Twenty Years of European Greens
1984 - 2004
edited by Arnold Cassola & Per Gahrton
Ralph Monö
Miljöpartiet de Gröna (Sweden)
- International Secretary, Miljöpartiet de Grona 1990-1994
- EFGP Secretary General 1995 - 1999
My involvement in the Federation came about very suddenly. On that Sunday morning of the 1995 June Council in Budapest I wasn’t even a candidate. By noon, I had been elected Secretary General for the Federation, attended my first Committee meeting and was about to move to Brussels!
By mid-1995, the Federation had produced many political documents in close collaboration with the Green Group in the EP. But some member parties had become frustrated about what they saw as an inadequate information flow. They also wanted more contacts and possibilities to influence the organization.
As newly elected Secretary General, I therefore focussed on improving these aspects of the Federation work. We developed the Update Newsletter and published it regularly. Information between the Committee members was improved. A new logo and a website were developed. The Council received yearly reports on the work done by its Committee as well as a draft plan and budget for the coming year.
As Federation efficiency improved and the first member parties entered national governments, a new sense of Federation identity emerged. Small parties were assisted, regional networks developed and the Federation actively tried to help defuse conflicts between national Green factions. It emphasized its wider task and perspective than the Green Group in the EP, having half of its members outside the EU. In preparation for the 1999 European elections the Federation for the first time developed the Green election platform, a job previously done by the Green EP Group.
But this was also a time to look beyond the internal affairs of the Federation and beyond Europe. Cooperation with other Green organizations and foundations came about and very significantly: the European Federation opened up and took the lead in developing a global network for action. EFGP was a close supporting partner to the emerging US Green Party. And as the Kyoto climate conference approached, the Federation successfully coordinated 65 Green parties on five continents to agree on a Green climate policy statement.
