Eurovision Debate 2024 between the lead candidates for the Commission presidency: Spotlight - Terry REINTKE, European Greens. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

debate

REINTKE, Terry (Greens/EFA, DE)

Eurovision debate between candidates for the Presidency of the European Commission (T)

2024 European elections (T)

ŘEZNÍČEK, Martin (CZ)

Eurovision Debate 2024 (Clean feed): Spotlight - Terry REINTKE, European Greens

SOUNDBITE (Original), Annelies BECK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Dear fellow Europeans, the European elections that are ahead of us are going to be crucial for the future of this beautiful continent. I myself come from a country where in the 20s and 30s of the last century, conservatives but also liberals underestimated the threat of the far right. I joined politics because I wanted us to make sure that we can never let that happen again. And for that, the European Union is key because we have managed to build over the last decades a space of freedom, peace and prosperity in Europe. But this is at stake now because the climate crisis is not waiting. Only together we can tackle the climate crisis. Support green industry, create green jobs, and create a future for all of us in Europe. Together we can do it. Choose courage, choose Green.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator, Thank you very much. You want the Green Deal to be even stricter than what has been approved by the Commission and the member states, of course. But you've seen a huge backlash, we talked about in the video from farmers and others. So what do you tell them?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Look, I come from a farmer family myself, actually, my father sitting in the audience, he grew up on a farm. And obviously, I see the the concerns that people have and maybe the fear that they have of the future, be it farmers, but also be it people who do not know how they can fund the renovation of their own housing. I think that if we want to make the green Deal a success, we need to get these people on board, because farmers,

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator, But how do you do that?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, You do that by, for example, supporting them in the green transition that they do themselves. One of the most successful projects that we had in Germany was to build small solar panels on balconies. People who have that can see that they're producing their own electricity and that it's not only good for the climate, but it's also good for their pockets. And exactly these small steps we have to take to get all of us on board. Because if we don't invest in tackling the climate crisis now, it is going to become much more expensive in the future. So it's from a climate neutrality standpoint, but also from an economic standpoint smart.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator, The Greens and that's probably what your voters want from you, you don't want to compromise too much on issues like environment. But by not doing this, are you not risking to be sidelined?

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Well, actually, if you look at what role we have been playing in the European Parliament, but also in a lot of member states where we are in government, we of course know that we need to be pragmatic in certain questions that, for example, when it comes to the expansion of renewable energies, we need to have quicker permitting processes. At the same time, if now we are going to have a situation where we are moving to the right in this European election where maybe EPP is going to work together with the ECR, the whole Green Deal is going to be turned around and that's going to be a disaster for the climate, that's going to be a disaster for nature, for future generations, but also for our economy. So if you want to keep the Green Deal, you have to vote Green in these European elections so that we stay on course and that we make Europe climate neutral.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator, I suppose it's all about the pace, but how do you convince people that it's in their own interest to move on with this? You've seen farmers, you've seen other people saying, you know, fine, maybe this goal is fine, but we just we're not ready for that yet, it's too fast.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Concrete policies. I can tell you where we are in government. We have, for example, introduced climate tickets. It is one of the most popular measures that the governments have taken because people can see that with this ticket, they have affordable transport, but they also do something good for the climate. So these kind of policies, we have to look at how we can take people on board. And then I strongly believe, I mean, look at what is happening. Climate change is not something in the future. It's happening now. And we need people to understand that and to be on board tackling this crisis.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator, If your policies are right, why don't opinion polls show that? Because you seem to be, in the end, losing some members of the European Parliament in the election. I mean, I know that polls will only be here in a couple of weeks, but that's what the polls say now. So I guess your message is not as appealing as you might think.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Terry REINTKE, lead candidate of the European Greens, Well, you know, I'm in an election campaign. I'm fighting for every single vote. And I can only tell you that at the end of the day, what what counts is what is going to happen on Election Day. And we will do everything we can not only to have the strongest green group we ever had in the European Parliament, but also to have a more active role in shaping the next five years. I don't have 5-10 years to lose. I need to change policies now because otherwise it will be too late.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Martin ŘEZN&Iacute;ČEK, Eurovision debate 2024 moderator, Terry Reintke, thank you so much for your time. Thank you.