At the end of the Conference of the Presidents of Political Groups (CoP) in the European Parliament on Thursday, 11 February, a parliamentary source revealed that the European Parliament’s political groups are unanimous in their request to be represented on the executive committee, the body that will steer the day-to-day work of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The composition of the executive committee is the last political hurdle before the adoption of an interinstitutional declaration setting out the terms and objectives of this consultation exercise, which is supposed to last 2 years (see EUROPE 12652/12). According to the Council of the EU’s revised position, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the EU would each have a maximum of three representatives (see EUROPE 12650/22).
With regard to the duration, the CoP’s discussions revealed that, if the Conference begins its work in Strasbourg on 1 May 2021, MEPs do not want it to stop after one year, even if a progress report is not out of the question under the French Presidency of the Council in the spring of 2022.
France wants the EU-27 to adopt a declaration in the spring of 2022 on the EU for 2030–2035 based on the conference’s work. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)