EU elections

Commenting on the EU election results, which reveal strong gains for the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament (1), Group Co-President Daniel Cohn-Bendit said:

"This is D-Day for environmental politics in Europe. In many countries record numbers have voted Green and supported our vision for the future. Europeans welcomed our constructive, positive stance and that - unlike others - we were willing to talk about genuine European issues in this European election. This stands in stark contrast with the destructive message of Eurosceptics and the extreme right who regrettably also made gains last night.

"It is important to note that the Christian Democrats and the centre-right as a whole have consolidated a strong position, while the Social Democrats have suffered a spectacular collapse. This has far-reaching implications for the political work that lies ahead in the next legislature.

"The big question for the Greens in the coming weeks is how to build a coalition of opposition to Barroso's reappointment as European Commission President. We cannot afford a repeat of his leadership and his policies. The Greens will aim to build the necessary majority together with Socialists, Liberals and left wing parties."

Monica Frassoni, outgoing Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group added:

"The success of progressive and environmental candidates shows that our messages for a green revolution, for defence of citizens' rights and for a democratic Europe have struck a chord with the European public. Given the results in my home country of Italy, it is clear that we will need to work hard to create new conditions and develop a new political space to make progress there."

Note to editors:

1) Latest estimates put the new Greens/EFA Group at 53 MEPs, up from 43. This is in the face of a decrease in the overall number of MEPs in the European Parliament after this election (from 785 to 736 members).