Two years after French President Emmanuel Macron launched the idea in March 2019 in an open letter to all Europeans, the Conference on the Future of Europe was inaugurated on Sunday 9 May, Europe Day, in Strasbourg at the seat of the European Parliament.
Due to the health context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the physical participation of the public in the Chamber was reduced to a minimum: the co-chairs - Mr Sassoli, Ms von der Leyen, Mr Costa - of the Conference, the co-chairs of the Executive Board, the 27 European Affairs Ministers and 27 Erasmus students. The latter did not speak. European citizens were connected remotely via a digital wall surrounding the speakers.
It is in Strasbourg, the city of Franco-German “reconciliation”, that “the heart of European democracy beats”, said Mr Macron, hoping for a very speedy return of European Parliament sessions to the Alsatian capital. He said “the European Union needs a new breath of democracy”. The conference will therefore be “a time to take the pulse of the continent”, giving a voice in particular to young people, who have been particularly affected by health measures.
The French president outlined his key European themes. Europe is expressing its “solidarity” by organising a continent-wide vaccination campaign and, following on from the Porto Summit (see other news), it must “provide new protections for workers”. Europe must also rebuild “its cultural, academic, industrial and research sovereignty” by identifying its strategic dependencies and “signalling the return of major projects”.
The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, stressed the values that unite Europeans. “Democracy is stronger than authoritarianism”, he emphasised. “Without strengthened social cohesion, the very essence of our democracies will be threatened”, he said.
Among the issues that Europeans could discuss, the Italian social democrat mentioned giving the EU competence in public health, in the light of experiences in the fight against the pandemic. Failure to do so would be “a defeat” and would expose us to new crises, he said. In his view, the matter of unanimity in the EU Council, the Parliament’s right of initiative, and the ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ procedure in European elections should be addressed.
“Nine out of ten Europeans want a social Europe”, continued the Portuguese Prime Minister. For António Costa, the greatest threat facing Europe is not migrants, but our inability to guarantee young people the freedom to make their own way in life.
Among the speeches calling for action against climate change, the Portuguese Socialist raised the issue of the “oceans” as “immense territories to be discovered, conserved and enhanced”.
Like the other speakers, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed the importance of giving a voice to all opinions and listening to the “criticisms” that would be expressed. The Conference will not be a panacea or the answer to all the questions, she acknowledged. But its success will depend on the ability of the political authorities to ensure “a real follow-up” to the recommendations made. Ms von der Leyen called for “new forms of solidarity and equity between the generations”.
On the follow-up to the recommendations that the Conference will convey to political leaders in “March 2022”, Mr Macron made the “commitment” that the French Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2022 will take account of these recommendations “to reform Europe”.
First plenary assembly on 19 June in Strasbourg
On Sunday, the Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe met before the launch ceremony. It adopted the rules of procedure for this pan-European citizens’ consultation exercise.
It was decided that the first meeting of the plenary assembly will take place on Saturday 19 June. Ten thematic groups, those identified by the digital platform, will be organised. Four panels, each composed of 200 citizens, will take place on specific themes. The cities selected to host them are Florence, Dublin, Maastricht and Natolin.
The composition of the assembly is as EUROPE has described it, with 433 full members including 108 citizens (see EUROPE 12715/4).
Based on the ideas developed by the Citizens’ Panels and the online platform, the plenary assembly will forward its own proposals to the Executive Board, the political steering body of the Conference. The plenary’s proposals will be adopted on a consensual basis, i.e. with the agreement of at least the four political pillars, namely the representatives of the national parliaments, MEPs, Member States and the European Commission.
The Conference’s rules of procedure do not explicitly mention the need for approval of the plenary’s proposals by the ‘citizens’ pillar.
It will then be up to the Executive Board to finalise the Conference report in full and transparent cooperation with the plenary assembly.
See the rules of procedure: https://bit.ly/3ewFnsR (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)