Ecologist Greens



The Ecologist Greens (Οικολόγοι Πράσινοι (ΟΠ), Oikologoi Prasinoi, OP) are a Greek green political party. They are a member of the European Green Party.

History
The political party "Green Politics" (Πράσινη Πολιτική, Prasini Politiki) the body that lead to the establishment of the party under the name "Oikologoi Prasinoi", was founded back at 1996 and already registered as the Greek member of the European Green Party, including other local ecological groups and independent ecologists, like the "Ecological Forum" and Ecological Movement of Thessaloniki (Οικολογική Κίνηση Θεσσαλονίκης).

On 7–8 December 2002, the "Prasini Politiki" council ("Green Politics") called for a conference that convened in the building of the Athens Lawyer Association, and it decided to establish the Ecologists Greens and elected an 18-member council to coordinate the establishment of a new political entity. In the coming months, focus groups were created to shape the constitution and the political positions of the body, which were adopted by the first congress of the party in May 2003 at Panteion University.

2004 European elections
The 2004 Ecologists Greens participated for the first time in elections 2004 European Elections with Michalis Tremopoulos in the top of the list and they received 0.67%.

2006 local elections
In the prefectural elections of 2006, the Ecologists Greens supported the "Ecology -Solidarity" in Thessaloniki, that won 4.6% and acquired 2 seats on the Prefecture Council of Thessaloniki (Tremopoulos Michalis and Gogakou Dimitra), the "Eco-Athens" in the municipality of Athens, that took 1.4% of the votes, as well as 53 other municipal and County sets in rest of the country.

2007 national elections
At its 5th Congress in March 2007, the party decided to contest the 2007 Greek legislative election. Nanos Valaoritis, a distinguished living Greek poet, became the party's leading candidate in the 2007 Greek legislative election.

2008 Congress
During 29 and 30 of March 2008 the annual congress of the party took place in Athens at the Gkini building of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). The annual congress is the highest political entity of the party and was attended by a record of 235 members. Members of the party are recently (September 2008) reaching 700. With the 2007 Greek legislative election, its first general election, the party became the sixth largest party in Greece and the largest party without parliamentary representation.

2009 European and national elections
In the December 6-7-8 Party General Assembly, it was decided to contest the 2009 European Elections and the list of party candidates was elected. The Ecologists Greens managed to elect Michalis Tremopoulos as MEP, but they narrowly failed to gain representation in the following national elections in October 2009. Nevertheless, their share of the vote increased to 2.53% gaining approximately 100,000 more votes than in 2007.

January 2015 national elections
In January 2015, the Ecologists Greens decided to collaborate with SYRIZA. Alexis Tsipras' called for unity against the Memorandum and the Ecologists Greens decided to support SYRIZA's electoral list for the upcoming legislative election. One Ecologist Green MP was elected on the SYRIZA ticket, Giorgos Dimaras, and an Ecologist Green, Giannis Tsironis, was appointed Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy in the first Tsipras Cabinet.

September 2015 national elections
Giorgos Dimaras was reelected and Giannis Tsironis was elected for the first time. Tsironis was reappointed Alternate Minister of Environment in the second Tsipras cabinet on 23 September 2015.

On September 2018 cabinet reshuffle of the SYRIZA / ANEL/ OIKOLOGOI PRASINOI coalition, Giorgos Dimaras was appointed Vice Minister of the Environment and Energy Ministry of the Greek Government. Also Giannis Tsironis - another important member of the party of ECOGREENS - was affiliated as Alternate Minister of the Environment and Energy Ministry (from January 2015 until November 2016) and directly afterwards was affiliated as Alternate Minister of the Agricultural Development and Food Ministry (from November 2016 until August 2018).

2017, 13th Annual Congress
During 27 and 29 of January 2017 the annual congress of the party took place in Athens. The annual congress is the highest political entity of the party and was attended by a record of 260 members.

2021, 18th Annual Congress
At November 2021 the annual congress of the party took place in Athens. The annual congress is the highest political entity of the party and was attended by a record of 160 members. Following the finish of the Congress the internal procedure for voting and electing the new members of the General Political Secretariat and the Panhellenic Council was completed, while during the Congress the new co-presidents of the ECOGREENS - mrs Katerina Andrikopoulou - Sakorafa and mr. Dimitrios Politopoulos have already been elected to head together the management of the party.

2022, Ordinal ("Ektakto") Congress
During 19 and 20 of February 2022 the annual congress of the party took place in Athens. The annual congress is the highest political entity of the party and was attended by a record of 180 members.During this annual congress the most important issue brought for discussion and voting referred to the consideration of a possible election coalition for the next coming National Elections for the Greek Parliament, with "Prasinoi", another party of the general Ecological politics , formed well after ECOGREENS (Oikologoi Prasinoi) in 2020, and "Pirates" a newly established Greek party, in order to achieve better voting results from Greek citizen in total. This decision was later on (on July 2022) rejected from the side of "Prasinoi".

2023 National elections (held on May and June)
In February 2023, the Ecologists Greens (Oikologoi Prasinoi) and after the previous failure to proceed in a collaboration with 7 other very small and newly established political schemes, forming a coalition named "Green and Purple" (Prasino kai Mauve) decided to collaborate and form a new coalition with "Green Unity" (Prasini Enotita) a newly founded institution of highly recognized academic experts feeling appropriate to support the European "Green Deal" , the Fair Transition towards a Gas-Free Europe for 2030 and later and fighting against the Climate Change and its dramatic results on our Planet. The results achieved (in votes number and percentage were accordingly in MAY elections : 0,60% (35201 v.) / in JUNE elections (2nd round) : 0,41% (21188 v.).

2023 local Authorities elections (October 8, 2023)
At the 2023 Greek local Authorities elections (Mayors and Prefecture leaders) of 2023, held in October the Ecologists Greens supported a number of candidates, both for Mayors and Prefecture leaders. More than 12 local schemes were chosen to be supported, in some of which members of the "Oikologoi Prasinoi" contributed with their own candidacy. We name : in the Prefecture of Attica ,for the candidate - head mr. Giorgos Ioakimidis ("Attica Circle for Collaboration and Trust"), in the Prefecture of Central Macedonia for head officer mr. Apostolos Tzitzikostas ("Solidarity") with candidate the member of O.P. mr. Fotis Bimbasis, for the Prefecture of Thessalia for head officer mr. Dimitrios Kouretas and for the Prefecture of South Aegean islands for mr. Nikiforos Papanikolas. Also for new Mayorships Oikologoi Prasinoi supported the candidates in 10 different towns, while 4 of them were successfully selected.

2024, 19th Annual Congress
During 20 and 21 of January of 2024 the 19th annual congress of the party took place in Athens in hybrid state (both physical gathering at KOUKAKI- ATHENS and digitally, from distance with use of internet connections). The annual congress is the highest and most important political entity of the party and was attended by a record of 50 members. Following the finish of the Congress the internal procedure for voting and electing the new members of the General Political Secretariat (consisting of 9 members) and the Panhellenic Council (consisting of 17 members) was completed, while during the Congress the new co-presidents of the ECOGREENS - mrs Alexandra Datseri and mr. Konstantinos Ziavras have already been elected to head together the management of the party. With the following European Parliament Elections held in June of 2024, lot of serious decisions shall be taken during continuous meetings of the General Political Secretariat as well of the Panhellenic Council.

Aims
The basic principles of the Ecologists Greens (Oikologoi Prasinoi), as determined by their constitution are: sustainability, social justice, nonviolence, direct and participatory democracy, respect for diversity, decentralization and subsidiarity, protect and restore natural ecosystems, the quality of life, personal & social responsibility, equity and anti-austerity.

Affiliations

 * European Green Party