Good to see that Jill Evans MEP has been elected President of EFA and is also a Vice President of the whole Green/EFA group led by Danny Cohn-Bendit. Plaid at the heart of Europe!
Now is the time for all nationalists across Europe to join up with the Greens.
"The Nineteenth century saw a great Springtime of Nations as the revolutions of 1848 saw new countries created the length and breadth of Europe. In our world today we are now seeing our own Spring Awakening with people and cultures that have long been dormant and subdued asserting their right to exist, their right to dream." Adam Price MP
I'd certainly echo that. However Jill is one of seven vice-presidents of the Green EFA Group. And although Daniel Cohn-Bendit is undoubtedly the most prominent figure in the group, his position is co-president along with Rebecca Harms, a German Green.
ReplyDeleteJill is in fact First Vice President of the Green / EFA group. A bit Mandelson-ish but true nevertheless. So we have a strong Welsh-European voice up there with Danny and Rebecca. She and Plaid are certainly in a much more influential position.
ReplyDeleteHer election also shows the developing convergence between civic nationalism and environmentalism across Europe. We saw the electoral effect of this in France this time. The potential is huge.
That is so in Flanders too. Greens and autonomists work more close together now.
ReplyDeleteda iawn Jill - chuffed for you and Plaid.
ReplyDeleteBut please, in the midst of all the Greens, and especially the French Greens, don't forget to campaign for linguistic and national rights of Wales and just as importantly Brittany and the Basques.
I don't trust the French on such issues, not even celebrity MEP's like Cohn-Bendit. The French left have a long history of arrogance and a colonial attitude towards other languages especially Breton, Basque and Flemish/Dutch.
Anon 10.34. To some extent you are right, of course. Many of the French left have the same imperialist attitudes as the Brit Left.
ReplyDeleteBut for the record, Francois Alfonsine of EFA's Corsican sister party was elected MEP on the same list as Danny. And French Green, Gerard Onesta, out-going EP vice-president, was a huge supporter of official status for Welsh and other minority languages (unlike Eluned Morgan).
It is correct to point out that we are not there yet. But this is work in progress and, thankfully, going the right way. I expect Jill is aware of this and works on it all the time. Hopefully, her new job will strengthen that work.