Wishing to capitalise on the high turnout in May’s European elections, the Commissioner-designate for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, wants to put citizens at the heart of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which will start in 2020 and last two years.
"Putting the citizen first is central to my portfolio", says Ms Šuica in her written answers to questions put to her by MEPs for her public hearing on Thursday, October 3.
At the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Croatian Christian Democrat wants, first and foremost, to "listen to what citizens have to say about Europe". "The idea is simple: Europeans must have their say on how their Union is run and what it delivers on" she adds.
The Commissioner-designate indicated that the Commission will submit to stakeholders its ideas on the scope, objectives, governance and timetable of the future conference. But, according to her, one of the topics that will have to be addressed is the "demographic change" observed in Europe, which constitutes the second part of the allocated portfolio. In her answers, Ms Šuica does not go any further on what will be included in this second part.
Once the objectives of the Conference have been agreed, it will be possible to decide the best measures to deliver on them. The President-elect of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is ready to launch legislative initiatives, or even Treaty change," said Ms Šuica.
In particular, by summer 2020, the Conference on the Future of the EU will have to make concrete proposals on the concepts of top candidates ('Spitzenkandidaten') and transnational lists to elect the same MEPs across the EU.
The former MEP said that the report on European citizenship, which the Commission will present in 2020, will be an excellent opportunity to take stock of European case law on the subject and to consider a possible extension of European citizens' rights through the procedure laid down in Article 25 of the Treaty. And she says she is ready to explore mechanisms for permanent dialogue with citizens, with reference to the specific initiatives of the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.
On the other hand, the Commissioner-designate does not believe in the 'Green card’ mechanism that would allow national parliaments to be proactively included in the drafting of European legislative proposals. "At least in the short run we should not aim at creating a new complex and formal mechanism that would require Treaty change", she says. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)