Ana Paula Zacarias, Portugal’s minister for European affairs, kicks off the videoconference on Monday where ministers discussed the beleaguered citizen-participation conference (Photo: Council of the European Union)

Portugal pushes to start delayed 'future EU' conference

EU Political

by Eszter Zalan and Elena Sánchez Nicolás, Brussels,

Portugal will push to start the ill-fated Conference on the Future of Europe at the beginning of its six-month presidency.

The conference, designed to include European citizens in shaping the future direction of the bloc, has been not only on hold because of the pandemic, but also due to intra-institutional infighting.

The one issue preventing the start of the conference, even in digital format due to Covid-19 restrictions, is who will be the chair.

Portugal's prime mini...

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EU Political

Author Bio

Eszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.

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