European Green Party - Ideology and Issues

Ideology and Issues

The European Greens have always been committed to basic tenets of Green politics, such as environmental responsibility, individual freedom, inclusive democracy, diversity, social justice, gender equality, global sustainable development and non-violence.

However, its relationship to the European Union and its institutions has changed dramatically and is still the subject of a lively debate. In the 1970s and 1980s the European Greens were generally skeptical of European political and economic integration, which was seen as contrary to environmental and social interests. In its 1984 program, the European Greens advocated the formation of an alternative Europe, which would be neutral and decentralized. In 1989, some member parties adopted a more parliamentary course and became more supportive of European integration. The program advocates the democratization of Europe's institutions. In their 1994 program, the Greens abandoned their principled opposition of European integration and began to propose pragmatic alternatives for the European Union's policies and institutions. The 1999 and 2004 programs also reflect this.

There is also a considerable range of opinions across member parties: they range from pro-European, such as the Luxembourgish Dei Greng to Eurosceptic, such as the Swedish Miljöpartiet de Gröna.

In the area of Internet politics, the European Greens–European Free Alliance parliamentary group became famous for the strong support of a proposed free information infrastructure, especially in their work on the directive against software patents in 2003.