Twenty Years of European Greens
1984 - 2004
edited by Arnold Cassola & Per Gahrton
Niki Kortvelyessy Green Party UK
- EGC
delegate in Majvik, Finland 1993
- EFGP Spokesperson 1994 – 2000
The first meeting of the European Greens I attended was in Brussels in early 1990 when the new Greens of the east met those of the west. For many of us there was a palpable feeling of living history, of amazement and awe at our own potential. Within a couple of years democratic elections in the eastern countries having produced many Green parliamentarians and even Ministers, the idea of a European Green Federation was under way. The intensive year of policy discussions that followed were for me a sharp awakening to the considerable differences between the British and the Continental approach to politics and democracy.
The UK Greens – like many others, not too interested in international affairs normally – did play a significant and constructive role in the formation of the Guiding Principles, and initial misunderstandings caused by different political cultures having been allayed, joined the EFGP. My memories of Majvik are a mixture of relief, exhilaration and extreme tiredness, in a serene Nordic forest full of midnight sun and celebrating Greens.
At the first elections of EFGP officers in January 1994 I was elected Spokesperson, together with Pekka Sauri, with no job description at all (we were told the job would be what we made it – I hope we made a useful contribution.) The first Committee included some people with considerable political experience, I learnt a lot from them and owe them much thanks.
We were certainly not given much time to learn – at our very first Council meeting we discovered that our Secretary General had resigned, and within our three-year term we had two wars, with Iraq and in Bosnia. We celebrated more Greens entering into government, though also the decline of the initial Green successes in the east. With the foresight and support of GroenLinks the Green East-West Dialogue began its work of linking up with the struggling eastern parties.
In 1997 I was re-elected with a new co-Spokesperson, Franz Floss. The Federation embarked on some collective policy-making, which was sometimes exciting and sometimes frustrating. The real hard times came later when the EFGP was close to crisis due to policy differences over the Kosovo war. I hope we were able to establish a culture of tolerance between our members, recognising that while individual parties will always be focusing primarily on political considerations at home, the international Green family must reflect the basic principles, which all its members have signed.
Should a new European Green party come into being it will have to find new solutions to new problems – but I hope it will retain the hopeful, joyful spirit of Majvik.
