The closing ceremony of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which had been prepared in great detail the day before, was experienced with great pride and enthusiasm by the 300 or so citizens who participated after being drawn from their respective panels.
For them, however, things are clear: the day of 9 May is a first outcome, not a final one. Now familiar with European issues, they have the firm intention of being involved in the follow-up to the 49 proposals broken down into 300 concrete actions submitted to the co-presidents of the Conference as well as to the presidents of the three European institutions, namely Ursula von der Leyen for the European Commission, Roberta Metsola for the European Parliament, and Emmanuel Macron for the current French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“Those who were supposed to speak rehearsed on Sunday”, said Belgian Gisèle Magnery, who was active in one of the four European panels. In the midst of a discussion with the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Piacentini, representing her national panel, she joined her in noting that the “junction” between these two levels of deliberative democracy was not easy when joint sessions were organised to compile the proposals. “I felt that we had worked in a more structured way”, said Ms Magnery. “Oh no, it was us! We focused on ‘pillars’”, replied Ms Piacentini. It doesn’t matter, because they both agreed on the conclusions of the Europe Day conference on 9 May, and agreed that “a follow-up is absolutely necessary”.
In the autumn, they were promised, at the last plenary on 29 and 30 April. “Early September”, the European Commission President said, committing to provide a first progress report during her next State of the Union address to the European Parliament.
In addition to this commitment, which should take the form of a list of measures already undertaken by the European Union and those that can be taken without amending the Treaties, it was the positive response of the Presidents of the three European institutions to this still very uncertain prospect of revision that pleased the citizens associated with the Conference. For them, this is unavoidable if we want to achieve the “strong and protective Europe” called for by Gisèle Magnery and Elisabeth Piacentini, a Europe capable of facing the social, health, environmental and geopolitical challenges that are already here and now.
“Everything comes down to the word ‘Union’”, said a French citizen speaking in the Chamber; a Swedish woman declared “a Europe that is a family and that is not afraid to be bold”; and a young Italian woman told the politicians present, “Don’t waste this opportunity”. Many introduced their remarks with a word that they felt summed up the conference: “exciting”, “game changing”, “together”, “new”, “hope”, etc. Some acknowledged that they had experienced “ups and downs” during the twelve months of engagement, but none seemed to regret the time and energy invested in this vast and totally new exercise. “What seemed like a crazy idea three years ago became a challenge a year ago”, said Clément Beaune, French Secretary of State for European Affairs. “Today, we are witnessing a success that we owe to the European citizens involved in the panels and on the online platform that has collected several thousand comments”.
The Conference ended with a speech by Emmanuel Macron, greeted by a standing ovation, was prolonged for a long time in a Chamber where the star was a European citizen just a few months old. Born during the Conference, the daughter of Lynda Moustaki, a Frenchwoman of Algerian origin, has attracted the attention of political figures. The baby remained in Ursula von Der Leyen’s arms for a long time. Undaunted, the young lady was immortalised by the many photographers present, who made her a magnificent symbol of hope for the future of the European Union.
Aware that they had experienced an unforgettable “celebration of Europe”, the members of the European and national panels then met to reflect on the follow-up of their commitment to the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The leitmotif was “give nothing up”, although, in a press conference, Emmanuel Macron went back on his proposal to create a European political community open to the Ukraine in particular.
Before leaving Strasbourg, a city that is now familiar to them, Gisèle Magnery, Elisabeth Piacentini and all their citizen ‘colleagues’ attended a concert given by the orchestra of the Opéra du Rhin.
The programme included music from all 27 countries of the European Union. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)