Monday

4th Dec 2023

MEPs win battle for bigger citizens' voice at Conference

  • The inaugural event launching the Conference on the Future of Europe will be held in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Sunday (Photo: European Parliament)

The EU institutions on Friday (7 May) reached a provisional agreement on the working arrangements for the Conference on the Future of Europe - which will finally launch this Sunday, on Europe Day, after a year's delay caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The provisional agreement, expected to be ratified on Sunday, came after a new row over the role of the conference's plenary - which is where proposals made during the citizens' panels will be discussed.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

After long negotiations, the European Parliament finally managed to convince EU member states and the European Commission of the need to include citizens proposals in the outcome of the conference.

That means that the executive board, in charge of drawing up the conclusions of the conference, will have to collaborate with the conference plenary "in a fully transparent way," Green MEP Daniel Freund tweeted.

The conference plenary will be composed of representatives from the main EU institutions, as well as national parliamentarians, regional deputies, social partners, NGOs, plus randomly-selected citizens. Of the 433 participants, 108 will be citizens.

As a result, any citizens' proposals approved in the plenaries will be reflected in the final report, which will collate the conclusions of the conference by spring 2022 - a timely date for French president Emmanuel Macron, who was a major force in pushing the idea.

"The conference will be open for any input. If citizens propose policies that require treaty change they will not be rejected," Freund also said.

The approved proposals which will feed into the 2022 report will be made by consensus, between representatives of national parliaments, European Parliament, Council and Commission.

"I am glad we now found an agreement so that the Conference on the Future of Europe can start on 9 May, one year later than expected," MEP Iratxe García, leader of the Socialists & Democrats, told EUobserver.

"From now on I hope we can change the focus, and leave the institutional fights aside, so we can listen to what citizens want to say about our shared future," she added.

Similarly, the former president of the European Council, Belgium's Herman van Rompuy, said that "the conference must produce results that are tangible to people and not get bogged down in institutional debate".

Besides the conference's plenaries, the European Parliament has suggested working groups with citizens and dialogues with political families, where national and European deputies can engage in discussions.

EU commissioner for democracy Dubravka Šuica said this conference will help put citizens "at the heart" of EU policy-making, by giving them a stronger say.

"Ultimately we hope to strengthen our connection with citizens - all the more crucial as we emerge from the ongoing health crisis - and reinforce their trust and belief in the European project," she told EUobserver.

Europe Day

Macron, as well as EU institutional presidents David Sassoli, Ursula von der Leyen and Portugal's prime minister Antonia Costa, will participate in Sunday's event, alongside the chairs of the conference's executive board.

The inaugural event will take place in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.

A group of 27 Erasmus students from all member states will be at the hemicycle, while around 300 citizens are expected to attend remotely.

Opinion

Conference on Future of Europe must listen to local voices

The Conference on the Future of Europe must concretely involve our local communities, regions, cities and villages. This is key to avoid a top-down exercise that would only feed the demagogic and anti-European false narrative of populists and eurosceptics.

Opinion

Just cancel the Future of Europe Conference

After spending an estimated €200m and countless months in meetings, the conference will likely release a grand statement along the lines of 'making the EU more inclusive, more competitive, sustainable, green',

Opinion

'Future EU' conference: good idea, bad timing

Listening to European citizens should be a permanent and continuous process - not merely limited to one event which starts on 9 May 2021 and is to finish before the presidential elections in France in the spring of 2022.

Opinion

Big corporations' fresh lobbying push for a new EU legal regime

Under the influence of another intense lobby campaign, EU civil servants are drafting policy options which would grant big business new legal privileges, a push that would enable industry to bypass national courts when settling disputes with EU member states.

EU warned against making 'Future EU' conference a one-off

Former European Council president Herman van Rompuy plus local authorities warned EU policymakers against making the Conference on the Future of Europe a one-off exercise, arguing that democracy will continue to be under pressure after 2022.

Analysis

How Wilders' Dutch extremism goes way beyond Islamophobia

Without losing sight of his pervasive Islamophobia, it is essential to note Geert Wilders' far-right extremism extends to other issues that could drastically alter the nature of Dutch politics — and end its often constructive role in advancing EU policies.

Latest News

  1. COP28 debates climate finance amid inflated accounting ‘mess’
  2. Why EU's €18m for Israel undermines peace
  3. Israel's EU ambassador: 'No clean way to do this operation'
  4. Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law
  5. Dubai's COP28 — a view from the ground
  6. Germany moves to criminalise NGO search-and-rescue missions
  7. Israel recalls ambassador to Spain in new diplomatic spat
  8. Migrant return bill 'obstructed' as EU states mull new position

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us