Future of Europe: EU debates and Citizen engagement are the key

The Conference on the Future of Europe is a citizen-led series of EU debates to enable European to share ideas and help shape EU future. The Conference is the first of its kind: as a major pan-European democratic exercise, it offers a new public forum for an open, inclusive, and transparent debate with citizens around a number of key priorities and challenges.

The online platform of the Conference aims to reflect our diversity, and to bring Europe beyond its capital cities, reaching every corner of the EU, strengthening the link between Europeans and the institutions that serve them. It does so through a multitude of Conference-events and debates organised across the EU, as well as through an interactive multilingual digital platform. Young people in particular are encouraged to take part and share their ideas. European, national, regional and local authorities, as well as civil society and other organisations can also organise events to involve as many people as possible.

All Europeans have a greater say

It is part of President von der Leyen’s pledge to give Europeans a greater say on what the EU does and how it works for them.

All Europeans – whoever they are and wherever they are – can take part.

People need to be at the very centre of all our policies. My wish is therefore that all Europeans will actively contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe and play a leading role in setting the European Union’s priorities. It is only together that we can build our Union of tomorrow.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

The Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe, comprising representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, is launching the multilingual digital platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe inviting all EU citizens to contribute to shaping their own future and that of Europe as a whole. The platform is available in 24 languages, allowing citizens from across the Union to share and exchange their ideas and views through online events. The Joint Presidency of the Conference welcomed the launch of the platform.

Conference on the Future of Europe. The future is in your hands

European Parliament President, David Sassoli, said: “The platform represents a key tool to allow citizens to participate and have a say on the Future of Europe. We must be certain that their voices will be heard and that they have a role in the decision-making, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic. European democracy, of the representative and participatory kind, will continue to function no matter what, because our shared future demands it.”

Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, on behalf of the Presidency of the Council, said: “The time has come for our citizens to actively share their greatest concerns and their ideas. This discussion couldn’t happen at a more relevant time. We have to prepare now, so that we come out of this crisis even stronger and when we overcome the pandemic we stand ready for the future. We hope to continue to build the Europe of the future together, a fairer, greener and more digital Europe that responds to our citizens’ expectations.”

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Health, climate change, good and sustainable jobs in a more and more digital economy, the state of our democratic societies: We are inviting Europeans to speak up, to address their concerns and tell us what Europe they want to live in. With this citizens’ platform, we are giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to shaping the future of Europe and engage with other people from across Europe. This is a great opportunity to bring Europeans together virtually. Join the debate! Together, we can build the future we want for our Union.”

The Conference on the Future of Europe is an inclusive exercise in deliberative democracy

The Conference on the Future of Europe is an unprecedented, open and inclusive exercise in deliberative democracy. It seeks to give people from all walks of life, across Europe, a greater say on what they expect from the European Union, which should then help guide the EU’s future direction and policymaking. The Joint Presidency has committed to follow up on the outcome of the Conference.

The multilingual digital platform is fully interactive and multilingual: people can engage with one another and discuss their proposals with fellow citizens from all Member States, in the EU’s 24 official languages. People from all walks of life and in numbers as large as possible are encouraged to contribute via the platform in shaping their future, but also to promote it on social media channels, with the hashtag #TheFutureIsYours

#TheFutureIsYours

The platform will ensure full transparency – a key principle of the Conference – as all submissions and event outcomes will be collected, analysed, monitored, and made publicly available. The key ideas and recommendations from the platform will be used as input for the European citizens’ panels and the Plenaries, where they will be debated to produce the Conference’s conclusions.

All Conference-related events that will be registered on the platform will be visualised on an interactive map, enabling citizens to browse and sign up online. Organisers can use the toolkit available on the platform to help organise and promote their initiatives. All participants and events must respect the Charter of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which lays down standards for a respectful pan-European debate.

The FuturEU platform is organised around key topics:

• climate change and the environment;
• health;
• a stronger and fairer economy;
• social justice and jobs;
• EU in the world;
• values and rights,
• rule of law, security;
• digital transformation;
• European democracy;
• migration; and
• education, culture, youth and sport.

These topics are complemented by an ‘open box’ for cross-cutting and other topics (‘other ideas’), as citizens remain free to raise any issue that matters to them, in a truly bottom-up approach.

The platform also provides information on the Conference’s structure and work. It is open to all EU citizens, as well as EU institutions and bodies, national Parliaments, national and local authorities and civil society. It will fully respect users’ privacy, and EU data protection rules.

eudebates the Future of Europe