| Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Greens/European Free Alliance |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Ideology | Green politics; regionalism |
| Position | Centre-left to left-wing |
| European | European Green Party; European Free Alliance |
Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) is a political group in the European Parliament formed by green and regionalist parties from across Europe. It brings together members from the European Green Party and the European Free Alliance to coordinate policy, strategy, and parliamentary activity in committees such as Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Committee on Transport and Tourism, and Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. The group traces roots to early transnational cooperation among parties like The Greens–European Free Alliance, Green Party of England and Wales, Les Verts and regional movements such as Scottish National Party and Catalan Republican Left.
The group's origins lie in the fragmentation after the first directly elected European Parliament in 1979, when ecologist parties like Die Grünen and Les Verts sought transnational coordination during debates such as the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty. Formal consolidation occurred in 1993 amid realignments following the Treaty of Maastricht and the expansion of the European Community to include parties from Spain, Italy, and Germany. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the group worked alongside actors from GreenLeft (Netherlands), Ecolo (Belgium), and Miljöpartiet de gröna while engaging with regionalists including Basque Nationalist Party, Sinn Féin, and Democratic Unionist Party-adjacent movements on autonomy issues. Major turning points include responses to the Lisbon Treaty, positions during the 2008 financial crisis, and stances on the European Green Deal initiatives championed by figures linked to François Hollande-era policy debates and the commission led by Ursula von der Leyen.
The group advances policy rooted in green political theory exemplified by actors such as Murray Bookchin-influenced municipalists and proponents of sustainable development from documents discussed in forums like COP21 and COP26. Policy emphasis includes climate action aligned with targets inspired by the Paris Agreement, biodiversity protection referenced alongside institutions like European Environment Agency, and promotion of the circular economy concept debated with stakeholders such as European Investment Bank and World Wide Fund for Nature. On civil rights the group references jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and legislation such as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Their regionalist partners draw on precedents like the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and referenda such as the 2014 Scottish independence referendum to argue for enhanced subsidiarity within frameworks like the Council of the European Union and the Committee of the Regions.
Formal organisation mirrors other groups in the European Parliament with a co-presidency, a bureau, and thematic coordinators who liaise with national parties including Die Grünen (Germany), Green Party of Ireland, Volt Europa, Parti écologiste (France), and the Federación de los Verdes–Izquierda Verde (Spain). The European Free Alliance component comprises regionalists such as Lega Nord-counterparts in discussions with Laws of the European Union and autonomist parties like Mebyon Kernow and Junts per Catalunya. The group interacts with supranational actors including the European Commission, the European Council, and transnational NGOs like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Internal decision-making uses coordination meetings in venues such as Brussels and sessions timed with plenary sittings in the Hemicycle of the European Parliament at Strasbourg.
Greens/EFA members sit on key committees including Committee on Budgetary Control, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, and the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs where they influence reports and amendments citing precedents like the Common Agricultural Policy reforms and debates linked to the Eastern Partnership. High-profile legislative initiatives include amendments to dossiers on Emissions Trading System reform and proposals tied to the European Green Deal, coordinated alongside commissioners such as Frans Timmermans and commissioners from the Von der Leyen Commission. The group's MEPs have formed alliances with factions such as Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and The Left in the European Parliament on issues like social protection influenced by policy frameworks from institutions including the International Labour Organization.
Electoral fortunes have fluctuated across elections to the European Parliament with notable gains in cycles coinciding with heightened public concern over climate change after events like the 2019 European Parliament election and crises such as the 2022 energy crisis. National successes by member parties include vote shares for Die Grünen in the 2021 Bundestag election, seat increases for Green Party of England and Wales in 2019 UK contests, and regional victories by parties such as Junts per Catalunya in Catalan regional elections. Performance varies due to dynamics with parties like La République En Marche! and Alternative for Germany which reshape center-left and center-right balances in member states.
Prominent figures associated with the group's members include longtime environmental advocates and politicians such as Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Rebecca Harms, Ska Keller, Jose Bové, and Margrete Auken. Regionalist leaders aligned with the EFA include Gerry Adams-linked networks, Arnaldo Otegi, and proponents from Coalition Avenir Québec-analogues in pan-European exchanges. Current co-chairs and bureau members have included MEPs from parties like GroenLinks, Ecolo, and Les Verts–Europe Écologie, who coordinate strategy with national party chairs and governmental figures such as former ministers from Sweden, Netherlands, and Belgium.