Future of UK lies in the EU after Brexit ‘failure’, say European Greens | Brexit
The European Green Party has called on Britain to consider rejoining the EU and draw a line under the “political and economic failure” of Brexit.
A text declaring that “the future of the United Kingdom lies in the European Union” was adopted by the vast majority of European green parties at the movement’s annual leadership meeting on Friday, the day before Europe Day.
According to insider information, it is the first time a European political party has officially invited the UK to rejoin the EU. “Someone needs to trigger the debate,” Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the European Green Party, said in an interview.
“The main debate belongs first and foremost to the democratic debate in the United Kingdom, and we do not want to do that, but as a European political family we want to trigger that debate. Maybe other political families can join in, but for us the moment is now.”
The intervention comes after Keir Starmer’s Labor Party suffered heavy losses in local elections at the expense of gains by Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, and the Greens struggled to convert increased votes into seats.
The text on reversing Brexit was part of a wider declaration by European Green party leaders calling for energy independence and action against the far right.
He says: “Brexit has been a political and economic failure with lasting negative consequences for people in the UK and across Europe.
“The European Green family is clear: the UK’s future lies in the European Union. We are ready to welcome the UK back together with other countries when it chooses this path.”
The declaration means that green parties across Europe, such as Die Grünen in Germany or Les Écologistes in France, as they are called, must reflect this position in national debates and policy positions.
Delegates from 30 European green parties, including those from non-EU countries, met in Brussels on Friday to approve the text. Representatives of green parties in Britain were not at the meeting due to local and parliamentary elections, but they had the right to take a remote position in the newspaper.
Zach Polanski, the Green Party’s leader for England and Wales, described Brexit as “a sledgehammer to the already weak economy” and told ITV’s Peston program that he was “absolutely, very much in favor” of eventually rejoining the EU. He discussed the rejoining declaration with Tsetsi and European Greens co-chairman Ciarán Cuffe at a meeting in Manchester on 1 May.
A spokesman for the Green Party in England and Wales said: “Brexit was a disaster and we have always said we should rejoin the EU when the political conditions are right.”
The intervention could intensify debate within the UK over closer economic relations with the EU, amid the looming downturn caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, Donald Trump’s criticism of Keir Starmer and growing awareness of Russia as a security threat.
But the Greens are represented in a small number of EU governments and no other European political party is expected to follow suit.
The influence of green parties across Europe has diminished in recent years; this is highlighted by their loss in the 2024 European Parliament elections and their elimination from the ruling coalition in Germany.
Tsetsi insisted the Greens’ fortunes were on the rise again, pointing to recent election results in Denmark, votes in the UK and mayoral races across Europe. The Greens and their affiliated parties won the mayoralties in Riga and Copenhagen in 2025. “This is a moment when the Greens are rallying… and they are able to influence the political debate,” he argued.
The veteran Greek politician brushed aside suggestions that Britain was a difficult member state, saying times were changing. “History shows that Brexit was a mistake and both sides lost a lot. And I am confident that we can learn from the mistakes and together we can build a stronger European Union.”
He emphasized that the political situation has improved since the Brexit referendum in 2016: “This is again a historic moment… Ten years after Brexit happened, Europe needs to be strengthened.”
