The European Movement International and the European Investment Bank held on July 18 2018 an event entitled ‘Investing in the Future of Europe’.  Speakers from all sides of society gave their perspective on how to invest in the future of Europe and how government, employers, unions and civil society can contribute in the debate about the EU. The event, held in Tallinn, is the 6^th in series of joint events which started in 2017, taking place in various cities in the EU and neighbourhood countries.  These events are designed as an opportunity to discuss the benefits of European integration.

The panel, which was moderated by Petros Fassoulas, brought together a wide variety of viewpoints about the future direction of the EU.

Matti Maasikas, Deputy Minister for EU Affairs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared his recent experience of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU and pointed out the concrete benefits that the EU provides. He noted how the Estonian and Bulgarian Presidencies of the EU had helped to being about good political change in the region.

Marina Ismaila, Senior Public Sector Banker in the Baltic States at the  European Investment Bank, emphasised that cohesion means being stronger together.

Keit Kasemets, Head of the European Commission Representation in Estonia pointed out that the role of the Commission is not just to explain how Europe works. The role of the Commission is to explain the policies and member states are the ones doing the compromises and the Commission needs to deliver on this, he added. With the help of presidencies, the EU as a whole can deliver on political programmes. The Commission tries to make forward-looking proposals, taking into account the issues which determine the future of Europe, such as youth.

Continuing on with the topic of youth, Mikk Tarros, Vice Chairman of the Estonian National Youth Council pointed out that young people are very aware that EU is beneficial but lack the knowledge of how decisions are made. He said that we should enhance the dialogue between citizens and that structured debate would help to promote European projects. “We need to show people the real benefits of the EU”, he strongly advised.

Thiébaut Weber, Confederal Secretary at the European Trade Union Confederation, found that sometimes in the debate we mix different ideas – the ideas, the values and the public authorities. He said that European citizenship should overcome the discussion on policies.

Martin Noorkõiv, Chairman of the Board of Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organisations and CEO of Domus Dorpatensis Foundation took part as the representative of NGOs and shared his thoughts. He explained his understanding of the people who like the EU and who work in the institutions.

The debate ended with the round of questions and answers.

Should you have any queries about the EIB in The Baltic region or in general, you can get in touch via InfoDesk@eib.org, you can also directly the EIB Stakeholder Engagement, Transparency and Civil Society division directly via civilsociety@eib.org. This email address can also be used to sign up for the EIB stakeholder mailing list.

Photos from the event can be viewed below:

You can watch the videos of the event here.