The European Citizens’ Panels will kick off their discussions with the second 200-citizen meeting between Friday and Sunday in Strasbourg. The Conference on the Future of Europe marks the first time in the history of the EU that citizens have been included in a consultative process in such a structural and innovative manner. There are four European Citizens' Panels, each of them comprising 200 citizens and ensuring that at least one female and one male citizen per Member State is included. It will focus on will focus on European democracy/values, rights, the rule of law and security. The panellists will be welcomed on Friday by the Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs and Co-Chair of the Conference’s Executive Board, Gašper Dovžan.The Panels will come up with ideas and recommendations that will feed into the overall Conference deliberations, in particular into the Conference Plenaries, and ultimately into the report on its final outcome.

Strasbourg

conference on the future of Europe (T)

european citizens' panel (T)

DOVŽAN, Gašper (SI)

Conference on the Future of Europe - Citizens' panel on the European democracy/values and rights, rule of law, security: ambiance shots of the citizens' arrival, participation and statement by Gašper DOVŽAN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/1494568/I211139Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

Externals shots. Arrival of citizens at the Eropean Parliament, Strasbourg, France, 24/09/2021, (15 shots)

Internal shots, ambiance citizens in corridors at the European Parliament  Strasbourg, France, 24/09/2021, (16 shots)

Internal shots, ambiance citizens in the Chamber at the European Parliament. Cutaways with Ga&scaron;per DOVŽAN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE opening the ceremony. Strasbourg, France, 24/09/2021, (27 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Ga&#353;per DOV&#381;AN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE, I think that our future is European future and that there is no other future for European citizens then other than in the European Union. And since the world rests upon the young, they have a great chance to use the debate within the framework of the conference on the future of Europe to propose their their ideas to future. And at the same time, I also hope we will close the gap between the citizens and the institutions and bring the institutions, European institutions, closer to the citizens and at the same time citizens closer to the institutions

SOUNDBITE (English), Ga&#353;per DOV&#381;AN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE, We have put the process of the conference on the future of Europe at the center of our priorities. We want that the whole debate moves really to the substance. And we are very happy that over the summer the organizational setup has been improved and now we are really seeing the substantial debate with the citizens in its center. And we hope that we will continue at this pace and that at the end the European institutions will really take those proposals coming from the citizens and seriously consider how to improve European policies to the benefit of the citizens and, of course, also its businesses

SOUNDBITE (English), Ga&#353;per DOV&#381;AN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE, The conference on the Future of Europe is an important process, and we want to be as open as possible and we want all views to be included. And this is why we are also working on establishing dialog between the conference and also some other stakeholders that are not maybe officially included in the conference, such as the partners from the Western Balkans or some other interest groups. It's very important that all views are heard. At the same time, we are also prepared a couple of events in our home country, like Bled Strategic Forum, where we offered a great platform for European leaders, but also for civil society and business representatives

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Ga&#353;per DOV&#381;AN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE, We are very pleased that during the summer the conference has come to a decisive stage. We moved on from solving procedural and organizational issues about the content itself, so that already civic panels began to work. We also look forward to the plenary part of the discussions that will follow towards the end of the month of October. And of course Slovenia has decisively helped to translate the debate into a substantive phase, but we want to continue at this pace and to open the opportunity to hear all the opinions relevant to our common future within the conference

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Ga&#353;per DOV&#381;AN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE, Slovenia, as the Presidency of the Council, is very active in coordinating Member States' positions in the conduct of the conference itself, where we must represent the world as an institution. In doing so, we want the operation of the conference to be as transparent and inclusive as possible if we want the focus to be on substantive issues. That young people have a word and that they are given the word even by those who may not be formally included with the conference, whose opinions should also not be ignored. For example, the countries of the Western Balkans, I think this is a unique experience that we have witnessed has never been chosen at random by citizens in one place. Invited to speak about their views for the future. That seems very important to me

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Ga&#353;per DOV&#381;AN, Slovenian State Secretary for EU Affairs, co-Chair of the CoFoE, It is important for European institutions to listen to these proposals, but also the opportunity for all those citizens involved in the debate to become ambassadors of the European idea. These are 800 citizens of different Member States, respectively of both sexes of different social backgrounds and can really be excellent ambassadors of the European idea and of course the proposals we need for the future