Dear Green Friends,

The European Green Party is happy to invite you to our Spring Council Meeting, taking place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 20 – 22 May 2016.

For the first six months of 2016, the Netherlands has the presidency of the Council of the European Union. High on the presidency’s agenda are the refugee crisis on the union’s borders, and the upcoming referendum in the United Kingdom. As Greens, we neither can nor want to turn a blind eye to these major challenges, as we fundamentally disagree with the direction things are going currently.

The European project is pressured by difficult and complex challenges, which are a result of agreements with national perspectives in mind, instead of larger European solutions. This retreat to the national solutions is not the only worrying factor; the language of the explanations in some countries bring back memories of the worst time in the recent history of our continent.

In these circumstances, we decided to focus on our “Green Narrative for Europe” during our next council meeting. We want to shape a broad and positive perspective on Europe that can deliver hope and security, and that moves away from a populist and Eurosceptic depiction.

On another note, following last year’s climate change campaign and the historic COP21 agreement, we are continuing our fight against global warming with a fossil fuel divestment campaign. We want to build a united Green effort around this core Green issue, and we need your support and commitment!

Hosting city is Utrecht, in the heart of the Netherlands. We will give you the opportunity to explore the city on a bike, and see why Utrecht is often called one of the most bike-friendly cities on the planet. We’re sure that the locals of GroenLinks will be happy to tell you all about this vibrant city.

The draft programme is online now, and we will update it continuously. We invite you to register and book your accommodation online. Make sure you have an account – if you don’t have one yet, please create one! Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if you encounter any problems during the process.

On behalf of the European Green Party Committee and our host in the Netherlands GroenLinks, we warmly welcome you to Utrecht!

With kind regards,

Mar Garcia
EGP Secretary General