ABSTRACT
The European Parliament (EP) is different from national parliaments in Europe. The Single European Act has widened the competences without, however, giving real legislative functions to the EP. Until 1979, the members of the EP had been chosen by and out of their national parliaments. When Green-Alternative European Link (GRAEL) entered the European parliament, non-conformist political behavior of the group members was expected. The electoral turnout was only satisfactory for the Greens in Germany and Belgium. Inside the European parliament, the GRAEL members clearly became more professional. In terms of their heterogeneous composition, the GRAEL within the Rainbow group is not so different from other transnational party groups within the European parliament. However, the GRAEL is well on its way toward loosing a clear identity as well as the interest of the mass media. The future of green and alternative groups in the European parliament is, therefore, clearly dependent upon the programmatic development of national green parties.
