The Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE) was launched in March 2021 with a Joint Declaration by the Presidents of the European Council, Commission and Parliament. It was set up with the aim of reflecting on the challenges that the EU should tackle over the coming years. Its aim is to listen to citizens so that they can benefit from and play a leading role in the construction of Europe.
A multilingual digital platform has gathered the opinions of citizens and set up panels of European citizens that have addressed the future of the EU. In parallel, Member States have organised their own actions at a State, regional and local level. This is an exercise in pan-European reflection that is unprecedented in the history of Europe.
The Conference will study the recommendations made by citizens and gather them together in a final report on 9 May – Europe Day. As from that date, the European Council, Commission and Parliament will study the necessary proposals to develop and implement these conclusions.
Spanish citizens have taken part in the debates via the multilingual digital platform of the COFE and at a host of events organised in Spain. In order to boost the voice of the Spanish people in the Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation set up a Spanish framework for citizen consultations on the future of Europe open to all autonomous regions and cities, along with many civil society organisations and individual citizens, the results of which have been presented today.
In total, 6 national and 18 regional events have been held. The conclusions are grouped into four main areas: European citizenship, democracy and participation; social and territorial cohesion; the ecological transition and migration; and the EU in the world.
The participants have stressed that EU policies should cater for the needs of the outermost regions and those regions that are disadvantaged due to insularity or depopulation of the rural environment. They also showed great interest in the circular economy and in making the dual digital and ecological transition more inclusive and accessible, bearing in mind those people who have to deal with some form of disability.
The conclusions also showed opinions strongly in favour of boosting European citizenship, with such measures as the extension of the right to active and passive suffrage for mobile European citizens and a new impetus to the Erasmus+ programme. The free movement of people was perceived by an overwhelming majority of Spaniards as one of the main achievements of the integration process.
As regards migration, the participants highlighted that this is really an issue with a European dimension, and hence the common migratory policy of the EU needs to be strengthened.
In addressing the role of the EU in the world, the war in Ukraine has clearly shown the need for the EU to promote its own strategic autonomy, which includes energy supply, technological development, leadership in values and the fight against the climate crisis, and connectivity.
The conclusions, which can be consulted by clicking on this link, are particularly important for Spain, since they can inspire the programme of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which will take place in the second half of 2023.
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