Historic highs, local lows: the European Green Party in 2025

2025 brought mixed fortunes for the European Green Party: record election results in Norway and Portugal, historic membership surges in Germany and the UK, and the election of the first Green mayor in Copenhagen and Riga. However, the loss of governmental power in Germany was a notable setback. Tobias Gerhard Schminke from Europe Elects has the data and details.

Report | Source code: A trade-related barrier to the right to repair

A new report commissioned by the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), and supported by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's EU | Global Dialogue and Washington, DC USA | Canada | Global Dialogue offices, highlights mounting concerns that international trade agreements are creating barriers to consumers’ right to repair the products they own. As everyday devices from smartphones to tractors become ever more reliant on software, restrictive clauses in free trade agreements are making it harder for consumers and independent repairers to access the tools and information they need for effective repairs.

Interview | The G20 and AU-EU relations amidst global fragmentation

Did Africa’s first G20 presidency deliver on its promise of solidarity, equality and sustainability? Our Head of Programme for EU and International Politics, Dr. Katharina Emschermann, spoke with Paula Assubuji, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's office in Cape Town, about what the Johannesburg G20 and the AU-EU summit in Luanda reveal about power, inequality and the state of multilateral cooperation.

From regulation to resilience: The role of digital rules in defending democracy and security

How can Europe reclaim digital sovereignty to defend democracy against hybrid threats from authoritarian states and unregulated AI-driven platforms? To answer this question we supported an event organized by Defend Democracy at the Danish Permanent Representation to the EU on 4 December.

3 Questions on the COP30 outcome to MEP Bas Eickhout

The COP30 in Belém unfolded against rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate impacts, and deepening divides between high-ambition countries and major fossil-fuel producers. In light of the absence of the US administration and the final outcome that is weakened on key issues such as the fossil fuel phase-out, we asked MEP Bas Eickhout, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament and member of the EP delegation to the COP30 UN Climate Summit, how he assesses the Belém Package and what role he sees for the European Union in future climate diplomacy.

Commentary | An EU roadmap to phase out fossil fuels

This year's climate summit in Belem did not deliver necessary progress to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Similarly, the EU's contribution to the needed global emissions reductions by 2035 are not at the level required. The EU can make up for these failures by starting with the development of an EU roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, in line with its (failed) demand to get a global roadmap in the Belem conclusions.

Time for independent energy system operation in the EU?

The need for independent energy system operation is a live debate across the EU. It may be raised as an issue by the European Commission in their forthcoming Grids Package or White Paper on Electricity Market Design. Decisions about institutional reform are never taken lightly. They consume resource and political energy and may temporarily delay many important processes, especially if the affected parties are resistant to the proposed change. However, the cost of failing to effectively deliver policy goals is huge. We cannot wait to fail before acting.