They broke the firewall with the far right

2025 wrapped: European Parliament edition

As 2025 is coming to an end, we invited the Greens/EFA Co-Presidents Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout to join us for a review of the year and to look ahead to 2026. We talked about their highlights and about moments they would have liked to press the skip button. Who will make it to their naughty or nice list?  In a “festive mood” we look back to some inspiring moments of 2025: Budapest Pride, My Voice My Choice and our amazing MEPs negotiating groundbreaking deals. You might also pick up on some personal music recommendations.  Of course we end by looking ahead to 2026 and discuss what Terry and Bas are looking forward to in the new year. On behalf of the Greens/EFA podcast team, we all wish you a nice Christmas time and the best for 2026! In this episode 0:11 welcome 1:23 2025 wrapped European Parliament edition 5:06 Highlights of 2025 18:14 Questions by our supporters 22:30 Naughty or nice 28:43 Looking ahead to 2026 About our guests * Terry Reintke is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany since 2014. She has been Co-President since 2022. * Bas Eickhout is Member of the European Parliament for GroenLinks from the Netherlands since 2009. He has been Co-President since 2024.

Ukraine and Europe: Hard Lessons, Real Hope

Everyone was shocked by the full scale war in Ukraine, but for some it was no surprise. For this episode we invited MEPs Markéta Gregorová and Mārtiņš Staķis to talk about their special relationship with Ukraine and its people. Markéta and Mārtiņš had a frank discussion about Europe's strengths and weaknesses in this war, the typical cynical humour of Ukrainians people and the miscalculations by Putin when attacking the country.  As the war drags on we are also looking forward: What gives moments of hope when we are looking for solutions? And how does this link with Green policies? (spoiler: energy independence) Note: We recorded this podcast before the current dynamic of peace negotiations - nevertheless the conversation is still very relevant.  In this episode 0:00 Welcome 0:32 A personal relationship with Ukraine 6:34 We saw it coming - anticipating the attack from Russia 12:47 Visiting Ukraine, a united and resilient nation  16:12 Europe's will to fight 20:38 Adapting to a political reality 23:26 A message from Olena 29:40 Lightning round 31:46 Myth busting 35:25 Moments of hope About our guests * Markéta Gregorová is Member of the European Parliament for the Czech Pirate Party in the Greens/EFA Group. She is Vice-Chair of the Euronest Delegation, an exchange forum with parliamentarians from Ukraine, Moldova and other countries in the region. * Mārtiņš Staķis is Member of the European Parliament for the Latvian Progresīvie Party in the Greens/EFA Group. He is a member of the committees on Security and Defence and on Regional Development. He was the mayor of Riga from 2020 until 2023.

They broke the firewall with the far right

On Thursday 13 November, we witnessed a vote in the European Parliament that broke the firewall (cordon sanitaire) between the Christian Democrat EPP and the far right. This is the recording of the webinar where we share our analysis of what happened and what the consequences of this vote are. Our MEPs Terry Reintke and Kira Peter-Hansen joined the call. In this episode 1:06 What happened last week? 5:08 The importance of the due diligence legislation 9:38 A symbol for moving majorities 13:57 Next steps for this legislation 15:31 Sleepwalking into a trap 18:08 This keeps us motivated About our guests * Terry Reintke is Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014 for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany. * Kira Marie Peter-Hansen is Member of the European Parliament for Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) from Denmark. She is the lead negotiator on behalf of the Greens/EFA on the due diligence files. What you can do If you want to get involved in our movement for fight for freedom, join us on https://act.greens-efa.eu/courageclub [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkh5dlRYWTRSQmhtbFc4VFlvN2p5ajMySTEzUXxBQ3Jtc0trdFNVbk82emhOUDR0SEFiMHlpZDNMcGIyUnZ0TzFIN0oxM2s2UjZmZkdXQnctaWNac1VRRUtla0dZdURMYkxOMVBzV2pGM0cwVDZHWkRRTHlNcnFBZ1ZmWUxYUTZpVDBrek03QUM4dmJPdzN5aUk2VQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fact.greens-efa.eu%2Fcourageclub&v=Qm6C2L3WDK8]

Climate and COP30: Another world is possible

Ten years ago world leaders were celebrating the climate agreement in Paris, but a lot has changed since then. Time to sit down with our climate expert MEPs Lena Schilling and Michael Bloss. How do they counter fossil fuel industries and European conservatives following Trump? How do they make them keep to their promises? Our guests discuss how they see a way out by showing white old men like Trump, Merz and Marcon that people still care for the climate and that they are willing to work across borders to achieve that. That another world is possible. That giving up, because it is difficult, is not an option. In this episode 0:00 Welcome 0:45 Paris, ten years ago 3:20 An assignment 4:00 Fighting back 12:13 Are COP climate summits still relevant? 15:38 Quick Fire Round 17:30 Mythbusters 22:13 Looking forward 27:30 Final message About our guests * Lena Schilling is Member of the European Parliament for Die Grünen from Austria since 2024. Before becoming the youngest MEP elected, she was a member of the climate youth movement in her country. * Michael Bloss is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany since 2019. Before that he was co-chair of the Federation of Young European Greens.

Nature under threat: this is how we fight back

Clean air, healthy food, and a safe climate - everything we need depends on nature. But nature is under pressure from pollution, corporate lobbying, and far-right attacks on environmental laws. In this episode, Jutta and Virginijus discuss their fight to protect Europe’s biodiversity, the future of the EU Green Deal, and how we can take action together to save our planet. 🌍 In this episode 0:00 welcome 1:05 Knowing me, knowing you 6:20 The Empire strikes back: nature under threat 14:33 Quick Fire Round  16:35 Debunking 21:37 Fixing things: what gives hope? About our guests * Jutta Paulus is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany. She was trained as a chemist/scientist and saw first hand how pollution was harming people. * Virginijus Sinkevičius is Member of the European Parliament for The Union of Democrats "For Lithuania". As European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries last term, he was the youngest Commissioner in office.