Police used water cannons against Extinction Rebellion climate activists who blocked the Utrecht train on the A12 during a protest in The Hague on September 9, 2023.
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Greens expected to lose seats in European Parliament elections provisional results Data released on Monday raised concerns that the European Union may be on the verge of scaling back climate policy.
Preliminary results show the left-leaning Green Party/EFA will win 52 seats in the legislative branch of the 27-member trading bloc. This is significantly lower than the 71 seats secured by the Greens/Teach for All coalition five years ago when they had their strongest performance ever.
The move comes amid a broader right-wing shift and a green backlash, or “green boycott,” against policies aimed at tackling the climate crisis and protecting the environment.
The far-right Identity and Democracy group made significant gains across the EU, while the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists saw slight increases in their vote share.
In Germany, where the Greens govern as part of the so-called “traffic light” coalition along with the center-left Social Democrats and the pro-business Free Democrats, their support has almost halved compared with 2019. provisional results The party came in fourth with 11.9% of the vote.
Support for the Green parties in Austria and France also declined, with the far-right showing strong performance, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to call early elections.
Across the continent, frustrated farmers have taken to the streets in recent months to demand further exemptions from EU environmental rules. Nationalist and far-right parties, which are traditionally climate-skeptical, have also been outspoken critics of green policies.
If we don’t act faster here, our European industry will lose this global race, and that’s what I fear.
Bass Eckholt
green party lead candidate
Green Party lead candidate Bas Eckhout said support for far-right parties across the EU could jeopardize Europe’s progress on climate action.
“I would say the global green race has begun, and you see it in China, you see it in the United States, so that means Europe is really More action is needed.
“I’m not worried about going backwards, but if we don’t keep moving forward, if we don’t accelerate action here, our European industry will lose this global race, and that’s what I’m worried about. “
Eckholt explain In a separate statement on Sunday, the losses in France and Germany were “clearly a blow” and the rise of the far right was “extremely worrying for all those who believe in a democratic EU and a just and equal society”.
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Federation President Ricarda Lang (left), the Green Party’s main candidate for the 2024 European elections Terry Reintke and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Federation President Omid Nouripour react to the Green Party’s preliminary predictions’ Election party at Berlin’s Columbia Hall .
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However, the Greens will come first in Denmark and the Netherlands, while Terry Reintke, the party’s other leading candidate, said in the same statement that the party’s results in Sweden and Finland The strong result should be seen as “an important milestone for the party”.
Reintke noted that voters elected MEPs from Green parties in countries that had never sent a green vote to the European Parliament before, such as Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia and Lithuania.
“Now more than ever it is important to secure a stable pro-European democratic majority in the European Parliament. This democratic majority must unite to face the far right,” Reintke said.
Green deal ‘no turning back’
Ahead of the vote, researchers warn that the outcome of the European elections could affect The European Green Deal, the region’s model for carbon-neutral schemes, is under intense pressure.
Pedro Marquez, deputy chairman of the centre-left Socialist and Democratic Party, said on Monday that pushing forward climate policy could be a challenge given the support from the far right.
“We are concerned and from our point of view of course we will not allow this to happen. It means that the Green Deal cannot be rolled back but we are prepared to give it an extra twist, it is a Green Deal but taken care of Transition,” Marquez told CNBC’s Sylvia Amaro.
“Our economy, our small businesses, our citizens, they are affected by the transition to a new green economy, so let’s support them – but it does mean a return to the Green Deal,” he added.
Jörg Asmussen, chief executive of the German Insurance Association and former German deputy finance minister, said on Monday that he did not expect the European election results to trigger early voting in Germany. He added that the country’s current coalition government would likely continue to “muddle through” until next September.
“In my opinion, at the European level, the pro-European and pro-competition agenda is not going to change,” Asmussen told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach. “So the political right or the extreme left is not going to change. The impact will be limited.
“I think this will have an impact on EU and German immigration policy and the Green Deal, which will definitely be readjusted… because there won’t be enough support in the European Parliament in the future, but the climate issue will certainly not go away,” he added.
An activist chants during the Friday Future Climate Rally on Unter den Linden on May 31, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.
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Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said that regardless of the election results, voters across the EU still list climate change and saving nature as their top concerns, and believe that the vast majority of people want the EU to take action in these areas within the next five years.
“This election will not make the climate and nature crisis any less important,” Greenpeace EU campaigner Ariadna Rodrigo said in a statement. “Floods, droughts and heatwaves will only become more important.” Oops, all newly elected politicians must take action to maintain our planet’s ability to sustain life and give our children a future, and we will hold them accountable and remind them of their responsibilities no matter who is in power.
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