EU member states and institutions as well as cities and regions have held thousands of citizens’ dialogues and consultations on the future of Europe and are ready to continue this exercise to make the European Union more democratic and transparent. This publication brings together reflections on how this could happen in the years to come.
European Citizens’ Panels are a key feature of the Conference on the Future of Europe, a ground-breaking exercise in deliberative democracy in the European Union. The Panels give citizens a greater role in shaping the Union’s future policies and ambitions. A representative sample of 800 citizens will meet and discuss the future of Europe to come up with policy recommendations on the main topics addressed on the Conference’s digital, multilingual Platform. These recommendations will feed into the overall Conference discussions for follow-up.
The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique and timely opportunity for European citizens to debate on Europe’s challenges and priorities. No matter where you are from or what you do, this is the place to think about what future you want for the European Union and to make your contribution to help shape it.
Like the Schuman Declaration in 1950, the Conference on the Future of Europe could pave the way for a reform of the EU, the Spinelli Group – which gathers federalist MEPs and national parliamentarians – with the Union of European Federalists and the European Movement International has said.
The aim of the conference is to debate how the EU should develop in the future, identify where it is rising to the challenges of current times, and enhance those areas that need reform or strengthening. A key aspect of this initiative is to bring the public closer to the EU institutions, listen to people's concerns, involve them directly in the process of the Conference and provide anadequate and meaningful response. In this respect, the ambition is to set up pan-European forums for discussion, for the first time ever, where citizens of all Member States can debate the EU's priorities and make recommendations, to be taken into account by the political-institutional powers that be and, ideally, translated into practical measures.
The Conference on the Future of Europe is a bottom-up exercise allowing European citizens to express their opinion on the Union's future policies and functioning. It uses tools such as the Digital Platform and Citizens' Panels to enable them to discuss topics that matter to them. This EPRS infographic sets out the structures of the conference, how they will work and the topics to be discussed.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's second State of the Union address, scheduled for 15 September 2021, will be delivered at a time when the coronavirus pandemic continues to pose challenges for the European Union and its Member States. At the same time, thanks to the adoption of the multiannual financial framework for the 2021-2027 period, new opportunities lie ahead – the recovery plan for Europe and Next Generation EU.
The article examines the Conference on the Future of Europe, discussing the process set in motion by the Joint Declaration adopted by the EU institutions in March 2021, and reflecting on its prospects. Drawing from precedents such as the Conference of Messina and the Convention on the Future of Europe, the article shows that the Conference on the Future of Europe is an out-of-the-box initiative originally combining bottom-up participatory features and top-down elite decision-making mechanisms. Nevertheless, the Joint Declaration launching the Conference leaves its constitutional mission unsettled, and its institutional organisation uncertain. As such, the article suggests that the prospects for the Conference will depend on political leadership and legal inventiveness, and discusses what may be the options ahead.
The agenda of the Conference on the Future of Europe contains the potential for numerous legislative recommendations. This raises the question of the future resilience of Union law. The article, which is based on the author’s introductory speech of ERA’s webinar on the Conference, assesses the challenges and chances of the Union’s capacity to engage in proper rule-making, to experience compliant rule-implementation and to benefit from a judiciary which reliably settles disputes. It concludes that as long as the demanding requirements of an enlightened legal civilisation are fulfilled there is no reason not to trust in Legal Europe’s future.
The Conference on the Future of Europe aims to give Europeans a greater say in what the EU does and how it works for them. While listening to Europe's citizens is indeed very important, politicians in the member states as well as at the EU level should also become creatively active by taking a stand on its scope, its procedure and its objectives. Which political forces in today's Europe are ready to speak out in favour of a democratic, efficient and solidarity-based EPU? European citizens, especially the younger generation, have the right to receive a clear answer to this question.