In a “festive mood” we look back to some inspiring moments of 2025: Budapest Pride, My Voice My Choice and our amazing MEPs negotiating groundbreaking deals. You might also pick up on some personal music recommendations. 

Of course we end by looking ahead to 2026 and discuss what Terry and Bas are looking forward to in the new year.

On behalf of the Greens/EFA podcast team, we all wish you a nice Christmas time and the best for 2026!

In this episode
0:11 welcome
1:23 2025 wrapped European Parliament edition
5:06 Highlights of 2025
18:14 Questions by our supporters
22:30 Naughty or nice
28:43 Looking ahead to 2026

About our guests

• Terry Reintke is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany since 2014. She has been Co-President since 2022.
• Bas Eickhout is Member of the European Parliament for GroenLinks from the Netherlands since 2009. He has been Co-President since 2024. 

Markéta and Mārtiņš had a frank discussion about Europe's strengths and weaknesses in this war, the typical cynical humour of Ukrainians people and the miscalculations by Putin when attacking the country. 

As the war drags on we are also looking forward: What gives moments of hope when we are looking for solutions? And how does this link with Green policies? (spoiler: energy independence)

Note: We recorded this podcast before the current dynamic of peace negotiations - nevertheless the conversation is still very relevant. 

In this episode

0:00 Welcome

0:32 A personal relationship with Ukraine

6:34 We saw it coming - anticipating the attack from Russia

12:47 Visiting Ukraine, a united and resilient nation 

16:12 Europe's will to fight

20:38 Adapting to a political reality

23:26 A message from Olena

29:40 Lightning round

31:46 Myth busting

35:25 Moments of hope

About our guests

• Markéta Gregorová is Member of the European Parliament for the Czech Pirate Party in the Greens/EFA Group. She is Vice-Chair of the Euronest Delegation, an exchange forum with parliamentarians from Ukraine, Moldova and other countries in the region.
• Mārtiņš Staķis is Member of the European Parliament for the Latvian Progresīvie Party in the Greens/EFA Group. He is a member of the committees on Security and Defence and on Regional Development. He was the mayor of Riga from 2020 until 2023.

This is the recording of the webinar where we share our analysis of what happened and what the consequences of this vote are. Our MEPs Terry Reintke and Kira Peter-Hansen joined the call.

In this episode

1:06 What happened last week?
5:08 The importance of the due diligence legislation
9:38 A symbol for moving majorities
13:57 Next steps for this legislation
15:31 Sleepwalking into a trap
18:08 This keeps us motivated

About our guests

• Terry Reintke is Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014 for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany.
• Kira Marie Peter-Hansen is Member of the European Parliament for Socialistisk Folkeparti (SF) from Denmark. She is the lead negotiator on behalf of the Greens/EFA on the due diligence files.

What you can do

If you want to get involved in our movement for fight for freedom, join us on https://act.greens-efa.eu/courageclub

Our guests discuss how they see a way out by showing white old men like Trump, Merz and Marcon that people still care for the climate and that they are willing to work across borders to achieve that. That another world is possible. That giving up, because it is difficult, is not an option.

In this episode

0:00 Welcome
0:45 Paris, ten years ago
3:20 An assignment
4:00 Fighting back
12:13 Are COP climate summits still relevant?
15:38 Quick Fire Round
17:30 Mythbusters
22:13 Looking forward
27:30 Final message

About our guests

• Lena Schilling is Member of the European Parliament for Die Grünen from Austria since 2024. Before becoming the youngest MEP elected, she was a member of the climate youth movement in her country.
• Michael Bloss is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany since 2019. Before that he was co-chair of the Federation of Young European Greens.

In this episode, Jutta and Virginijus discuss their fight to protect Europe’s biodiversity, the future of the EU Green Deal, and how we can take action together to save our planet. 🌍

In this episode

0:00 welcome
1:05 Knowing me, knowing you
6:20 The Empire strikes back: nature under threat
14:33 Quick Fire Round 
16:35 Debunking
21:37 Fixing things: what gives hope?

About our guests

• Jutta Paulus is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany. She was trained as a chemist/scientist and saw first hand how pollution was harming people.
• Virginijus Sinkevičius is Member of the European Parliament for The Union of Democrats "For Lithuania". As European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries last term, he was the youngest Commissioner in office.

Don’t know your monetary policy from your macroeconomics? Don’t panic. We’ve imposed a jargon tax to keep the conversation understandable.

Marie and Rasmus debunk the tax myths they hear every day - and talk about their solutions to make society fairer for all. "If we don't solve inequality, we won't solve other issues."

In this episode

0:00 welcome
1:44 The importance of fighting wealth inequality
9:27 Should billionaires exist?
12:40 Quick Fire Round
18:24 Debunking
24:33 Fixing things

About our guests

• Marie Toussaint is Member of the European Parliament for Europe Ecologie from France and Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group. She was trained as a lawyer in international environmental law before elected in the European Parliament.
• Rasmus Andresen is Member of the European Parliament for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen from Germany, from the Schleswig-Holstein region on the German-Danish border. Rasmus is coordinator of the Greens/EFA Group in the Budget Committee.

Sign our petition

People in Europe work hard to earn a living and to provide for their families. But ultra-rich tech bros owning digital giants are just raking in record breaking profits, without contributing to society - all with the support from US President Donald Trump. It is time to stand up to them and make them pay (a Digital Services Tax).

“You cannot silence a rainbow.” Kim and Rasmus also discuss how the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is attacking fundamental rights by trying to ban Budapest Pride - and how he is actually harming the mental wellbeing of kids himself. Both will be present to protect the local LGBTQIA+ community.

In closing Kim and Rasmus tell us what keeps them going: “We are one community and we stand together - but we are also very diverse. That is the wonderful thing about Pride.”

In this episode

0:00 Welcome

1:58 Personal Pride

12:00 Pride as protest (vs corporate pink washing) 

18:43 Budapest Pride

25:23 What keeps you going?

About our guests

• Kim van Sparrentak is Member of the European Parliament for GroenLinks from the Netherlands and chair of the Parliament’s LGBTQIA+ intergroup.
• Rasmus Nordqvist is Member of the European Parliament for the Danish SF party and leads the Queer Network within the European Greens.

Connect

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Listen now to Terry and Bas as they discuss the realities of daily politics. How are they coping with the idea of four more years of Trump? How do we make sure European policy responds to people's real world problems? How can we make sure we invest in clean energy in a way that's fair for everyone?

We discussed what politicians need to do to regain trust from its citizens, how we can stand up against a disruptive Trump presidency and how a Green Industrial Deal will provide jobs in the European Union.

We enjoyed this conversation and we hope you do too. This podcast was just a pilot episode - please let us know what you think in the comments.

We might come back later in 2025 with more unfiltered conversations with our Greens/EFA MEPs as a full podcast series. 

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