Politico: Green wave set to sag ahead of 2019 election

At present, the Greens and their EFA partners (parties pushing for either full political independence or greater sovereignty) make up the fifth biggest group in the Parliament, with 52 lawmakers. Expectations aren’t exactly high of improving on that, especially with six British Green MEPs on their way out the door. [...]

In the European Parliament, the Greens have often collaborated with other left-wing forces, including the Socialists or the far-left GUE-NGL group, to pass legislation. But Green leaders say they will not join any group with the Socialists or Liberals, even in the face of a populist surge across the Continent. [...]

Green parties have done well in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands but they are almost nowhere to be seen in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe. In Germany, their approach to issues like migration has won praise from conservative parts of society, while in other places they are affiliated with traditionally left-wing parties. [...]

The big unknown is France, where Europe Ecologie is still relatively low in the polls. A survey conducted in September by IFOP put the party at just 7.5 percent in the European election — lower than the 9 percent they won in 2014 and much lower than the 16.28 percent their list won in the 2009 European election.

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Business Insider: This leading EU politician explains why Britain will 'logically' rejoin after Brexit

His argument is based on the premise that the EU will "force" the UK to recognise the commitments it made in December and honour the terms of the Good Friday Agreement by avoiding a hard border in Ireland.

The UK for its part insists it will find a solution which avoids a hard border in Ireland and takes the UK out of the single market, which Lamberts described as a "contradiction" which was "not based on reality." [...]

He said the argument was a "contradiction" and a case of Britain "denying reality, as they denied in the past that they had any financial obligations to the European Union" before agreeing to pay a £39 billion divorce bill. The EU itself says it is open to a "better idea" from the UK than the fall-back option, but none has been forthcoming so far. [...]

"But when you also look at the interests of the UK which are mostly in the services sector, that would be shooting themselves in the foot, because it plays to the advantage of the EU27 who have a net positive balance towards the UK in goods. [...]

Norway is signed up to single market rules but has no veto over the rules the EU sets. While this option would potentially be on the table for Britain, Lamberts said that arrangement would represent a "loss of sovereignty" and prompt the question: "What is the point of Brexit?"

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