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Citizens’ Assemblies and the European Green Deal: A Perfect (Mis)Match?

Citizens’ Assemblies and the European Green Deal: A Perfect (Mis)Match?

By Featured, Publications

About

The European Green Deal has missed a key chance to tap into the recent deliberative wave across Europe. Yet the green transition is ongoing and must accelerate – with citizens at its core. Its success hinges on meeting people’s needs and embedding social impact in strong environmental policies. Citizens’ assemblies offer a way to ensure voices are heard at all levels, from local communities to EU institutions.

Citizens’ assemblies […] show that citizens coming together propose, more often than governments, bold policies to address the climate crisis while also considering social aspects. This creates a unique opportunity to redesign the Green Deal bottom-up.

This publication is part of the Green European Foundation’s work on Democracy and Participation and is the result of a collaborative  process between partner organisations from Belgium, Croatia, Finland, North Macedonia, and Serbia within the project Green Deal  for  All – Citizen’s Assemblies in Action, organised by the Green European Foundation.  Recognising the huge gap between the top-down implementation of the European Green Deal – reduced merely to a series of technological and financial measures – and the needs of various societies and communities across Europe, the aim was to explore the role citizens’ assemblies can play in ensuring its bottom-up democratisation.

 

This publication is also available in Greek


This publication has been realized by the Green European Foundation with the support of  the Institute of Political Ecology, Oikos, Visio, ASSED  Sunrise, Polekol and Center for Green Politics, as well as with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

 

Green Approaches to Security and Defence

By Publications

In a shifting geopolitical landscape, Greens are grappling with the interplay between their traditional pacifist roots and the post-February 2022 security challenges. This report delves into their evolving stances on key defence issues, from EU military cooperation to disarmament, offering insights into the varied approaches adopted by Green parties from eight EU countries. Expert viewpoints featured throughout provide further feedback and inputs as to what a Green defence policy could (or should) look like. As Europe navigates turbulent waters, the report calls for renewed commitment to progressive and principled approaches to security and defence.

The report is structured into five chapters that address important EU military challenges. They portray a nuanced understanding of European security dynamics among Green parties, reflecting varying national contexts, strategic cultures, and historical perspectives. This report thus provides a clear mapping of green defence thinking across Europe, including points of convergence, gaps, and tensions. Complemented by the expert views, it gives a solid basis for further discussion within and beyond the Greens, to strengthen defence and security policy while maintaining a critical and progressive voice, even in uncertain times.

Chapter 1 delves into the complex institutional landscape of security and defence in Europe. It examines the debates surrounding the identity of the EU and looks at the respective roles of the EU and NATO as security providers.

Chapter 2 focuses on military expenditures and budget allocation. It discusses differing perspectives among Green parties on the use of GDP to set defence government budgets and on how these should be allocated.

Chapter 3 explores Green parties’ opinions on defence industrial policies broadly understood. It examines Green positions on grant programs put in place by the EU and shows diverging opinions on the allocation of public funds to industry.

Chapter 4 analyses positions on nuclear deterrence, disarmament, and arms control. Green parties generally continue to oppose the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, but the war in Ukraine has led some to revise their position on its effectiveness.

Chapter 5 delves into the intertwined concepts of civic militarism, civil protection and non-violence; their implications for military involvement in security as well as civilian participation to defence.

 

This report is a call to action for Green parties to embrace their role as catalysts for progressive security policies. By navigating the complexities of modern security with creativity, Greens can contribute to shaping a peace-oriented, sustainable, and common European security architecture.

 

About the authors

Agatha Verdebout is a researcher and deputy director at GRIP. Her main area of expertise is international peace and security law.

Anne Xuan Nguyen is a researcher at GRIP. Working more broadly on security and environmental issues, she specializes in conflict-related pollution and its remediation.

 

This report is also available in:

GreekGerman


This study was conducted by the Green European Foundation with the support of Etopia , Cogito , Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, and Sustainable Development Forum Green Window . The study was commissioned by GEF to the Groupe de recherche et d’information sur la paix et la sécurité (GRIP). It is published with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Parliament or the Green European Foundation.

Navigating NATO

By Publications

Green and progressive parties across Europe have historically held a sceptical view towards the military industry and defence alliances such as NATO. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine spotlighted existing security vulnerabilities and profoundly shifted the public and political debate. In this context, Greens may have differing attitudes towards NATO, but find themselves in the political reality of not if but how to engage within it. Based on desk research and expert interviews from ten European countries, this report explores different ways that greens and progressives can influence NATO, and the risks and opportunities this entails.

 

It is important to bring alternative thinking into mainstream and conservative security spaces, and with more Greens in parliaments and governments across the continent, there is both the room and need for greater influence and expertise.

 

About the author

Sarah Bitamazire

Sarah Bitamazire is a policy expert on international human rights law and foreign policy work in conflict and high-risk environments. She is currently Chief Policy Officer at Lumiera, a boutique advisory firm with policy, tech, and business expertise that equips organisations with responsible AI strategies. Prior to this she was at the heart of the Swedish policy debate on defence and foreign affairs, developing policy ideas for the Swedish Greens. Sarah is specialised in Public International Law and Human Rights Law, and holds a Law Degree from Uppsala University and Leiden University.

 

This report is also available in:

GreekGerman


This study was conducted by the Green European Foundation with the support of Cogito. It is published with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Parliament or the Green European Foundation.

Women Leaders on the Frontlines

By Uncategorized

Context

Europe’s social economy sector, a highly feminised sector which employs 13.6 million people, representing 6.4% of the workforce, is faced with an increasingly impossible mission: delivering essential services at scale in the face of rising societal challenges, or at least that’s what is currently expected from them. This includes inequality and the climate crisis, to build societal cohesion in a context of increasing polarisation and loneliness, as well as to play a role of initiator and catalyser of the green transition.

“Our big mistake as women leaders in NGOs is the failure to acknowledge that the challenges we are experiencing are not personal, they are systemic.”

 

Objectives

This study, which represents the first-ever study of its kind, aims to take stock of the progress of the last decade, as well as identify remaining barriers and new opportunities for women CSO leaders in achieving systemic change in Europe. The idea for this study grew out of dozens of conversations the authors have had with their peer women leaders over the years. A survey of 148 women leaders was conducted to explore their strategies for managing complex demands, their perspectives on being women in leadership in 2023, their contributions to innovation and cultural transformation in the workplace, and the obstacles they encounter. Through 25 interviews and two focus groups, this study draws out recommendations for donors, organisations, and wider society to support and invest in transformative, feminist women’s leadership.

You can view the authors’ presentation from the study launch here.


This policy study “was commissioned by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), with the support of GEF, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftungand the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, with the financial support of the European Parliament to GEF and FEPs.

Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe

By Uncategorized

Context

As it stands, degrowth fails to resonate with experts in foreign and security policy. It is easy to see why. In geopolitics, many determinants of power – trade, aid, tech nology, defence – are closely linked to GDP. If they do not ignore planetary boundaries altogether, geopolitical pundits trumpet the ‘green growth’ narrative so as to reconcile ecological and geopolitical security. It is this very narrative that degrowthers aim to refute.

It is better to manage the end of growth through democratic deliberation than to have it imposed on us by ecological breakdown.

 

Objectives

It is unlikely that we will be able to defuse the climate time bomb, let alone other ecological threats, as long as our economy continues to grow. But what would the end of economic growth mean for geopolitics? Could a European Union that is the first to embrace post-growth still be a global actor? Would it be able to defend itself, its allies, democracy, human rights, and the international rule of law at a time when aggressive autocracies are invading or threatening their democratic neighbours? This report addresses uneasy questions that few have dared to ask.

 

Project Background

This report is produced by the Green European Foundation. It is part of the project Geopolitics of a Post-Growth Europe. The project is led by Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks (NL) and supported by BlueLink (BG), Center for Green Politics (RS), Etopia (BE), Fondation de l’Écologie Politique (FR), Green House Think Tank (UK), and Transición Verde (ES). Check out www.geopoliticspostgrowth.eu for more interviews, videos, and other project outputs.

 

Available Translations

Dutch

Spanish

Serbian

French

Bulgarian

Czech

Portuguese


This report has been realised by the Green European Foundation with the support of  Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

Nuclear Power

By Uncategorized

Context

The nuclear power lobby is stronger today than ever. The lobbyists have succeeded in creating an enormous disparity in the perception of what to believe and reality. The post-Chernobyl generation is increasingly falling prey to the fairy tale of modern, safe, cheap and CO2 neutral nuclear power. These arguments can be quickly refuted and often only serve to conceal the ulterior motive: to increase the stockpile of nuclear armaments. Nuclear power will most definitely not save the environment.

Objectives

This publications argues that nuclear power is not the solution to climate change including a critical analysis of the main ten misconceptions about “green” nuclear power. It has been written in close cooperation with Martin Litschauer, Member of the Austrian Parliament and Anti-nuclear Spokesman of the Austrian Greens, and Maria Niedertscheider, Expert Assistant, Austrian Federal Environmental Agency. Th purpose of the brochures is to serve as guidance for a broad European discussion and as a concise summary of the narrative on nuclear power as a supposedly bridge technology.

If we want to protect ourselves and save the environment, we have to use solar, wind and geothermal energy, because these are the fastest and safest ways to achieve the energy transition.

Translations

Available in Turkish

Available in Slovenian


This publication, originally published by FREDA, has been realised by the Green European Foundation and FREDA with the financial support of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

A Green New Deal for Leeds City Region

By Uncategorized

GALBA’s Vision for a Sustainable Local Economy (Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport)

Context

The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) is a group of concerned citizens in West Yorkshire. They came together from a range of backgrounds and across the political spectrum to stop the proposed expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), which they managed to do in 2022.  Learn more here.

Following the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) launched their new report: ‘A Green New Deal for Leeds City Region: GALBA’s Vision for a Sustainable Local Economy’.

We believe that local jobs and our fragile climate are best safeguarded by investing in a new green economy that supports sustainability whilst making sure our communities are employed in secure, productive and meaningful work.

Objectives

This report sets out concerns about the claims being made by Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) around job creation.  GALBA propose a more forward-looking, ambitious and achievable economy that reduces reliance on aviation and encourages investment in local communities, whilst addressing the other key challenges faced around transport, energy and food supply. “Our generation has seen the emergence of a human-created climate emergency. We must also be the generation to fix this, by making best use of our most precious resource–our people”.

Download

Also available in Spanish.


This report is published by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green House Think Tank and the financial support of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this project.

Ecologia: La Revolució del Segle XXI

By Uncategorized

Context

‘Ecology as the revolution of the 21st century’ takes the contributions of experts and authors as well as previously published Green European Journal pieces, to provide an overview of the formative green visions for Europe. The publication language is Catalan.

La crisi climàtica és una emergència glo bal que tan sols podrem superar des dels grans acords internacionals que ens permetin gover nar les interdependències que genera la globalització.

“The climate crisis is a global emergency that can only be overcome from the great international agreements that allow us to govern the interdependencies generated by globalization.”

Objectives

This issue of the Nous Horizons Magazine features insightful reflections on the state of the green movement and its relationship with the world of work, adding a European and global perspective to contextualize what is happening in the world we live in. It also aims to provide the right tools for political environmentalism to become the political paradigm of the 21st century.


This publication has been realized with the support of Nous Horitzons and the financial support of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

Food Sovereignty, Climate action and Local Resilience

By Uncategorized

Context

This pamphlet on Food Sovereignty, Climate Action and Local Resilience follows on from A Question of Scale: “Imagining a cooperative, community-led approach to regional resilience”. A framing paper in which we explored the potential of the Social and Solidarity Economy, Doughnut Economics, Just Transition, The Commons, Community Wealth Building, Federated co-ops as approaches to help us address the climate and ecological emergency.

The co-creation of this pamphlet began with a first draft distributed to local food, community and cooperative advocates. Then, they attended a webinar to discuss identify the blockers and enablers of this regenerative and community-led approach. Finally, we added the harvest of the session, along with links to initiatives in the field, and an infographic.

Challenging the global trade regime and the bilateral trade agreements which en-trench trade relations and which negatively affect peasant farmers on both sides is a vital part of the picture of Food Sovereignty and the global conversation that needs to be had about how to protect, encourage and support biodiverse, agroecological and small scale production not just in our backyard, but across the world.

 

This publication was produced as part of GEF’s Climate Emergency Economy project, exploring the challenge of such a climate emergency economy by focusing on “hard-to-decarbonise” sectors like transport, trade, industry, or agriculture.

 

Download

Also available in Polish.


This publication has been realised with the support of the Green Foundation Ireland, Cultivate and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

Steps Towards Universal Basic Income? The Effect of the Covid-19 Crisis on Welfare Policies and Support for UBI in the European Union

By Uncategorized

Context

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Europe, it put an enormous strain on the lives and livelihoods of millions. Amid lockdowns and quarantines, many countries responded by (temporarily) broadening their social security policies and providing additional support to those at risk of falling through the cracks. Yet as we slowly emerge from this crisis, there are already others looming. Society will continue to feel the effects of COVID-19 for a decade or more without an urgent public policy overhaul. We need to re-examine our social security approaches and implement bold measures to make societies more resilient to change and crisis. One such proposal is the Universal Basic Income.

There is no place for narrow views or short-sighted policies aimed at continuing to patch up a wound that is gradually – although more and more rapidly – bleeding us dry. Nor is there any point in trying to face the challenges of the 21st century with policies from the last century that have already proved to be unsuccessful.

Objectives

This report examines the social policy reactions to the Covid-19 crisis in a dozen different European countries. Drawing on survey and qualitative data, we explore how these expanded support measures relate to the vision of Universal Basic Income. To what extent do they represent a step towards UBI, despite government hesitancy? And what do they say about the (in)ability of our existing social security systems to deal with crises? The report also investigates the popularity of UBI among Europe’s citizens. Has the pandemic made an impact on the way people talk and think of UBI?

Experts and stakeholders across Europe contributed data for this publication, and shared their insights and reflections as part of our project “Change of Mindset–Civil Society Dialogue around UBI, Social Justice, and Climate Impact.” As the debate continues, we too would be interested in expanding our analysis to include new information and additional countries.

If you wish to:

  • Submit a survey response;
  • Provide details or resources on countries not featured in this analysis;
  • Send us your feedback;

Please get in touch! GEF’s work on UBI continues–read more here.

 


This publication has been realised with the support of Visio and Fundació Nous Horitzons and the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

Metals for a Green and Digital Europe- An Agenda for Action

By Uncategorized

Context

The climate crisis leaves us no choice but to make a swift transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. However, while energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind is nearly infinite, the resources we need to capture it are not. Solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and power cables all contain metals. Their various properties, including toughness and conductivity, make metals uniquely suitable for renewable energy technologies. But first they must be extracted from ores that are dug up from the ground. Because of its decentralised nature, a renewable energy system requires far larger quantities of metals than a fossil energy system.

 

The more energy we harvest from the skies above our heads, the deeper we will have to dig for the metals beneath our feet.

 

Objectives

Both the energy transition and the digital transition require large quantities of metals, such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth. As a result, Europe must face up to various types of scarcity. This Agenda for Action sets out how we can achieve the sparing, circular use of metals and the responsible sourcing of the virgin metals that we really need.

 

Download

Available in Dutch

Available in Spanish

Available in Czech 

Available in French

Available in Polish

Available in Swedish

Available in Serbian

Available in Portuguese

 


This publication is part of the Metals for a Green and Digital Europe project. The project is led by Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks and supported by Fundacja Strefa Zieleni, Institut Aktivního Občanství, the Green Economics Institute, Etopia, Visio, and Transición Verde, with Cogito from Sweden providing additional expertise.

Productive reforestation for living rural landscapes

By Uncategorized

This publication is part of the Green European Foundation’s Deforestation and Climate Change project and it compiles best practice examples gathered during the three webinars organised in March 2021 by GEF and the Green Institute Greece focusing on productive reforestations for pasture, beehiving, recreation and forestry as a means to combat climate change.

Agroforestry and small-scale traditional farming systems as well as multi- functional forest landscapes survived in many rural areas in Europe (as in mountains and islands) that escaped the large scale agricultural transformation that has been supported by the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In order to make the agricultural landscapes of Europe more resilient to climate change, funds like the NextGenerationEU must be appropriated for only sustainable projects.

In this publication you will find concrete recommendations on how to address the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss through policy change in the agricultural and forestry sectors, with agroforestry systems as part of the solution.

 

Also available in Greek: PARAGOGIKES ANADASOSEIS

 

Freedom and Security in a Complex World (2021 edition)

By Uncategorized

Context

People all over the world are taking their future back into their hands. Together, they are taking initiatives in the fields of renewable energy, local food production, sharing tools, and so forth. This is the most hopeful movement of our time. Where the market and state fail, people are taking action. As free citizens, they are reinventing the collective, with open partnerships where personal development and social engagement go hand in hand. This observation seems to contradict what we experience every day. The system errors of our society model fill the newspapers: climate crisis, unstable banks, refugee flows. Accepted wisdom is that uncertainty is increasing. But both trends are happening, not by coincidence, at the same time.

 

Objectives

While examining the two interlinked concepts of Freedom and Security, this publication suggests that the answer needs to be the transformation into a socioecological society in the 21st century. It argues for the realisation of a societal project that strives for equal freedom for all people to flourish in security, within the boundaries of the planet, and proposes concrete steps towards it.

 

Download

Available in English here.

Available in French here.

Available in German here.

Available in Hungarian here.

Available in Spanish here.

Available in Macedonian here.

Available in Greek here.


This report presents a new and updated take on the 2017 version (Please see the English, French, German, Hungarian and Spanish editions from that year, which were part of the transnational project “A green transformation: Freedom and Security in uncertain times” ).

The 2021 report was developed in partnership with Oikos and with financial support from the European Parliament to the European Green Foundation. 

Mining operations taxed lightly in Finland

By Uncategorized

This publication is part of the Green European Foundation’s ‘Metals for a green and digital Europe’ transnational project, where we are spotlighting the needs of the EU to examine and adjust its supply and use of metals. The initiative for reforming the Finnish Mining Act started with the Finnish Parliament’s ratification of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in 2018. The proposal on the reform, originally intended to be submitted to Parliament in December 2020, has now been postponed by a year as the Ministry chose to include an instrument for the comparison of interests in the reform just as the working group was about to finish its work. Juho Heikkilä, student of Economics and Environmental Economics, explains the background of the reform, examines the content of the draft and offers suggestions for its improvement.

A Just Transition in Agriculture

By Uncategorized
This paper is part of the Green European Foundation’s Just Transition transnational project. The project looks into the question of transforming from an extractive to a regenerative economy in a just and equitable way in order to find the necessary support among the population. The project is focused on collecting and sharing insights on the development of future-proof politics and policies, developed in a sensitive way that keeps in mind local specificities. The project is, on behalf of GEF, coordinated by OIKOS (Belgium), who authored a framing paper, Climate, Jobs and Justice for a green and socially just transition, published in December 2020. The project partners are Green House Think Tank (UK), Institute for Political Ecology (Croatia); Sunrise (North-Macedonia), Transicion Verde (Spain), Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) and Networked (Serbia). In 2020 these partners carried out various activities in their countries to increase awareness of the importance of a Just Transition. In 2021 they will collaborate on the production of a book showcasing the main challenges and opportunities around Just Transition, to be published in autumn 2021. This publication will feed into the broader scope of the project.

 

Download

Also available in Spanish.

Blockers and Enablers for Decarbonising the Dutch Chemistry, Refinery and Basic Metals Industries

By Uncategorized

This report is part of the Green European Foundation’s Transnational Climate Emergency Economy project. The project explores the challenge of decarbonising ‘harder to abate’ sectors, such as the chemistry, basic metals and refinery industries and international trade. Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks, Green House Think Tank and Green Foundation Ireland each focus on a specific part of a climate emergency economy. This particular report was written by WBGL and focuses on Dutch energy-intensive industries.

social security

Basic Social Security 2030

By Uncategorized

This GEF report uses the case of Finland to investigate challenges in current social security models, and provides a reform roadmap to a new basic social security system, with basic income as a central element.

This report is an edited version of the Finnish Green Think Tank Visio’s report ‘Perusturva 2030,’ published for international readers. The report looks at the challenges faced by the Finnish system as well as the principles for solving these challenges, and offers proposals for action for the parliamentary term 2019-2023 and further into the 2020s. While the focus is on Finland, the principles for a better social security system are applicable to any so-called developed country, and the concrete stepping stones and microsimulations work as examples on how to find solutions regardless of the current system in a given country.

This translation was realised by the Green European Foundation as part of its transnational project on Basic Income, a topic that will be further explored in the 2020 project Change of Mindset – Civil Society dialogue around UBI, Social Justice and Climate Impact.

SDG 5 – Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls

By Uncategorized

This publication has been produced as part of the GEF project on the  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and focuses on addressing some of the progress as well as challenges in achieving the SDGs in Hungary.

The publication is a compendium summarising the discussions that took place in Hungary, at an event exploring the SDG 5 – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

A Charter for the Smart City

By Uncategorized

People make technology, but technology in turn influences our lives, our societies and even our ethics. The development of new technologies therefore cannot be left to engineers and managers; it requires public debate and democratic control.

This Charter for the Smart City was produced as part of the project of the same name, and puts the values of democracy, connectedness, human dignity, privacy,  sustainability, and equality at the heart of smart cities. Local politicians and active citizens who share these values may use the principles in this Charter as starting points for democratic debate and informed moral judgment on technological innovations in their communities.

The Charter was developed through a series of roundtable discussions that took place in cities across Europe, as well as from online consultation, involving over 100 experts, (local) politicians and activists who shared their ideas.

 

Please find the Dutch version of this publication available to read here

Please find the French version of this publication available to read here

Please find the German version of this publication available to read here

Please find the Czech version of this publication available to read here

Transforming Our Country, Transforming Our World – SDG 3 & the Challenges for 2030

By Uncategorized

This publication has been produced as part of the GEF project on the  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and focuses on addressing some of the progress as well as challenges in achieving the SDGs in Hungary.

The publication is a compendium summarising the discussions that took place in Hungary, at an event exploring the SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, and the status of its implementation in the country since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015.

The event took place as part of a series, implemented by our partner Ökopolisz Alapitvany, which has so far covered the first five out of 17 SDGs since 2016.