24/01/2019 (Agence Europe) – The European Spring Council, the radical left-wing transnational alliance launched by Greek and former Finance Minister Yánis Varoufákis and Frenchman Benoît Hamon, is expected to formally adopt the final version of its joint programme for the European elections in Berlin on Friday 25 January. In particular, the programme presents a ‘New Green Deal' for the European Union and a roadmap for a thorough democratisation of the European institutional functioning, starting from the local level. On Wednesday 23 January, Benoît Hamon called on all left-wing forces, including the Social Democrats, to support Mr Varoufákis' candidacy for the presidency of the European Commission. The Greek had recently made the headlines by listing the MeRA25 in Germany (see EUROPE 12146, 12145). To consult the full programme of the European Spring: https://bit.ly/2DwJZga. (PH)