Reconnecting the European Union to its citizens

In a period of great challenges and new global orders, some of the oldest questions for humanity come back to our mind: “where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?”

Especially the last inquiry is a fundamental one: What is our future going to be? And more specifically, concerning the European Union: how the future of Europe will be, and how to shape it?  

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has a specific and strategic function in answering those questions and in building up our further steps. 

As also recalled in the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, in light of the impressive number of citizens voting in the 2019 European election (more than 200 million), the message is pretty clear: Europeans are asking for greater participation and want a more active role in shaping the European Union’s future. Thus, the CoFoE has to be the perfect occasion to allow citizens to be part of it, to be – in other words – actively involved. 

So far, the agenda of the Conference is everything but empty, hence is already full of crucial issues such as: fight against climate change, an economy that works for people, promotion of EU values, social fairness, equality and inclusiveness, as well as institutional matters related to the democratic process and the establishment of transnational lists for elections.

In order to reach sustainable, effective and long-lasting  goals, having citizens involved is extremely important

It comes every time clearer that, in order to reach sustainable, effective and long-lasting  goals, having citizens involved is extremely important, and in this sense the Civil Society Convention on the Future of Europe plays a fundamental role. As already mentioned in our previous news (here), ALDA has been not only actively involved since the very beginning, but it has also been an unresting promoter and key actor in joining the Civil Society Convention. Hence, Civil Society Europe, in cooperation with pan-Europeans organisations and associations and ALDA among those, is “working towards regenerating the European project around the shared values of Equality, Solidarity, Inclusiveness and Democracy”,  aiming at making the above-mentioned Convention into “the civil society interlocutor for the EU institutions”. Clearly, this happens at the right moment and it is perfectly responding to the overall intentions of the Commission to encourage a stronger partnership between European policy-makers and European civil society. 

Once again, ALDA is very honoured to be part of this great moment of change, taking actions for the best of Europe’s future, by making its long-lasting expertise at disposal, while being inspired by the European Commission contribution.