This Saturday, the 19th of January, the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) commemorates one year from the death of Hrant Dink. Dink, a high-profile Turkish journalist, well-known for his severe and open criticism of the Turkish stance on the Armenian genocide and of the widespread minority discrimination in Turkey, was assassinated in 2007 by a young Turkish nationalist in Istanbul. During his lifetime, Dink was prosecuted three times for his liberal discourse, being accused of denigrating “Turkishness” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. This article is largely used to prosecute writers, journalists and others that speak out about taboo topics, thus creating an environment that legitimises attacks on freedom of expression.

The Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) salutes the announcement of Prime Minister Francois Fillon regarding France’s activating the safeguard clause that will prohibit growing the only genetically modified crop grown in the country. Following the prior suspension of the commercial use of MON 810, a biotech maize culture, and the serious expert warnings regarding environmental and health risks posed by its use, the growth of this GMO crop has now been, at least temporarily, banned. Nevertheless this is a battle won, but the war is not over yet, as the French government produced a law proposal on GMOs' production and consumption which will be voted on in April 2008. The fight must go on and we strongly support the French Young Greens who participated in a collective hunger strike with the coalition of organizations against GMOs.

IN TODAY'S EUROPE, THE MAGI WOULD BE DETAINED AND EXPELLED BEFORE BEING ABLE TO REACH THE CRIB

Sunday January 6th, Epiphany Day, the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) and its local member organizations EcoloJ (Belgium), Jong Groen! (Belgium) and Dwars (Netherlands) will protest against the inhumane treatment of refugees, asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants in the European Union, in cooperation with the Coordination Nationale des Sans Papiers (CNSF) Belgique.

In yet another case of obstruction of the work of independent media, Russian authorities last week denied an investigative journalist entry into the country. Natalia Morar, working for the Kremlin-critical New Times weekly magazine, was told upon returning from a trip to Israel, that the Federal Security Service had prohibited her to enter the country.

Today, on International Migrants Day, the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) carries out an action in front of refugee centre Petit Chateau in Brussels together with the Belgian Green parties Goren! and Ecolo!, the Green Group in the European Parliament and the European Green Party (EGP). The action entitled "refugees have names not numbers" is aimed at protesting against the continuous violations of the rights of undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Europe.

At the occasion of the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon in the Portuguese capital today, the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) evaluates the Treaty and calls for a European-wide referendum to ratify it properly.

Today, December 10th, the Young Greens of Georgia organized an action in front of the European Commission's delegation to Georgia to protest against the extreme difficulties the EU visa regime causes for youth mobility. Tamuna Zandukeli, representative of the Georgian Young Greens explains: "With our action, we want to pressure European countries to end the absurd difficulties that Georgian youth face in entering the European Union. These countries should establish their representation in Georgia, rather then relying on Moscow or Kiev. Everybody in Brussels knows that not only the movement but also the post service between Russia and Georgia is suspended, so that such outdated rules make the situation more complicated. We need a more flexible approach from the EU, both practically and politically"

On the occasion of the International Day for Fighting against Climate Change, the Young European Greens reiterate their commitment for the cause.

Marina Barbalata, Spokesperson of the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) states: "In the middle of the discussions within the UN Conference on Climate in Bali, we hope that the demonstrations against climate change on December 8th will urge world leaders to commit to binding measures to counteract this great challenge that humanity has come to be confronted with. As the conference has started on a positive note, with Australia’s ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, we are now optimistic regarding the adoption of a "Bali mandate" that would bind countries to 25-40% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. However, even with the adoption of such a mandate, more efforts are needed towards combating climate change. The worlds’ main polluters are still the ones that have not ratified any climate treaties. Thus, the focus should also be on including countries such as the US and China in the successor Treaty of the Kyoto protocol, at least from 2012 onwards. Furthermore, attention needs to be paid as well to how the planned reductions will be reached. Considering nuclear energy as a clean source of energy, which will help with the greenhouse emissions reduction does not represent the answer. Therefore, we expect from the Bali conference both a firm commitment to counteract climate change as well as a sustainable action plan to reach that goal."

December 10th marks International Human Rights Day. Sadly enough, almost 60 years after its first commemoration in 1948, human beings around the world still suffer from grave violations to their fundamental human rights. The Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) thus further commits itself to continue its struggle for the promotion of human rights.

Dear all,

As you know, 2009 will be a year of elections to the European Parliament. Given the important work that the Green Group is doing in this institution, it was decided at the last FYEG GA in Vienna to support the Greens with a Young Green campaign that helps us to increase the Green influence on European politics. The campaign will be run in the framework of the Common Election campaign of the European Green Party, but is made and run independently by FYEG.