The European Greens are also expected to welcome four new member parties at their Congress in Vienna on Saturday, 3rd June.

The Greens says it will, additionally “strongly condemn the alliance of conservative, liberal, and far-right political forces attacking European nature and climate legislation.”

Attendees at the event in Austria include Mélanie Vogel (pictured), Co-Chair of the European Green Party; Thomas Waitz, Co-Chair of the European Green Party and Leonore Gewessler, Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology.

Over 120 delegates attending the Congress will vote on the adoption of the Spitzenkandidaten-process, with the Green saying this “is the strongest democratic tool at our disposal to give EU citizens a direct say in deciding who would be the next European Commission President.”

Another issue up for debate is the Green Deal, which was born following the Green Wave in the 2019 EU elections.

A Greens source told this site: “It is crucial in the fight against climate change, and to create jobs and secure the European independence from Russian energy.

“It is time to focus on the implementation of the Green Deal and consequently abolish fossil technologies.

“At a time when Conservative parties, especially from the European People’s Party, are adopting far-right narratives and actively working on destroying the Green Deal, the European Greens are going to protect the Green Deal for our children and grandchildren.”

The congress will also vote on the membership of 4 more national green parties: Hungary – Párbeszéd – A Zöldek Pàrtja; Portugal – LIVRE; Portugal – Pessoas-Animais-Natureza / PAN; Slovenia – VESNA – Zelena Stranka. If adopted, this will make the European Green Party membership grow from 44 to 48 parties, and inside the European Union from 26 to 30 member parties.

The source said, “This further reinforces the growth of the Greens in the south and east of Europe ahead of the elections in 2024.”

Image: By MelanieVogel2205 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119097781