Guy VERHOFSTADT (Renew,BE), co-Chair of the CoFoE, explains how this new stage of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the citizen's panels, are organised. Citizens’ panels will discuss ideas from events across the EU and proposals submitted through the Conference platform and will make recommendations to be discussed with EU institutions and other stakeholders. This first meeting in Strasbourg is on stronger economy, social justice and jobs/education, culture, youth, sport/digital transformation.

Conference on the Future of Europe - Citizens' panel: statement by Guy VERHOFSTADT (Renew,BE), co-Chair of the CoFoE

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SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, co-Chair of the CoFoE, Today, it's really a unique experience experience that we start because it's the first time that we organise a consultation and a debate between citizens on the future of the European Union. And this on on a transnational on the pan-European level, it has never been done that citizens from 27 countries and from all the regions in Europe are coming together to discuss, to tell us how they see the future of the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, co-Chair of the CoFoE, What are we going to do with their recommendations is not only to put them in a beautiful document but to bring these recommendations to the politicians, European politicians, national politicians, ministers, commissioners, and they have to respond to these recommendations, tell to the citizens how their recommendation will be put in practise and what type of reform the European Union needs. So to fulfil that, because while we see what we feel and we see it also in service, that is that ordinary citizens, they like Europe, but at the same time, they find that this Europe is not fulfilling that their wishes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, co-Chair of the CoFoE, They are very critical towards the European Union because they believe that this European Union is really not the European Union that fulfils their ideas, their dreams, their wishes about about Europe and to make that happen. And that is the reason why we organised this conference.

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, co-Chair of the CoFoE, They will talk about every policy in European Union. They talk about economy. They will talk about social Europe. They talk about climate change. They will talk about the digital. You will talk about health issues. But they will also talk about the position of the of Europe in the world defence, for example, foreign policy, the tensions in our neighbourhood. And moreover, we will also discuss  for the first time, education, youth, sport, because all these items are, in fact, not competences for Europe, but nevertheless, yet the future will be determined by education, by what's happening in our schools. So there is also look to Erasmus, for example, a role for Europe there. So it's a broad spectrum of of items on a transnational level.

Conference on the Future of Europe - Citizens' panel: statement by Guy VERHOFSTADT (Renew,BE), co-Chair of the CoFoE

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