Delegates from all the European Green parties have elected Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout to be the “face and heart” of the Green campaign for the EU elections, at their congress in Lyon, France.
The elected leading candidates ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ will represent the Greens in the upcoming political debates and campaign events.
Reintke commented: “I am overwhelmed and grateful by the trust the European Greens put in me as their leading candidate for the European elections.”
“I will fight for a diverse green and social Europe, a democratic Europe where racism and hatred have no place, where we set today the course for a just transition to a climate neutral industry for tomorrow.”
“This is a decisive moment, together we stand up against the far-right, it will take courage, but we are stronger.”
Further comment came from Eickhout, another veteran MEP, who said, “I’m very honoured and excited to be one of the Spitzenkandidaten.”
“These elections are going to be extremely important: our planet is rapidly heating up, a gruesome war is being fought on our borders, and inequality is increasing. At the same time, the far right is gaining popularity whilst only offering polarisation, exclusion, and false solutions.”
“As Spitzenkandidat for the Greens, I will show that we are the antidote to the far right and show how a green, social and inclusive Europa is possible, for this we need to work together with all progressive forces across Europe. I’m looking forward to a campaign where we can make this happen.”
Reintke, 36, is the Co-President of the Greens/EFA-group in the European Parliament, where she has been a Member since 2014. Reintke grew up in the industrial region of the Ruhr area, which has deeply shaped her as a policy maker, knowing that the green transition of industry must go hand in hand with social justice.
Reintke has been a fierce fighter for feminism and rule of law. She has studied political science in Berlin and Edinburgh.
Eickhout, 47, is vice-President of the Green/EFA-group in the European Parliament and vice-chair of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety in the European Parliament, where he has been a Member since 2009.
Before coming to the European Parliament Bas worked as a researcher at the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
He worked on several projects related to international environmental problems, such as climate change, agriculture, land-use and biofuels.
He co-authored the IPCC report on climate change, which received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Bas studied Chemistry and Environmental Science at the Radboud University in Nijmegen and lives in Utrecht.
