PRESS RELEASE
Brussels
9 May 2019
Climate marchers from the Fridays for Future movement have arrived in the Romanian city of Sibiu where European heads of state and government are meeting today to discuss the future of Europe.
However, the mayor of the city has denied the marchers a permit that would allow the march to go ahead.
Reacting to the move by the local authorities, the co-leading candidate of the European Green Party, Greens/EFA co-president Ska Keller said:
"We condemn this attempt by local authorities in Sibiu to prevent people from gathering in the city to express the urgent need to tackle climate change.
"On the day that leaders gather to speak about the future of Europe, it would be more than a little ironic if young people who have the biggest stake in the future were barred from gathering to express their political views. Young people have often been accused of showing little interest in politics with a history of low turnout at elections. Instead of rejecting them, we should be embracing their political engagement.
“Climate change is the biggest challenge we face today and EU leaders should come up with immediate action proposals. We call on the mayor to immediately issue a permit and create a space near the grounds of the summit so that the march can go ahead to draw attention to this existential challenge facing us.”
For further enquiries please contact:
Luisa Neubauer and Anuna de Wever
Louis Motaal (FFF organizer from Germany)
+49 176 45623803
louis.motaal@climatestrike.net
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