..Most of them also reiterated Parliament’s call to establish a Convention to revise the EU Treaties, and some noted that work across all of Parliament’s committees is underway to finalise the comprehensive legislative initiative report on its proposals to this end.
On 2 December, EU institutions and over 500 citizens
assessed the follow-up to the proposals of the Conference on the Future
of Europe.
The
European Parliament hosted today’s feedback event on the Conference on
the Future of Europe in Brussels, involving representatives of the
Parliament, the Council and the Commission, as well as the citizens who
were at the core of the Conference’s work. They examined how the EU
institutions are following up on the Conference’s’ proposals.
Opening the feedback event, Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola said:
“The European Parliament is ready to do its part in delivering on the
proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe in the interest of
the 450 million Europeans that it represents. Vision takes courage. When
it comes to implementing citizens’ proposals, no suggestion for change
should be off-limits. The Conference on the Future of the Europe and the
proposals presented are not the end. There is no end-date to the
future. There is not a checklist that we need to tick. The Future is a
work in progress. So is our Union.”
Guy Verhofstadt,
in his capacity as former Co-Chair of the Conference, commented: “In
times of insecurity, politics needs a vision of what’s ahead. With the
Conference on the Future of Europe, citizens pointed the way forward.
The feedback event is the moment to discuss what we, politicians, have
done with the conclusions we reached together last year and to look
ahead. Because our commitment is not over yet: we need to keep
delivering not just on the proposals but on the spirit in which they
were written - a new idea of Europe, fit for the challenges of the
future.”
The Council was represented by Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek from the Czech Presidency. Vice-Presidents Maroš Šefčovič, Dubravka Šuica, and Margaritis Schinas represented the Commission.
Debate with citizens
The ensuing debate revolved around key
challenges that the Union is facing today, including Russia’s attack on
Ukraine and its consequences on the everyday lives of Europeans, as well
as the need to speed up the process to achieve energy independence in
the EU. Many speakers focussed on the institutional reforms that would
be needed to implement the Conference’s proposals in their entirety,
including those on the taxation of multinationals and cooperation in the
external dimension of EU affairs. Over the course of the day, citizens
brought to the table questions from the full range of topics that the
Conference’s proposals cover, including: climate change and environment;
physical and mental health; education and culture; the digital
transition; migration-related challenges; threats to European values and
the EU budget; the state of the European economy; and the role of young
people in all of these areas.
The prospect of launching a Convention
to revise the EU Treaties was repeatedly mentioned, as well as the
potential activation of passerelle clauses
in the existing framework, and the need to further improve
communication between the EU institutions. The lessons in participatory
democracy drawn from this year-long, unprecedented exercise also
featured prominently in the exchange, including the Commission’s
intention to set up citizen consultations ahead of important legislative
proposals. Citizens put forward suggestions on how to ensure that all
participants’ voices are equally heard, despite linguistic and
structural barriers.
MEPs highlighted that Parliament will
continue to do whatever it takes to ensure that it fulfils its core
mission of keeping the EU accountable towards all Europeans, while
presenting concrete examples on how the Conference’s proposals have
become key drivers in EP work, each in line with their and their
political groups’ priorities. Most of them also reiterated Parliament’s call
to establish a Convention to revise the EU Treaties, and some noted
that work across all of Parliament’s committees is underway to finalise
the comprehensive legislative initiative report on its proposals to this end.
A few speakers expressed contrary views,
doubting the usefulness of the Conference, denouncing the use of
taxpayers’ money, and speaking against the direction of the EU as a
whole.
Parliament
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