Europe's Green parties will see influence decline

Subject

The decline of the Greens across Western Europe.

Significance

Green parties have been weakened in recent years in Europe and are suffering from the current economic and cultural context, caught between the rising far right and radical left. This regression in influence is also a regression in power at the European level, where the new European Parliament (EP) and European Commission are much less Green. Although European citizens are still attached to environmental values, there is little doubt that European environmental parties are now facing the risk of irrelevance.

Impacts

• European policy will become less inclined to integrate environmental concerns, despite the aspirations of most European citizens.
• The Greens' loss of power may also weaken Europe's global leadership on environmental policy, especially climate change mitigation.
• The UK Green Party's surge in membership may owe more to a protest vote ahead of the May election than support for ecological issues.