News item | 13-02-2022 | 11:00
Two hundred European citizens will be discussing important themes for Europe this weekend in Maastricht, such as migration and the EU’s place in the world. The conversation is part of the Conference on the Future of Europe, in which residents of the European Union can contribute ideas about the future of the EU.
One hundred and fifty inhabitants from all European countries are physically present in Maastricht. Fifty people connect digitally due to the corona measures. The randomly selected Europeans are a reflection of the population in the European Union.
Commissioner Dubravka Šuica (Democracy and Demography) is present in Maastricht on behalf of the European Commission. Former ambassador Wepke Kingma also joins as Envoy for the Conference on the Future of Europe on behalf of the Netherlands.
Citizen panels
Similar talks with citizen panels have previously taken place in Warsaw and Florence. The last meeting will soon take place in Dublin. The citizens’ panels prepare for a plenary meeting, where the results from each panel are discussed.
Final report and recommendations
Via the website Look at Europe all Dutch people could share their ideas about the future of Europe. This initiative by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is part of the European Conference on the Future of Europe.
The Conference will end in spring 2022 with a final report with recommendations from citizens across Europe. That report goes to the Presidency of the Conference: the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission. They will act on the recommendations.