Final phase of the Conference on the Future of Europe:  time to reflect on citizens’ contributions

It was 9 months ago when one of the most interesting and most relevant initiatives of the European Union has kicked off.  What could be called an unprecedented event, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) is running, collecting thousands of precious inputs in the dedicated Platform.

To this day, more than 44.000 participants joined the platform, while more than 450.000 attended events (both online and offline). In addition, thanks to the sharing of around 14.000 ideas and 19.000 comments, European institutions will have the opportunity to gather key information on citizens’ wishes and hopes to better shape the future of the Union.

Structured in four main aspects, from the platform to decentralized events; and from the European citizens’ panels to the Conference plenaries, this initiative is now coming to a first end.From a general perspective, the whole process of the Conference on the Future of Europe, is slowly approaching its end.

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In light of this, Sunday February 20th will be the closing day for the platform of the Conference of the Future of Europe

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Thus, for example, on the 11th and 13th of February some 200 citizens gathered together for the Panel on EU in the world and migration. Specifically, hosted by the European Institute of Public Administration and Studio Europa in Maastricht (the Netherlands), citizens finalized their recommendation, by covering EU’s objectives in terms of humanitarian aid, cooperation, migration, security, defense and much more. 

Overall, besides the above-mentioned Panel, citizens gather in other 3 panels, tackling:

• A stronger economy, social justice and jobs / Education, culture, youth and sport / Digital transformation”
• “European democracy/Values and rights, rule of law, security” 
• “Climate change, environment / Health”

In light of this, sunday February 20th will be the closing day for the platform of the Conference of the Future of Europe (CoFoE). With much enthusiasm, citizens as well as NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, regional and local authorities have joined the multilingual digital platform, by sharing ideas or uploading events.

Finally, throughout this year, from its launch in March 2021, ALDA has actively participated both within the Civil Society Convention on the Conference on the Future of Europe, and by spurring its members to actively join the platform, by organizing specific webinars for them. Moreover, considering the role of ALDA within the Steering Committee of the Civil Society Convention for the Conference on the Future of Europe, Ms. Valmorbida – ALDA Secretary General – will join the Conference Plenary, in presence, at the beginning of March 2022.

ALDA is very much glad of this opportunity, regarding at it as a useful tool and way to further encourage peoples’ participation within European life.

Useful links:

• Timeline of the Conference
• Civil Society Convention

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