Conference on the Future of Europe: Executive Board meets for the first time under the Slovenian Presidency
The Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe last evening agreed to allocate more seats in the Conference Plenary to regional and local elected representatives, as well as to social partners. The Board amended the Rules of Procedure by adding to the Conference Plenary six elected representatives from regional and six from local authorities. They also agreed to increase the number of representatives from the social partners by four, to a total of 12. An exchange of views was held on the communication plan developed jointly by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, with all three institutions committing to work together to boost public participation in the multilingual digital platform, and to encourage all bodies who participate in the Executive Board and the Plenary sessions to do likewise. Since its launch, some 1 million people have visited the platform, with over 5,500 ideas shared, over 11,000 comments posted and over 1,500 events across Europe registered there. The Board received an update on the organisation of the European Citizens’ Panels. They also discussed the working methods of the Plenary working groups in which representatives of the respective Panels will take part. Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, said: “We are looking forward to the next phase of the process: the deliberations of the European Citizens’ Panels, which is the truly innovative aspect of the Conference on the Future of Europe.” The first sessions of the European Citizens Panels will take place in mid-September. Read the joint statement here
