Greens gather for European summit

Climate change, human trafficking and the EU Constitution will be among the issues discussed at a summit of European Greens in Dublin this weekend.

Over 200 delegates from South America and 32 European countries are gathering for a council meeting of the newly-formed European Green Party.

The myriad of issues on the agenda also include gender politics, renewable energy, fair trade, healthy eating and equality issues.

Delegates include Daniel Cohn-Bendit, European Greens co-president and former 1968 student movement leader.

A delegation from Columbia will plant a tree on Sunday to honour green activist Ingrid Betancourt who was kidnapped by FARC guerillas in 2002.

Among the motions, Irish Greens will be calling for the Government to reverse its decision to build incinerators and adopt sustainable policies on waste management.

The Irish Greens have so far refused to take a definitive position on the EU Constitution.

They agree with aspects of it but are very concerned about the impact of its defence commitments on Ireland.

Announcing details of tomorrow’s conference, party leader Trevor Sargent said of the Treaty: “I want to support it but find it difficult given some of the impediments contained within it.

“Obviously the defence issue, and the fact that there are no neo-liberal values enshrined in it and not enough accountability in relation to trade.

“Defence spending will seriously impact on our budgets in this country.

“Health, education and public transport policies will have to give way to increased defence spending.”

Green Party defence spokesman John Gormley added that Ireland currently had the lowest defence budget in the EU at 0.6% of GDP.

He explained: “The defence commitments under the Constitution will make that figure jump to 1% of GDP to begin with.”

“The issue for us is that whether the plusses outweigh the minuses.”

The Greens said they will be holding regional seminars and a special convention during the referendum campaign so that party members can decide on the issue.

European Greens spokesperson Grazia Francescato today called for a quota system to encourage more women to get involved in politics.

The Italian Greens president explained: “Only 15% of all parliament members in the EU are women. We need at least 40% of women in all public leadership positions to fulfil our demands for equal opportunities.

“Women have a more ‘service delivery’ approach to politics whereas men tend to be attracted to the roles and status attached to political life.”

Ms Francescato also described ‘junk food’ as ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and said that public policy should focus more on nutrition and exercise, particularly among young people.

She added: “Up to 120,000 women and children are trafficked across Europe every year and the industry now generates more revenue for organised crime after drugs and arms.”

On the issue of climate change, Mr Sargent was critical of the Taoiseach: “Bush might be bad but Bertie is worse. He has made Ireland more car-dependent and oil-dependent per capita than the US.

“We’re flagrantly disregarding the Kyoto Protocol ... it doesn’t have any meaningful impact.”