Conference on the Future of Europe

conferenza-sul-futuro-delleuropa

The Conference on the Future of Europe was created to offer all European citizens an opportunity to think about Europe’s challenges and priorities and to reflect on the future of the European Union. The European Parliament, Council, and Commission undertook to listen to the voices of Europeans and to follow up, within their respective competences, on the recommendations received.

The Conference was open to citizens from the whole of the European Union, of any origin and from any context. A particular role was foreseen for the younger generations in shaping the future of the European project. A wide range of actors contributed to this initiative: civil society and its organisations along with European, national, and local authorities.

The Conference ended in Strasbourg on May 9, 2022 with the adoption of a report, bringing together 49 proposals and over 320 measures, the result of all the input received during the works through the various channels of participation (multilingual digital platform, national and European panels, events, conferences, etc.).

The three institutions have started examining the proposals in order to provide an effective and concrete follow-up to citizens’ demands.

Furthermore, a follow-up event is already planned for autumn 2022 to update citizens on the follow-up that the institutions can provide to the proposals submitted. Italy was one of the first Member States to offer a contribution of ideas on the modus operandi, objectives and organisation of the Conference, through a non-paper, published in February 2020 and updated in autumn 2021 in the light of the developments in 2020/2021 (the COVID crisis and the launch of Next Generation EU).

The multilingual digital platform of the Conference

The Multilingual Digital Platform was the nerve centre of the Conference. It enabled all citizens to share their thoughts about on Europe and the changes that are to come, find out what others think, find nearby events, organise an event and keep track of the progress and outcomes of the Conference.

Citizens’ online contributions were collected, monitored and published throughout the Conference. Three interim reports have been published since the start of the works, as well as the platform report in February 2022 and the final platform report in May 2022.

The Platform was closed on May 9, 2022 at the end of the works of the Conference.

The Italian Participation – Italy has been a strong supporter of the Conference for the Future of Europe as a tool to involve European citizens in building the future of the European Union and of us all. A Scientific Committee and an Organising Committee dedicated to the Italian participation in the Conference were specifically set up for that purpose.

The many activities carried out on the Italian side are summarised in the Government Report (to which we refer – futuroeuropa_volume_web.pdf (politicheeuropee.gov.it)).

The most relevant activities included the national citizens’ panel (March 11-12, 2022) and the meetings held throughout Italy (“Incontriamoci a…”). The last event symbolically took place in Ventotene on May 8, just on the eve of the European closure of the Conference.

The Youth Conference, also open to participants from the Western Balkans in November 2021, and a further meeting also open to participants from Mediterranean partner countries – in the framework of the customary MED Dialogues in December 2021 – are also worth mentioning.

The topics

The topics covered by the Conference hinged around four macro areas:

European democracy and values, rights and the rule of law, security;
climate change, environment, and health;
economic strengthening, social justice, work and education, sport, and digital transformation;
the EU in the world, migration.