This week, European heads of state have an opportunity to make a huge step forward when they meet to discuss a package of new climate related measures and targets for 2030, based on the proposals of the European Commission. What happens in Brussels could have life-or-death repercussions for millions of people right now, and billions more in the future.

GroenLinks, the Dutch Green party, are in an optimistic mood after municipal elections on 19 March saw them win 355 seats in over 200 municipalities. The result shows that the party's hard work since disappointing general election results in 2012 has paid off. It is clear that with 5.2% of the vote, GroenLinks has regained the trust of the voters and is on its way back.

Our Green leading candidate Ska Keller has taken part in a live Facebook chat hosted by Eurovision Debate, who are also hosting a debate between candidates for the Presidency of the European Commission on 15 May.

The German Green party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen have recorded an impressive result in the municipal election in Munich, where they received their best ever result. Winning 16.6% of the votes, the Greens recorded a 3.6% increase since the last municipal elections.

Following the decisions of the Council of the European Union on Ukraine, EGP Co-Chairs Monica Frassoni and Reinhard Bütikofer declare: “We welcome the clear condemnation by the European Council of the illegal referendum in Crimea on 16 March, which was held in clear breach of the Ukrainian constitution."

The European Green Party (EGP) has launched its ‘Change Europe’ social media tool today, which gives everyone the chance to campaign for Green change in Europe easily. Users from all over the EU can tell the world what changes they think Europe most urgently needs, by creating and publishing an image on Facebook in the style of the posters of the common Green European election campaign.

Two people have died in protests across Turkey following the funeral of a teenager wounded in anti-government clashes last year. Berkin Elvan, a 15 year old boy, died on Tuesday after spending 269 days of coma, which was a result of being hit by a tear gas capsule while buying a loaf of bread during Gezi Park protests.

MEPs have voted to curb fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), confirming an agreement drafted by Green MEP Bas Eikhout. F-gases are considered super-greenhouse gases, having up to 23,000 times the warming effect of CO2. Even though there have been limits placed on CO2 emissions, f-gases emissions have risen by 60% since 1990.

MEPs today voted overwhelmingly to adopt the Data Protection regulation, drafted by Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht. The new regulation tightens up the EU's existing data protection rules, which have been in place for 19 years and urgently needed updating.