As part of the Commission’s priority „A new push for European democracy“, a Conference on the Future of Europe was announced at the end of 2019, with the aim to launch a series of debates and discussions that will enable people from all over Europe to share their ideas to help shape Europe’s future.
The Conference on the Future of Europe, intended as a major pan-European democratic exercise, first of its kind, offers a new public forum for an open, inclusive, and transparent debate with citizens around a number of key priorities and challenges.
The scope is to strengthen the link between Europeans and the institutions that serve them through a multitude of Conference-events and debates organised across the EU, as well as through an interactive multilingual digital platform, where all citizens are invited to submit their opinions.
Started on 9th May 2021, Europe Day, the Conference on the future of Europe is under the authority of a Joint Presidency including the Presidents of the three institutions leading this endeavour, meaning the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. An Executive Board is also foreseen, which equally represents the three institutions and with national Parliaments having observer status; the Executive Board will be in charge of preparing the Conference Plenary meetings, including citizens’ input and their follow up.
The Conference will discuss among others the following topics: health, climate change, social fairness, digital transformation, the EU’s role in the world, and how to strengthen democratic processes governing the EU. These topics concur with overarching EU priorities and the issues raised by citizens in opinion polls. Ultimately, participating citizens will decide what topics the Conference will discuss.
