ska Keller as candidate figures in past Spitzenkandidaten contests, and national leaders such as those from Annalena Baerbock, Ségolène Royal-adjacent green currents, and regional leaders from Carles Puigdemont-adjacent movements in Catalonia. Leadership roles have included co-chairs, group coordinators and delegation heads who negotiate with presidents like Roberta Metsola and committee chairs such as Frans Timmermans when coordinating on legislative dossiers.
Critiques have come from varied sources including right-wing groups like National Rally (France), centre-right parties such as the European People's Party, and watchdog NGOs debating campaign finance tied to lobbying by energy companies and NGOs including disputes involving Gazprom or debates around funding transparency linked to foundations like the Open Society Foundations. Controversies include internal disputes over positions on NATO enlargement, trade agreements like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and tensions between environmental priorities and regionalist stances in cases involving Catalan independence movement actors. Electoral controversies have arisen in negotiations during coalition talks in national contexts such as the 2021 coalition talks and debates over strategic alliances with parties like La République En Marche! and Sinn Féin.