Enlarge image
The German Greens politician Ska Keller 2019 at the election party conference for the European elections
Photo: Gregor Fischer/DPA
The co-chair of the Green Group in the European Parliament, Franziska "Ska" Keller, resigns.
The German announced on Wednesday evening in Strasbourg.
The background to the decision is that, after years at the head of the parliamentary group, she wants to make room for a new generation, the 40-year-old told journalists.
In addition, this should give enough time to prepare well for the 2024 European elections.
As she went on to say, potential successor candidates now have the opportunity to apply.
A vote is scheduled for October.
Until a successor is found, the group will be headed by Belgian Philippe Lamberts.
Previously, Keller and Lamberts had done so as a duo.
Born in 1981 in Guben on the Polish border, Keller ran as the top candidate for the parliamentary group in the 2019 European elections and has been chairwoman of the Greens/EFA parliamentary group since the end of 2016.
The former state chair of the Greens in Brandenburg moved into the European Parliament in 2009.
She will keep her mandate as a member of parliament.
She left it open which steps she wanted to take after 2024.
The Green Group currently has 72 of the 705 MEPs in the European Parliament, of which 21 are from Germany, according to the group.
jso/dpa