Croatian Greens stress local empowerment in energy transition
Members of the European Green Party (EGP) concluded their 40th congress in Lisbon with a call to accelerate the green transition in a way that does not come at the expense of citizens, and to unite progressive forces against the European People's Party (EPP) and the far right.
EGP co-chair Ciarán Cuffe said at the closing session that the future of Europe lies in a faster green transition, but stressed that people must come first, not profit, CE Report quotes HINA.
Cuffe also told the Congress that Europe must stand firm amid rhetoric coming not only from Moscow but also from Washington.
Spain's Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz of the left-wing Sumar platform, also took part in the congress. She said that we cannot choose between preventing the climate crisis and protecting the economy, because climate justice is social justice, adding that progressive forces must unite and cooperate.
The green transition must improve, not worsen, quality of life, Sandra Benčić, a member of the Croatian Parliament and coordinator of the Možemo! (We Can!) party, a full member of the EGP since February 2024, told Hina.
"We want the green energy transition to mean that citizens living in the community either have ownership or benefit from it, rather than resources being taken from our communities so that someone else can profit," Benčić said, pointing to local resistance in Zabok to the expropriation of small farmers' land in favour of private investors building solar power plants.
The same issue affects residents of Pregrada, who protested in August against a private investment in solar power facilities.
Political groups in the Croatian Parliament agree that "joint and public investment in renewable energy sources is key to achieving Croatia's energy independence," Benčić said.
"I think this goes far beyond our party and reflects a consensus from right to left. What we disagree on is the economic model. We will always advocate for citizen-led energy, for citizens and communities to benefit, while those from the centre to the right will argue that only certain chosen actors should benefit," she added.
Opposition to the EPP and the far right
The right is not dealing with people's day-to-day problems; they are building a bridge that leads the far right back to power, EGP co-chair Vula Tsetsi said on Saturday. She criticised EPP leader Manfred Weber for allying with the far right and breaking his own campaign pledge to work only with pro-European forces, those who support Ukraine and respect the rule of law, after the European Parliament in November backed simplified sustainability reporting rules for companies with far-right support.
Tsetsi said it was the Greens' duty to join forces with progressive forces and safeguard democracy.
Simplifying the rules will bring some relief to companies, but many of them were already preparing for the new requirements, and the change mainly benefits those that were not, Croatian Green MEP Gordan Bosanac believes.
"Now that the EPP, together with the far right, has moved to roll back this regulation, my impression was that quite a few companies were angry. This will certainly slow down the transformation of the business sector towards sustainable practices. It has also created a split within the business sector. One part said this was not overly complicated and that they were ready, while those that had not adapted pushed to stop it," Bosanac told Hina.
foto Mohammed Badra
