Conference on the future of Europe

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The Conference on the Future of Europe (short: Future Conference , English : Conference on the Future of Europe , French : Conférence sur l'avenir de l'Europe ) is a political body whose convened by the European Commission and the European Parliament announced the end of 2019 , and officially launched on May 9, 2021 ( Europe Day ). It should formulate new answers for the future of European democracy by 2022 and outline the next steps in European integration .

background

The conference was a central concern of the liberal European party ALDE and the French President Emmanuel Macron (both Renew Europe ) in the negotiations on the formation of the commission after the European elections in 2019 . The French President had already made numerous reform proposals in his Sorbonne speech in 2017 , but most of them had remained unanswered from the other European capitals.

The aim of the conference is to discuss with all EU institutions, member states and EU citizens what the future of the European Union should look like 17 years after the last European Convention . In particular, institutional reforms should be addressed in order to remedy the democratic deficits that still exist and to make the EU, which now has 28 member states, more capable of acting. A need for action was deemed necessary , not least in view of the UK's exit from the Union, the failure of the Spitzenkandidaten principle in 2019 and the lack of unity among national governments on pressing issues such as the refugee crisis , foreign policy and climate change .

President-elect Ursula von der Leyen then included such a conference in her government program. In her candidate speech and the political guidelines for the future Commission , she described the conference as follows:

“I want citizens to have their say at a conference on the future of Europe, which will start in 2020 and run for two years. This conference aims to bring Europeans together and give our young people, civil society and European institutions a strong voice as equal partners. It must be well prepared: with a clearly defined framework and clear objectives that have been agreed in advance by Parliament, the Council and the Commission. I am ready to pursue what has been agreed, including legislative action if necessary. I'm also open to changes to the contract. "

In their “mission letters”, which Von der Leyen presented to the nominated commissioners, three new commissioners were given tasks related to the conference on the future of Europe: Věra Jourová , Maroš Šefčovič and Dubravka Šuica . Šuica is primarily concerned with preparing the conference in cooperation with the European Parliament, Jourová is the representative of the Commission at this conference, and together with Šefčovič, the Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations, for the follow-up to the conference in cooperation with the European Council , the Council of the European Union , and the European Parliament. Ursula von der Leyen also already promised her full support for a possible chairmanship of the conference by a member of the European Parliament.

Planning

German-French non-paper

In November 2019, the French and German governments proposed the following approximate timetable in their " non-paper ":

  • 12./13. December 2019 - first discussion in the European Council
  • January 2020 - conference concept / inter-institutional mandate
  • February 2020 - start of phase 1 (especially discussion about transnational lists , the Spitzenkandidat system, questions of citizen participation, etc.)
  • July 2020 - Phase 2 kick-off conference in Brussels
  • 2nd half of 2020 - start of EU-wide expert meetings and citizens' dialogues (from EU institutions and member states)
  • 2021 thematic and mid-term review conferences
  • 1st half of 2022 - final conference

They also outlined their expectation of concrete results: “The conference should already commit itself in the interinstitutional mandate to achieve tangible and concrete results. The final document with recommendations should be presented to the European Council for discussion and implementation. "

Positions of the EU Parliament

On October 16, 2019, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament decided to set up a working group on the Conference on the Future of Europe. The working group consists of the President of the European Parliament , one representative from each political group and one representative from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), specifically:

Members of the working group
Surname country EP Group AFCO
President of the European Parliament
David Sassoli ItalyItaly Italy S&D
Representatives of the political groups
Paulo Rangel PortugalPortugal Portugal EPP member
Gabriele Bischoff GermanyGermany Germany S&D vice-chairman
Guy Verhofstadt BelgiumBelgium Belgium RE member
Daniel friend GermanyGermany Germany G / EFA member
Gunnar Beck GermanyGermany Germany ID Deputy
Zdzisław Krasnodębski PolandPoland Poland EKR
Helmut Scholz GermanyGermany Germany GUE / NGL Deputy
Representative of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Antonio Tajani ( per tempore ) ItalyItaly Italy EPP Chairman

The task of the working group is to develop a proposal on the positions of the parliament with regard to the framework, duration, leadership, structure, stakeholders, goals and expected results of the conference. It also consults other EU institutional actors in this regard, such as B. the Committee of the Regions , which was very open to the conference , as well as representatives of civil society.

At the end of December 2019, the working group developed a first draft for the structure of the conference. Among other things, she calls for:

  • Parliament should play a leading role.
  • Up to six citizens' assemblies are to play a central role - in them, representatives drawn from all over Europe should develop recommendations that are then passed on to the EU institutions. There should be around 200 participants per meeting who will debate a previously determined political topic. The meetings are to be held in different European cities, with participants from all Member States.
  • The conference is to be headed by a steering committee ( Steering Committee , organizational and logistical questions, for the chairmanship are candidate Guy Verhofstadt and David Sassoli ) - representatives of the Commission, the Council and the seven political groups in the EU Parliament.
  • EU institutions should implement the proposals in concrete legislative projects or even treaty changes - representatives of the EU Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and the national parliaments, all political bodies that will be involved in (possible) ratification. Representatives of regional parliaments and civil society should also be involved.
  • The negotiated legislative proposals are to be presented again to the citizens' assemblies so that they correspond to their ideas.
  • The EU institutions should undertake to implement the recommendations in laws or treaty amendments.
  • The group chairmen approved the draft of the working group. It is to be voted on as a resolution in plenary in January and negotiated with the EU Commission and the Council.
  • The conference is scheduled to start on May 9, 2020.

The resolution of the EU Parliament was voted in plenary in January 2020.

Positions of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs

In parallel to the meetings of the working group on the Conference on the Future of the European Union, the issue will be debated in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO).

In November 2019, debates began at AFCO about the structure and scope of the conference. With regard to citizen involvement, some MEPs stressed that the selection criteria were important to ensure inclusive participation in terms of diversity and gender balance. As possible topics of the conference, the AFCO committee discussed the questions of a right of initiative of the Parliament, the Council as second chamber , the rule of law, qualified majority voting in the Council, the top candidates, transnational lists, economic governance, social policy, the transparency register and one independent ethics body.

Ten politicians, political scientists and representatives of organizations took part in the AFCO hearing on December 4, 2019: Othmar Karas (Vice-President of the EU Parliament), Luca Jahier ( EESC / EESC ), Karl-Heinz Lambertz ( CoR / CoR ), Ulrike Guérot ( Uni Krems ), Christian Calliess ( FU Berlin ), Beniamino Caravita di Toritto ( Uni Rome ), Francisco Aldecoa Luzárraga ( Uni Madrid ), Tymoteusz Zych ( KIPR ), Pier Virgilio Dastoli ( EMI ), Andrew Duff ( Spinelli Group / EPC ) and representatives of the EU Commission Věra Jourová and Dubravka Šuica . Karas, Lambertz and Guérot stated that it should not stop at talking, but that existing problems must be solved so that “citizens can experience that the EU has practical and material added value for them”. This would also require the participation of critics of the EU in the planned citizens' dialogue . Ulrike Guérot pleaded for a "republicanization" of the EU, which should be decided in a new EU constitutional convention . She demanded " to shape the Europe of the member states into a European Republic , with real European citizens, in a legal community in which all citizens - and not just goods and currency - share the same rights" .

At the beginning of December 2019, AFCO approved a draft opinion which is addressed to the working group. In it he demands:

  • The conference is to be publicized across Europe through a broad campaign.
  • The conference will be attended by MEPs, national parliamentarians, EU commissioners, representatives of the Council of Member States, civil society, the social partners (trade unions and employer representatives) and citizens. The representatives in the conference, above all representative selected citizens, should depict the diversity of Europe in terms of age, gender, origin and social class.
  • The European Parliament offers to let the conference take place on its premises and undertakes to ensure transparency via web streaming and publication of the documents.
  • All EU citizens should be able to take part in the work of the conference via online platforms. Young people should be particularly involved.
  • The main topic of the conference should be how Europe can become as capable of acting as possible. The citizens and the conference should also be able to set topics themselves.
  • How the next European elections in 2024 could be even more European, e.g. B. with top candidates and transnational electoral lists should be clarified in advance.
  • In a formal agreement between the EU institutions, they should undertake to bring the results of the conference legally in motion, as EU law or as an amendment to the EU treaties. Parliament itself undertakes to use its right to formally propose amendments to the Treaty to the European Council in accordance with Article 48 of the EU Treaty. For the first time since 2002, a European Convention would be convened.

Corona pandemic

Due to the corona pandemic that broke out in early 2020 , the original schedule for the conference was initially overturned for an indefinite period of time. The starting point was roughly autumn.

Positions of the Member States in the Council

The Council of the EU has remained silent for a long time on the conference on the future of Europe. In general, according to observers, there was little enthusiasm for them among the Member States and in the Commission; possible institutional reforms in particular met with resistance.

On June 18, 2020, the European Parliament finally “emphatically” asked the Council to finally give its opinion on the future conference. Soon after, on June 24th, national governments adopted their positions on the matter. In it they advocated that the conference should start as soon as possible, but should focus on digital formats in particular. It should involve as many stakeholders as possible (including all EU institutions and member states) and deal with many topics. This includes the council dealing with the corona crisis and climate change, social challenges, innovation, digital transformation and international cooperation. At the same time he makes it clear that the conference is not a convention and therefore treaty changes cannot be decided upon initially. According to the member states, its results should instead simply be summarized in a joint declaration. This would mean that initially there would be no direct legislative initiatives or commitments from the conference. The Council also stresses that the prerogatives of all institutions must remain intact.

Result of the negotiations

After further long, tough negotiations, in which the leadership and mandate of the conference in particular were struggled, the member states announced after a meeting of the EU ambassadors in Brussels on February 3, 2021 that the conference would begin in May in the form of a citizens' dialogue should.

It is to be run jointly by the heads of the three institutions - the European Council ( Charles Michel ), the European Commission ( Ursula von der Leyen ) and the European Parliament ( David Sassoli ), with the "support" of an executive committee. Guy Verhofstadt , who was originally favored by Parliament , actually got nothing; one reason for this is said to have been his decidedly euro-federalist stance. The conference is scheduled to begin on May 9, Europe Day . The official kick-off event is to take place in Strasbourg , Alsace , if the COVID situation allows.

On March 10th, the three Chairs signed a Joint Declaration that will form the basis for the conference. The citizen forums should show a representative cross-section of the population and be organized digitally and in multiple languages. An online platform is also to be set up on which citizens can exchange their suggestions and debate. It is also specified that the Executive Committee should consist of three representatives and up to four alternates from each of the three institutions, as well as representatives of the COAC , the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee in an advisory capacity . The interim results should be discussed in a joint plenary session at least every six months. Topics should include:

“Building a healthy continent, combating climate change and tackling ecological challenges, an economy that serves people, social justice, equality and solidarity between generations, the digital transformation of Europe, European rights and values ​​including the rule of law, challenges in the area of ​​migration, security , the role of the EU in the world, the democratic foundations of the Union and the strengthening of the democratic processes of the European Union. Cross-cutting issues related to the EU's ability to implement its political priorities, such as better regulation, application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, implementation and enforcement of the acquis and transparency, can also be discussed. "

The citizens of the Union should also be able to raise other issues that are important to them.

Members of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is chaired by:

criticism

The Council's position has met with criticism from some MEPs and political observers. They accused the national governments of wanting to blur the conference with a vague mandate, in particular to prevent institutional reforms (such as more rights for the European Parliament). They fear that a conference without a strong mandate could degenerate into a mere show event and so disappoint the citizens.

Gabriele Bischoff , for example, criticized the fact that the institutional dimension of the conference was completely ignored. Spanish MP Dominique Ruiz Devesa made a similar statement: “We want a debate without taboos; this also includes treaty changes. ”Representatives of the Committee of the Regions also called for greater involvement of regional and local authorities .

In addition, Leonie Martin, President of the Young European Federalists , spoke out in favor of broad citizen participation : “For far too long, we, the European citizens, have been pushed aside or only consulted superficially in discussions about the future of European integration. Those days are over."

course

Online participation (since April 2021)

The citizens' dialogue began on April 19, 2021 with an online platform at futureu.europa.eu, on which reform proposals can be introduced and debated. In addition, numerous online events are already planned across Europe. The topics are divided into 10 categories:

  • Climate change and the environment
  • health
  • A stronger economy, social justice and employment
  • The EU in the world
  • Values ​​and rights, rule of law, security
  • Digital change
  • Democracy in europe
  • migration
  • Education, culture, youth and sport
  • Further ideas

Opening ceremony (May 9, 2021)

On Europe Day 2021, during the Portuguese Presidency , the conference was officially opened in the European Parliament. The speakers included Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron. The latter particularly emphasized the importance of “big dreams and ambitions”.

At the time of the start of the conference, it was still unclear who exactly should be represented in the 433-person, central “plenary”. The background to this is, in particular, the ongoing dispute between the European institutions and the member states about how extensive the influence of the conference should be and who should ultimately decide on its results. While the EU Parliament, in particular, would like to initiate the broadest possible say for citizens and initiate reforms, the national governments would rather prevent this.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e (en) Preparing the Conference on the Future of Europe , EPRS European Parliamentary Research Service , Author: Silvia Kotanidis, Members' Research Service, PE 644.202 - December 2019, on europarl.europa.eu
  2. ↑ a b c A Union that wants to achieve more: My Agenda for Europe, From the candidate for the office of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen - Political guidelines for the future European Commission 2019-2024 , EU Commission, on ec .europa.eu
  3. ↑ Georgi Gotev: Macron makes EU-wide appeal 'for European renewal'. In: euractiv.com. March 5, 2019, accessed August 26, 2020 (UK English).
  4. ↑ a b One year of future debate: A new departure for Europe? Reform conference begins. Retrieved May 9, 2021 .
  5. ↑ (en) President-elect from Leyen's Mission Letter to Dubravka Šuica , September 10, 2019, on ec.europa.eu
  6. ↑ from Leyen's Mission Letter to Věra Jourová , 10 September 2019, on ec.europa.eu (English)
  7. ↑ (en) from Leyen's Mission Letter to Maroš Šefčovič , 10 September 2019, on ec.europa.eu
  8. ↑ (en) Conference on the Future of Europe, Franco-German non-paper on key questions and guidelines , French and German government (November 2019?, Undated), on politico.eu
  9. ↑ (en) France and Germany propose EU overhaul after Brexit upheaval , John Chalmers, additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris and Jonas Ekblom in Brussels, editing by Giles Elgood, Reuters, World News, November 26, 2019
  10. ↑ (en) EU gears up for post-Brexit renovation , Eszter Zalan, EUobserver , November 26, 2019
  11. ↑ (en) Germany and France release a non-paper on the Conference on the Future of Europe , European Western Balkans , November 26, 2019
  12. ↑ (fr) Paris et Berlin font affichage d'une volonté commune sur l'avenir de l'Europe , Les Échos , November 26, 2019
  13. ↑ (en) Berlin and Paris outline plan for EU makeover , Rym Momtaz and David Herszenhorn, Politico Europe, November 26, 2019
  14. ↑ (fr) La France et l'Allemagne prônent une réforme profonde de l'Union européenne post-Brexit , L'Opinion , November 27, 2019
  15. ↑ (en) Franco-German drive for EU institutional overhaul by 2022 , New Europe , November 28, 2019
  16. ↑ (en) From Leyen's real 100-day challenge - So many promises. So little time , Politico , November 28th / December 1st, 2019
  17. ↑ (en) A grand bargain for Europe might yet be possible , Wolfgang Münchau, Financial Times , December 1, 2019
  18. ↑ Why Ursula von der Leyen is taking over the “most difficult job in the world” with the EU Commission Presidency - Ursula von der Leyen will be taking over on Sunday to make the EU greener, more digital, more competitive, more social and safer. That should be difficult for her , Christoph G. Schmutz, NZZ , December 1, 2019
  19. ↑ (en) France and Germany have big plans for EU reforms. Is this the right time? , Dermot Hodson and Imelda Maher, Washington Post , December 6, 2019
  20. ↑ a b European Parliament> Committees> AFCO Constitutional Issues , on europarl.europa.eu (working group: as of December 2019)
  21. ↑ a b (en) Conference of Presidents. Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Wednesday 16 October 2019 , europarl.europa.eu
  22. ↑ Shaping the future of the EU is a shared task and responsibility , European Committee of the Regions, press release, July 17, 2019, on cor.europa.eu
  23. ↑ (en) Lambertz meets with von der Leyen , Grenzecho , September 26, 2019, on grenzecho.net
  24. ↑ a b European Parliament wants citizens' assemblies in the EU reform process , Daniel Freund , December 20, 2019, on his blog, danielfreund.eu
  25. ↑ (en) Committee on Constitutional Affairs - Draft Agenda: Extraordinary meeting, Monday 25 November 2019 , AFCO, on europarl.europa.eu
  26. ↑ (en) "Lessons to be drawn from the 2019 elections and proposals in view of the debate concerning the Future of Europe", Draft Program , Public Hearing, European Parliament, 2019-2024, Committee on Constitutional Affairs, 4 December 2019
  27. ↑ (en) 04-12-2019 - Hearing to take stock of the 2019 EU elections and the debate on the Future of Europe , European Parliament: Committees: AFCO Constitutional Issues: Hearings
  28. ↑ Citizens 'Dialogue for Europe - EU Future Conference Before her election as EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen promised MEPs to start a citizens' dialogue. What is to be made of it? , Jürgen Klute , December 10, 2019, on the blog of the Friday community
  29. ↑ Constitutional Committee of the European Parliament for strong citizen participation in the EU reform process , Daniel Freund , December 9, 2019, on his blog, danielfreund.eu/blog
  30. ↑ (en) Proposals for Compromises - Draft opinion on the Conference on the Future of Europe , The Committee on Constitutional Affairs, December 9, 2019
  31. ^ A b Julian Rappold: Extension for the conference on the future of Europe |. DGAP, May 7, 2020, accessed on August 26, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Conference on the future of Europe should start as soon as possible in autumn 2020 "| News | European Parliament. June 18, 2020, accessed on August 26, 2020 .
  33. ^ Conference on the Future of Europe - Council agrees its position. June 24, 2020, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  34. ^ Council of the EU: Conference on the Future of Europe: Council Position. June 24, 2020, accessed on August 26, 2020 .
  35. ↑ André Curvelo Campos: First success: Portugal pushes “Conference on the Future of Europe” - On Wednesday, the EU member states gave the green light for the format proposed by the Portuguese Council Presidency for the conference on the future of Europe. The citizens' dialogue is to begin in May, Lusa.pt was told. Translated into German by Tim Steins, Lusa.pt /  euractiv .com / .de / .fr, February 4, 2021
  36. ^ General Secretariat of the Council: Conference on the Future of Europe - Joint Declaration. In: Council of the EU. March 5, 2021, accessed March 11, 2021 .
  37. ↑ What is the conference on the future of Europe about? - Conference on the Future of Europe. Retrieved May 9, 2021 .
  38. ↑ Summary report of the second meeting of the Executive Committee of the Conference on the Future of Europe - Wednesday 7 April 2021. Accessed 9 May 2021 .
  39. ^ Opinion: Five ideas to reshape 'Conference on Future of Europe'. Accessed August 26, 2020 .
  40. ^ Future of Europe: EU Council vetoes treaty change. Accessed August 26, 2020 .
  41. ↑ Maïa de La Baume: Conference on the Future of Europe: Don't mention the T word. January 21, 2020, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  42. ^ Future of Europe Conference: Council urged to move now. Accessed August 26, 2020 .
  43. ↑ 'Top-down' future of Europe conference 'will fail' warning. Accessed August 26, 2020 .
  44. ↑ Federal Secretariat: Statement on the occasion of the deliberations on the conference on the future of Europe in the Council of the EU. In: JEF Germany. January 27, 2020, accessed on August 26, 2020 (German).
  45. ↑ Conference on the Future of Europe: Launch of the Citizens' Platform on April 19 , ec.europa.eu, Brussels, April 7, 2021, in: Conference on the Future of Europe , at: European Commission> Strategy> Priorities 2019-2024> New momentum for the Democracy in Europe , ec.europa.eu (Commission website)
  46. ↑ Events that are currently taking place - Conference on the Future of Europe . ( europa.eu [accessed on May 9, 2021]).
  47. ↑ Participative Processes - Conference on the Future of Europe. Retrieved May 9, 2021 .
  48. ↑ tagesschau.de: EU future forum: mouthpiece for the "silent majority". Retrieved May 9, 2021 .