The work on the Conference on the Future of Europe has officially started on 24 March 2021. Just two weeks after the Joint Declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe was signed in Brussels by the European Parliament President, David Sassoli, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, on behalf of the Presidency of the Council, and by the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe held its constitutive meeting on 24 March 2021 in Brussels. The Executive Board is composed of representatives from the three institutions (European Parliament, Council and Commission), on equal footing. The Executive Board will oversee the work, process and organisation of the Conference.
At this first meeting, the Executive Board agreed on a series of essential items needed to get the Conference started. They took the first steps to ensure that citizens can soon start to contribute to the Conference without delay, in particular on the multilingual Digital Platform, including the Charter for citizen's participation and the visual identity. The Board also held an exchange of views on its internal working methods.
The Executive Board also discussed the possibility of a formal event on 9 May in Strasbourg as well as to hold the first Conference Plenary on 10 May, depending on the public health conditions (or subject to restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Portuguese Secretary of State for EU Affairs and co-chair from the Presidency of the Executive Board, Ana Paula Zacarias, said “The Conference on the Future of Europe should be an inclusive platform bringing together different voices, engaging on a wide reflection and debate on the challenges Europe is facing and its long-term future. Putting citizens at the centre of European policies.”
From the European Parliament's side, co-chair Guy Verhofstadt (RE, BE) said: “In transformative times, it is up to citizens to decide what they expect from the EU and how to make that happen. It's their Europe, and their future, so it's their Conference! Our job is to make sure the Conference gains public momentum, and then, to draw an agenda from it to shape Europe's future together.”
As ECOPNET (European Cooperation & Partnership Network) we will be following the developments on the issue and looking forward to what will happen in the upcoming months regarding this topic. We also welcome the launch of a multilingual Digital Platform for the conference which is definitely a significant step for increased contribution of the public.
Next steps
The Executive Board will convene again on 7 April in the European Parliament and the Digital Platform will be launched on 19 April.
Source: European Commission Press Corner